Joel Stein: A Quick Discussion

Millennials have gotten a lot of press over the last few years.  It probably has to do with us moving into the workforce, voting (or not voting) and just being a biggest  group in American history (there are 80 million of us).  In May of 2013 Joel Stein wrote an article for Time Magazine titled “The Me Me Me Generation“.  The article certainly generated a lot of buzz.  Obviously, the biggest claim of the article is that Millennials are narcissistic.  Stein argues that technology, coupled with being raised by a generation overly concerned with “self-esteem”, has left Millennials between a rock and a hard place.  Our expectation are too high!  Does that mean we think as ourselves as entitled and spoiled?  Maybe, but is that different from any previous generation?  Probably not.  Imagine if Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were around during the 60’s?  Imagine the pics and video’s that would have been posted!  While Millennials have certainly benefited from technology, it is also the tool that has made us more self-aware.  Is that a bad thing?  I’ll let you decide.  Regardless, technology has marked our generation.  How we use that power, that information, will determine how history sees our generation.  Let that be a motivator!

So…what is Joel Stein up to these days?  I sent him an email with some question and he was kind enough to reply.  I’ve added some of my own, reflective comments, following his answers.

Joel: “We better get an A. Answers below.”

How did you end up  becoming a writer?

Joel: “End up? It wasn’t a long journey. I wrote a column in HS and then college and then interned. Oh, just read my Wikipedia page.

Me:  Should have seen that coming.  Guess I’m not accustomed to referring people to my Wikipedia page.

How did you end up writing about Millennial’s?

Joel: “I pitched it to my editors after a researcher I know suggested it to me. They seemed a little interested. Then, oddly, the editor of Time asked me to write it as if I never pitched it (he hadn’t heard about the pitch.)

“Being that you have 938K Twitter followers, how has twitter impacted your life?  How has it impacted Millennials?

Joel: “Not all that much. Not that many people are on Twitter. It’s no Facebook.”

What does the world expect from Millennials?

Joel: “The world? What do you mean by that?”

Me: I guess another way to ask the question would be, “How will history view Millennials?”  or “Does the world expect Millennials to get things right?”  This question stems from the challenges our generation faces.  Global warming, terrorism, social justice issues, the list is seems endless.  At the moment, our generation seems pretty upbeat about the future.  I sometime wonder if that will continue.

What do Millennials expect from themselves?

Joel: “The same thing as everyone else, only they don’t believe that they’ll have the success of their parents since they grew up during a recession. So they expect a little less success and even happiness, perhaps.”

Me:  Your answer gets at the heart of generational studies, in my mind.  There really is not a big difference between generations!  There is certainly a difference between being 24 and 65 but to claim that 24 year old today is drastically different than a 24 year old 40 years ago seems like a bit of stretch.  Sure, the world is different.  As Millennials, we grew up with more pictures of ourselves and the internet but we still want the same things.  We are all human after all.  I’m curious, how do you define “happiness” and “success”?

How has unlimited information (the internet) impacted younger generations?

Joel: “It’s made them a little more self-focused, ironically.”

Me: Agreed.  What does that mean for the future?

With regards to your latest book, where did the inspiration for it come from?

Joel: “My son. And the idea of pushing yourself to do things that are uncomfortable to yourself.”

Joel: “Now get that A.”

Thanks for the time Joel!  Appreciate your willingness to help out an undergraduate student!

A quick blurb about Joel’s new book, it looks awesome.  Admittedly, I have only read the Introduction, well….most of it.  Amazon likes to leave pages out.  The book is titled Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity and you can find out more about by clicking here.  Poke around the website.  There are some great pics of Joel doing “manly” things!

Until Next Time,

Stay Connected Millennials!