I've avoided this thread so far because the real reasons for generational differences are many, and any real conversation about it is difficult on a forum. First, I'm an early Millennial myself, like SoonerAviator, born in the early 80s. Here's the thing, generations don't mean squat. Sure, I was born in the right time frame, was a teenager when the new millennium began, and used computers for most of my life, but like many others, I'm born of Boomer parents. So although I fit in the millennial years, it has nothing to do with any particular generation of people. The world changes, and people change with it. Believe it or not, in my experience, I see just as many older people toting their phones around as the young people. I've seen just as many 40, 50, 60 year old lazy people in the work place as I have young people. I've seen just as many Generation Xers milking the "system" as I have young people, and probably more actually. I see on a daily basis older people struggle with something that a younger person is better at, and I see younger people struggle with something that an older guy is better at. I'm certain that the same was true for the previous generations. It doesn't matter, we will always have a blend of old and new technologies in use and still others are being developed, and people that can work with either, with both, or with neither. As far as attitude and work ethic goes, I feel like that is mostly a product of the times and with raising. Neither of which is within control of the youngster, and both of which are a direct results of previous generations. So why blame the millennial for something that is clearly their parents fault? Secondly, why blame a kid for using the latest and greatest technology? How many of you or your parents spent time turning records, cranking up tunes on the 8 track, sitting around the radio or TV, banging away on the keys of your orange screen Compaq, playing Donkey Kong at the arcade, or whatever the currently tech was when you could? Perhaps you can gripe about them using it too much, but again, that's their parents fault. How many kids in the history of mankind would clean their room, go split firewood, mow the lawn, milk the cows, pick the cotton, etc. without ever being told to do so? Kids will always do what is easy and enjoyable until they are told otherwise, and it's up to their parents or guardians to teach them responsibility and discipline. If the parents never made the kid work, then the kid won't have learned the value of work, and thus, not their fault. Every generation has been influenced, for better or worse, by the times they live in. That's the way it works. The people from previous generation nearly always dislikes how the younger generations act despite their own direct influence on those later generations. So, the moral of the story is, quit griping and realize that millennials are people just like you and do what you can to coexist with them, teach them, and learn from them. We all have our pros and cons.
I personally got my first job as a commercial roofer at 13 years old, and was running a crew of people up to twice my age at 16. I built fence, worked cattle, hauled 1000s of bales of hay, served in the church, served others in the community, captained my sports teams, graduated in the top 10% of my class, worked full time and went to college, then decided to quit school and take a good job. There are many millennials that learned work ethic, family values, did good in school, paid their way through school, and didn't get anything handed to them. As with every generation, there are those that sat on their butts, played video games, caused trouble, smoked weed, made bad grades, and never accepted and responsibility, or were given no guidance from their parents. Though the specifics are different, the story of the millennial is really no different from Gen X or the Boomers. We live in our time, are influenced by those times and our peers, and we turn out to be the person our parents raised us to be for the most part. No sense griping about it. If you are a parent of one of these generations and still have influence over them, then do your part to help them become good, productive, loving, caring, hard working citizens. Otherwise, kick back and enjoy reeping what you and your peers have sown.
And there's you lesson for today from a white, redneck, gun-totin', hard workin', bible thumpin, conservative Millennial.
P.S. Chiggity-check yoself befo you wreck yoself.
I’m just kidding for you folks out there who take things too seriously but I thought this was hilarious 
