Characterizing millennials as being lazy and entitled has become popular practice among older journalists. The L.A. Times published a piece headlined, “Millennials, you literally cannot call yourselves adults until you take this pledge,” which called on young people to rebuff common stereotypes. The pledge included not texting while eating and writing at least one yearly thank-you note, with “what’s left of” their cursive writing skills. The author of the piece later defended it, commenting that the outcry was “what you get when you raise an entire generation without spanking.” But as older generations spend their time penning angry diatribes — serious or otherwise — about the perceived shortcomings of our generation, young people are using technology to fix problems that we largely inherited from those older than us.

One of the main problems with these articles is that nobody can agree on who is and isn’t a millennial. The term has no definitive dates ascribed to it, which is indicative of the fact that those who use it often just have a problem with young people generally. It is a word used to generalize and to stereotype across generational lines, and those who include it in their rants against the youth are as lazy as the millennial cliché they have created.

Even bypassing the poorly defined label, so-called millennials have proven to be a fundamental block in catalyzing social change; the White House acknowledged that we will undoubtedly drive and shape the nation’s economy, while we also volunteer at almost double the rate of our parents. In large part, this desire to do good stems from a dissatisfaction with the institutions of the previous generation. Organizations such as Dosomething.org, which encourages young people in their communities to be agents of social change, are an example of our generation using technology to improve the world around us. On college campuses, we are constantly challenging the status quo and creating awareness using online platforms, including here at NYU. In 2012, students at Duke University started a social media campaign titled “Who Needs Feminism?” which not only addressed popular misconceptions regarding the feminist movement, but also pushed for equality among the sexes.

The norms that millennials supposedly embrace — obsessive consumerism and self-absorbed pettiness — have been a cultural staple since the profileration of the celebrity endorsement, and are doubly reflected in the smug little treatises and think-pieces about how the kids these days are wrong. This intergenerational roasting is nothing more than a pointless exercise in passing down the blame for problems that the boomers themselves often caused. The only way anything will ever get solved is if we stop blaming and start properly thinking, and proper thinking begins with responsible journalism.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, October 13 print edition. Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].