Has your grandma ever interrupted a conversation between you and your friend to ask you each in turn whether you’re single and why you haven’t hooked up yet? #awkward
It seems their generation did things very differently, the norm was to leave school, find a partner, a job and a house to grow a family in. Our millennial generation are so empowered, so addicted to making memories and having fun – I want to know why there’s such a gulf between our way of thinking and theirs. Are we too laid back or did they rush?
The craziest thing is that my grandparents have been together for 50 odd years but they hooked up when they were 22, I’m 24 and nowhere near ready yet their marriage has worked out so well! Here’s why we’re so different:
- Less Stigma around Pre-Marital Sex
Even though people having been copping off in their youth for centuries, once upon a time you’d get such a bad rep for it that it might not even have been worth it. Especially if you was a women, risking an early pregnancy was just not an option. Today, we go wherever the wind takes us.. which is usually into somebody else’s bed. Theres enough knowledge about sexual protection now to seriously reduce the chances of early pregnancies which means more people can get down and dirty with less risk.
2. Dating Apps
I think the most panicky people I see in relation to finding their soulmate, are those approaching the age of 30 or sailing past it. A quick sign-up on Tinder or OKCupid and suddenly you’re connected to thousands of other panicking individuals and one of them might be “the one”. I genuinely believe we play it cool and play the field when we’re young because dating apps are some kind of weird safety net. If life doesn’t lead to that person we’ll just lead ourselves – after our 29th birthday.
3. Making Money, Getting Famous
The general millennial aspiration is some kind of fame and fortune, maybe not Kardashian-style but everybody wants to own something, start something and be known for something. That takes much more priority over the relationship which is considered someone to share all that success with. We work hard and we play hard.
4. Identity and Self-Discovery
If we are going to be the poster-kids of any cause, it’d be identity. We are obsessed with finding ourselves and becoming our best self. Society has boxed people for so long as a means of controlling the way the world looks and now we’re like No! We’re forming our own views based on our own understandings, all in the name of freedom. If I want to sleep with men on Monday and women on Tuesday in the name of gender fluidity, then who’s to say I can’t? We are now the masters of our own destiny’s – way to stick it to the man!
When it comes down to it, we have millions of more opportunities than our predecessors and that’s why we can afford to spend more time at the start of life finding ourselves, what we want to do and working towards who we want to be. If there’s one thing I know I’ll need my nan to help me learn, it’s how to sacrifice some of the things I want for my family. That is what their generation were poster-kids for and we wouldn’t live our way if not for that.
