Millennials are the generation born between 1981 and 1996. They’re famous for their unique sense of humor (ie, “I’m not me before I’ve had my coffee!” and making bizarre, quirky faces) and their unbeatable passion for brunch. They’re often called cringe by the younger generations, while their elders tend to see them as entitled snowflakes.
But it’s not really fair to judge this generation so harshly. Their love for overpriced lattes doesn’t justify all of the scrutiny they’ve faced for over a decade. And to be fair, this generation has plenty of reasons to be frustrated. Michael Hobbes even wrote a piece for HuffPost breaking down why Millennials are “facing the scariest financial future of any generation since the Great Depression.”
Despite the fact that Millennials entered the job market at a time when it was nearly impossible to find employment and more of them were living with their parents than with roommates after college, they’ve been blamed for so many issues in society. Apparently, it’s their fault that cereal companies aren’t getting enough business and that the golf industry is struggling.
Millennials also aren’t buying nearly enough homes or having enough kids. But instead of blaming this generation for their behavior, it would be more productive for their elders to consider why they aren’t following in their footsteps. And one explanation that Hobbes points out is that Millennials have taken on 300% more student debt than their parents. Getting an education is still considered a necessity for many jobs, but graduating with a mountain of debt can create major setbacks for years, or even decades, after leaving college.
Apparently, Millennials are also about half as likely to own a home as young adults were in 1975. The unfortunate reality is that many adults can barely afford life itself, let alone owning a home. Since 2020, home prices in the U.S. have skyrocketed, increasing by 45.3% on average. Meanwhile, when adjusted for inflation, salaries have barely increased at all.
Let’s set aside the idea of purchasing a home, though, and focus on actual necessities. As of 2026, half of Americans say that they’re struggling to afford food. Nearly 90% report that they’ve had to adjust their shopping habits to offset higher food prices, and a quarter say that they’re limiting spending on “splurge” items. It’s understandable for Millennials to feel cheated by the world that they were thrust into as adults, especially when their parents refuse to acknowledge that things are much harder today.
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On the long list of societal issues that Millennials have been blamed for, the falling birthrate is currently one of the hottest topics. Some argue that this decline can be blamed on smartphones, but of course, many people in older generations prefer to point the finger at young people as a whole. How dare they choose to have less children and make the workforce smaller, while they can barely afford to buy groceries for themselves?
Another unfortunate reality that Millennials have had to face is that they may not be able to retire in their mid-60s. In fact, there’s debate about whether or not they’ll be able to retire at all. SoFi Learn notes that due to student loan debt, the gig economy, the decline of pensions and the rise of 401K plans, the lack of social security funding, and the fact that people are living longer than ever before, retirement may not be on the horizon for the younger generations. It’s easy to have a negative outlook on the future when it’s so uncertain.
