This blog post was inspired by a comment I received on my last post by Lyndsey. She mentioned that I had overlooked the role that image plays in dictating Millennial behavior. Posing the very important question “What is the difference between Millennials having genuine interest in something and having genuine interest in appearing a certain way?” And she is right, image plays a huge role in Millennial behavior and activity. Which got me thinking, do Millennials do things just to do them?
Did Millennials rally around Obama because they believed in his platform or because they wanted to seem like they believed? Do Millennials volunteer for “green” organizations because they care about the environment or because everyone else is doing it?
And my answer is a resounding, maybe.
Maybe it’s because we believe in it, maybe it’s because we want to appear a certain way. Whatever the case is, Millennials are doing good things. And as long as we continue to do good things, the motivation behind why Millennials do certain things does not matter.
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Awesome conclusion. It’s the exact one I have come to myself. In addition to being image-driven, we Millennials are also existential (at least in part). I’ve gotten into countless conversations with peers about selfishness and our motivations behind our altruistic actions and intuition. Millennials are largely conscious about the disconnect between their what they are doing and why are they REALLY doing it. But I tell myself and my peers the exact same thing you concluded: if I’m doing positive things, who cares why?
Thanks for the post!
Lyndsey