The New Greatest Generation Summary

The Magic of Contradiction In “The New Greatest Generation” published in Time magazine on May 20, 2013, the author, 41-year-old Joel Stein educates readers on the behavior, lifestyle, and mentality of millennials. He aims to persuade and inform the audience that although the newest generation can be entitled, lazy, and self-absorbed, they are also capable of positively influencing the world. This is achieved by Stein’s ability to fabricate his article around the concept of contradiction and meticulously placed information that causes the reader to perceive Stein as completely unbiased. Stein is 41 years old, which places him amongst an earlier generation- generation X. In most cases, this would result in him being biased against millennials,

For example, as one reads the first paragraph of “The New Greatest Generation,” it appears Stein will take a stance against millennials for the entirety of the piece. He begins by assuring the audience that unlike previous generations, he has “statistics” and “quotes from respected academics” to prove that the generation after him is “lazy, entitled, selfish and shallow” (Stein 28). This forms the impression that Stein is reliable because he did his research. However, as the article continues, it is revealed that although Stein is aware of the negative attributes of millennials, he is also aware that millennials “are not a new species; they’ve just mutated to adapt to their environment” (Stein 31). He then goes on to explain the favorable qualities millennials possess, while concluding with “me, I choose to believe in the children” (Stein 34). Using this tactic of contradiction, Stein successfully demonstrates his understanding of both the negative and positive attributes of millennials, while leaving the readers with a positive impression. This strategy enables Stein to input his final opinion of millennials at the end of the article where it will have the greatest impact on

Due to the article being set up from two distinct perspectives, the information one receives from the first half stands alone. For example, as one begins to read the article, he/she discovers that “narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s” and that “more people aged 18-29 live with their parents” (Stein 28). This data fails to consider that many millennials choose to remain at home in order to gain financial stability. As a result, people unconsciously formulate strictly negative opinions about millennials because that is the only information Stein presents to them. Once people begin to read the second half, it becomes apparent that Stein begins to focus on the positive attributes of millennials. For example, Stein then claims that millennials are “earnest and optimistic. They embrace the system. They are pragmatic idealist, tinkerers more than dreamers, life hackers” (Stein 34). The tone changes to one of support and no longer focuses on the negative traits of the newest generation. Stein presents the information and data this way so that once someone finishes the article, the majority of the knowledge he/she holds of millennials will be