Critigue of the Myth of the Millennial

Critique of “The Myth of the Millennial”

By:

University of Maryland University College

A Critique Essay on “The Myth of the Millennials”

In the article “The Myth of the Millennials”, Edward W. Koc (2008) very persuasively raises the question: are the behaviors associated with the millennial generation a myth? In reading this article, it is evident that Koc shows disbelief in the theories of other researchers that certain behaviors expressed by the millennial generation are synonymous to that generation. He carefully highlights many of the myths and tries debunking the characteristics that have led to those myths. The article really attempts to get the reader to consider different explanations for the characteristics observed within the millennial generation. Although this article may raise many valid questions, there is a clear lack of concise data, which ultimately hinders Koc and his desired position.

Koc’s (2008) article “The Myth of the Millennials” illustrates some very good initial research into the characteristics of millennials. Although this research is very much in the beginning stages and still has a long way to go, it does facilitate the broadening of the reader’s thinking to outside the box of traditional research by focusing on other possibilities. Koc uses two main examples in this part of the article to support his position that work-life balance is not just a millennial generation characteristic.

The first example draws upon the lifestyles of two former United States Presidents, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush. Both were starkly different on not only their political views but also on how to balance their public and private lives. The presidents wanted work-life balance and had vastly contrasting thoughts on how they had to achieve it. Carter spent an extraordinarily large amount of time on the job because his leadership style was more of a micro-managing, in the weeds type. While Bush believed in delegating to his different section...