Translator: Esther Lee Reviewer: Moira De Giorgi
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
To millennials, that is an adage of the past.
Because words, they matter.
They hold weight, and they hold meaning.
And while words and the way that we use them are both significant,
that's only a portion
of what I am going to be talking about today.
Today, I aim to tackle a somewhat touchy subject.
"Are millennials oversensitive?"
So you might be wondering to yourselves, "What are millennials?"
Good question.
Millennials, or Generation Y,
encompasses anyone born between the early 1980s
to the early 2000s.
As a millennial myself, my friends and I are often told
that we are too sensitive, too politically correct,
that we are delicate, little snowflakes that can't handle anything.
I felt like that was the general sentiment towards my generation.
In order to really confirm that, I, of course, went to consult Google.
So when I looked up "millennials are too" on Google,
these are the four things that popped up:
we are, apparently, too lazy to eat cereal,
(Laughter)
we are too "PC," or politically correct,
we are too soft, and we are too sensitive.
And aside from the cereal comment,
which I don't really know what to do about,
(Laughter)
that's what I see online.
Mentions of Jerry Seinfeld
saying that we are ruining comedy because we can't take a joke,
and countless of others calling us social justice warriors.
So, with that, I want to acknowledge a couple of things.
First of all, culture is organic.
It is a set of shared and learned attitudes,
ideas, behaviors, feelings, experiences
that are shared and shaped and changed overtime and in space.
That means that culture will become different.
And secondly, I am a student in a university
where we encourage this kind of discussion that opens minds and debate.
So with that, I would like to indulge you in a quick game I made for you.
And I will, of course, need your participation.
So what I'll be doing is I'll be showing an image up on the screen.
And if you believe
that image is acceptable and appropriate today,
please put your hand up.
Got it? Very good. Here is the first image.
[It's nice to have a girl around the house.]
So, I'm not seeing hands, but that's okay.
I was ready for this.
I have another image for you, so we'll go for this one.
[See how it covers over black Elliot's White Veneer]
I don't know if you just don't want to participate,
or if you really feel like, "This is not great."
But maybe it's because of the latter one.
And maybe because these images are about a half a century old, or more.
And yes, these are ads, and we can say that's just that,
that's just media and marketing,
but I think that that would be a mistake because marketing and media
have a huge influence in how we see the world,
and therefore how we act within it.
We've changed, right? We've gotten better?
Let's do another round, okay?
So again, please put your hand up
if you feel like the image and its message is appropriate and acceptable today.
Let's go.
[A woman's best accessory is a well dressed man]
(Laughter)
It gets me too.
So, I'm not seeing a lot of hands either,
but last image.
Let's go.
[Approach Women like you do wild animals, with caution and a soothing voice.]
(Laughter)
But here's a thing about these images.
They are younger than my sisters who attend high school.
So have things really gotten better?
I would say no.
What I would say has changed is that millennials are more comfortable
calling out these problematic messages and ideologies.
But for that, we get called oversensitive.
See, I think that calling each other "oversensitive" is problematic on its own.
I know. Typical millennial.
(Laughter)
But, I'll explain why.
Calling someone "oversensitive" talks about a person's characteristic,
not their argument.
And therefore, we're not actually advancing debate and discussion.
We are just, kind of, insulting someone.
Secondly, saying that someone is "oversensitive"
also implies that there's something wrong with being sensitive.
And I think that it is a mistake
because sensitivity and emotion are powerful.
They're huge influencers and motivators
for why we do things and who we choose to be with.
So underestimating the power of emotion would be a mistake.
And thirdly, I want you to consider this scenario:
So, I drew this myself,
(Laughter)
and I'm the girl in the curly hair.
Say this person was like, "Oh my gosh. The traffic today was so gay."
Or, maybe they were saying, "The exam today absolutely raped me."
And I'm just there saying,
"Maybe you should rethink how you're saying these things.
Maybe there's a problem.
Maybe you should -
I know that it was hard and you might have been late.
But think about how you're wording things."
And they said, "Shira, just get over it. You know what I mean!
You're just too sensitive."
Aren't they oversensitive also?
Because they didn't even take into account my criticism
and think about how they're saying something.
Aren't they oversensitive because they didn't take a moment
and just, right away, criticized me?
See, I don't think that calling each other names is helpful.
I would say that goes back to kindergarten,
but I don't think that's productive.
Instead, we'd have actual conversations
where we are intentionally listening to one another.
So, with that, I would like to propose a new outlook on the millennial.
To me, millennials, they're sensitive, and they're empathic.
They're also aware and educated.
And finally, millennials are critical, and they are vocal.
And I know, maybe you're thinking,
"Okay, sure. Cool.
But why do they have to comment so much on everything?
It just gets too much."
And I get it. It can look like that.
But I think that there're a couple of things that are happening.
First of all, millennials are embracing the idea of shared responsibility.
And that means that we care about a lot.
Secondly, we must remember that millennials grew up
with the rise of the internet.
And therefore, we have greater access to a lot of information,
as well as, a greater audience.
It does get overwhelming.
But I think that this is better than being bystanders,
who do not rise up to help a victim when they need their help.
I don't think that we're so, so different.
Because, for one,
didn't people protest the Vietnam War
when they found out about it from television?
Greater access to information?
People, like my parents, baby boomers
are known for that activism,
for peace, gender equality, and environmental issues.
They care.
To me, that sounds the same.
To me, it even looks the same.
Heck, I'll even put a black-and-white filter on it.
(Laughter)
And what that, to me, means is that there's this immense opportunity
for discussion and collaboration and working collectively
to make a difference in this world.
And we should take this opportunity.
What I think we're lacking here is this communication a bit.
We should learn how to participate with one another better.
See, freedom of speech and freedom of expression
are integral to debate and discussion and advancing knowledge.
Yes. But they cannot be trumped by evidence and respect for one another.
In your next interactions, perhaps with the people in this room,
I urge you to go in with an open mind and an open heart,
ready to listen, to learn, to truly engage to not assume, but clarify.
Because I believe that we can work together
if we just started there.
To be honest, I'm pretty okay with being a snowflake.
Because to me, being a snowflake means that I realize that we're all unique,
and therefore we have our own contribution into this world.
But we also all come in the same way into this world.
So we're all snowflakes.
And the cool thing about snow
is that collectively you can't ignore it.
(Laughter)
So let's use that to our advantage as well,
and let's create a storm.
Let's create a movement.
Thank you.
(Applause)