Millennials are the future leaders of America, those that will guide the country through the energy crisis, the social security crisis and any others that may arise in the next 40 years.  They are defined as anyone born between 1980 and 2000, yet they represent much more than just an age group. They have grown up with technology, and in a time when advances are progressing at an exponential rate, they bring a familiarity with technology that is unparalleled by other generations, bringing with it the potential to change the world. Yet with these great experiences and a formidable task at hand, older generations have unwisely doubted the capacity of the generation, simply distrusting them because of their different style and strengths.

Characterizing Millennials by their obsession with social media and phones, members of Gen X and prior have led the movement against Millennials, which can be best described by the Forbes headlines  “Are Millennials ‘Deluded Narcissists’?” and “Are Millennials Lazy Or Avant-Garde Social Activists?”

English teacher Marilyn Brewer has taught for over 45 years, and after noticing significant shifts among generations, she said Millennials are ready to change the world.

“I think that they will figure it out,” Brewer said. “Millennials are not going to be quite as focused on having a huge house; they recognize there is a problem, and they are going to be smarter about the way they approach it.”

However, a new problem has arisen with the technological revolution, as face-to-face contact is potentially suffering due to the increased use of technological communication.

“I feel this generation can be superficial and lonely,” Brewer said.  “Texting has caused us to lack communication and social skill.”

Additionally, accompanying the wave of technology  has been the influx of information and a subsequent rise in the number of opinions on the internet. With so many opinions prevalent, it is easier to borrow someone else’s ideas instead of formulating one’s own.

“An advantage to teaching is that if I have a question for anything, I can go find the answer,” Brewer said. “The downside to that is that I don’t have to look for my answer.”

The lack of the necessity to look for one’s own answer to certain problems could potentially have a leading role in dropping levels of creativity. According to the College of William and Mary, creativity levels have been dropping among all age groups since 1990, and a large part of those creative thoughts are built from abstract thinking.  When abstract thinking is replaced by immediate searches, it is only reasonable to see why creativity levels are declining.

“Patience doesn’t exist any longer,” English teacher Katherine Buchanan said.  “Everyone expects instant gratification in terms of anything.”

Society has modeled itself off of this form of instant gratification, specifically through the rise of Netflix, Amazon Prime and many other services.  No longer do Millennials have to endure minor inconveniences, such as commercials or having to go to a store; they instead receive immediate gratification. Because of this instant gratification, it has lead to continual streaming, continual action, which has led to non-stop lifestyles, making stress easy to accumulate.

“Millennials tend to be more rushed with how they handle things, and they tend to always be going,” senior Swetha Jasti said. “We’ve got to be engaged all of the time because we have that instant gratification of being on our phones.”

In a changing society, this infatuation with technology has led to new advantages, specifically through intelligence, as anything can be looked up immediately.  Given such a wealth of information, Millennials should be able to learn more than any generation ever has before, and in turn, they should be able to think more, discover more and advance the world further.

“[Millennials] are smarter than we used to be,” Brewer said. “Because they grew up with the computer always, they have no fear about being able to find things, do things or access information.”

The growing intelligence has been apparent, as according to the Pew Reasearch Center, 33 percent of Millennials own a four-year college degree or higher, already making them the most educated generation in America.  Further, the increased education and knowledge consumed translates to processing abilities, as according to the Washington Post, Millennials  score an average of six points higher on IQ tests compared to those that are 20 years older than them. Of the gains, logical reasoning has one of the greatest improvements over past generations, leaving Millennials more capable and more willing to find better solutions to more complex problems. Although they are more capable, a significant amount of the problem solving process comes from the ability to learn from past experiences, and Millennials lack that wisdom.

“[Millennials] know so many facts, but developing wisdom can only come with understanding people through face-to-face communication,” Brewer said.

However, what Millennials lack in wisdom they make up for in eagerness to learn and willingness to be inventive.

“I feel like our generation is more optimistic,” Jasti said.  “We like to take problems and find a way to solve them instead of taking them as they are.  With technology and how much information we have access to, we know there are so many ways to solve problems.”

Millennials have also shown that they care about solving these very problems the future faces.  Despite decreasing political participation, social activism is high, as according to TBWA, nearly seven out of 10 Millennials identify as social activists, with one third attending some sort of rally or contacting a local representative.  Among their highest priorities are education, health care, the energy crisis and social issues, such as gay rights and marijuana legalization.

Even though Millennials are leaders in the field of activism and emerging leaders in the technological field, the reason they are looked down upon is not in their qualifications but in generationism. Generationism is defined by the inherent worrying about younger generations, and published examples of these doubts span back to 1950, when writers from TIME Magazine profiled the continual doubt.

Unwarranted were those claims, as that generation not only fought and won the World War II, but also propelled America into the economic prosperity of the 1950s and were at the forefront of social change in the 1960s. The same potential exists for today’s Millennials, a generation with all-time high levels of intelligence, diversity and exposure to technology. Despite facing problems such as a possibly bankrupt Social Security and global warming, there is still good reason for optimism.

“I have a lot of hope for the future generations,” Brewer said. “We have got a group of really smart students that can go into the future and figure things out.”