Third, online stories have endlessly repeated the idea that Millennials have gotten the economic shaft. “Millennials are doing great!” doesn’t get clicks. “Millennials got screwed!” does. Negative news stories, especially those that incite anger, get more traffic and thus make more money. Social media sites thrive when people get riled up and spend more time on the site. As Gen X author Meghan Daum puts it, “Social media rewards language that is not just hyperbolic but apocalyptic.” Stories bemoaning Millennials’ anemic earnings got lots of traffic online, while the Pew Research Center’s more
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