Our generation isoften pegged as lazy, narcissistic, and apathetic – by both the media and our elders, from psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow, to CNN reporter Ruben Navarrette. We are scolded by our parents for being glued to our cell phones, for spending way too much time on Facebook, and for playing incessant video games for hours on end. To our elders, we are the generation that doesn’t have to spend hours in the library, thumbing through ancient textbooks to find information; most of us probably haven’t used a card catalog since 4th grade. Experts sayour generation has a shorter attention span than any other – and that we lack the desire to work hard; indeed, we never did have to walk to school uphill, both ways.

But our generation, the Millennial Generation, is the generation that will lead the world in a direction it has never gone before; it is our generation that will effect change through empowerment and progressive action. It is our generation that will make the world a better place to live – of that, you can be sure.

The Millennials are the flock of young adults born after 1980,  the first to come of age in the new millennium. Our first internet was dial-up, we were the first to use the smartphone, and 9/11 was the first major tragedy we experienced.

ThePew Research Center describesmembers of the Millennial Generation as ‘confident, connected, and open to change.’ With a population of 80 million in the United States, the Millennial Generation is the largest generation yet, and our ethnic backgrounds, education, and skills differ greatly from all preceding generations.

According to Pew, the Millennial Generation is 61 percent white, 19 percent Hispanic, 13 percent black, and four percent Asian, making us more diverse than any other generation our nation has ever seen. Eleven percent of U.S.-born children have at least one immigrant parent, a higher figure than both the Baby Boom generation and Generation X. We are also far better educated than any other generation, with 54% of Millennials having some sort of college education.

However, perhaps the most important difference between us and preceding U.S. generations is the Millennials’ fluency in technology. It is important to mention that most of us experienced the pre-digital period (if only briefly), and because of this, we have a true appreciation for social media and technological tools. We understand the ease of access to information these tools provide – and the speed at which we are able to communicate. But because we were introduced so young to technology like smartphones, apps, and social media, we are also able to understand how to use them intuitively – and serve our own, unique communication purposes.

The Millennial Generation may suffer from an addiction to social media – with constant updating on Instagram and ‘checking in’ every hour for prizes on Foursquare – but that doesn’t mean we are apathetic. In fact, we are the opposite; in the2008 presidential election, an unprecedented number of young people showed up to vote, and the disparity between young and old voters was the largest in 40 years of exit polling measurements. Millennials are also much better able to break from tradition and create more progressive change; they stand outfor their acceptance of homosexuality, interracial relationships, and increased opportunities for both women and minorities.

This tolerance, along with total technological fluency, is truly what makes our generation unique. It is also what makes us the key to effecting positive change for the future.According to David Burstein, author of the book “Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping the World,” this is “the first generation that realizes its true global nature and the interconnectedness of their peers all over the world.” The Millennial Generation is not only in-tune socially and politically through technology in the United States, but we are also communicating constantly with fellow Millennials all over the world.

Often, our generation gets a bad rap, says Burstein, “because we’re not out in the streets protesting” for social change. Instead, we push our ideas through a technological medium; “we’re using new tools and starting our own businesses” in order to spark social change. Young people today, he explains, are much more likely to start a company or virtual program to organize strategies to fix a problem. Millennials recognize that they aren’t being social activists simply by sharing a post on Facebook or re-tweeting something on Twitter; they are simply spreading awareness, and awareness is the key to an informed, educated global society.

Millennials know this, and they know that this information is accessible to them at all times of the day, no matter their race or socioeconomic status. Communities who have been previously ‘underserved’ now have an unprecedented access to resources and tools; this has created an activist network “outside of the system,” Burstein explains. There is no longer a way to exclude others from information or prevent large-scale communication; anyone who wants to participate in social activism or effect policy change is able to get involved.

In this way, the Millennial Generation will be able to lead our country out of its current political gridlock. Our society is filling with grassroots activists – advocates for individual-focused,bottom-up social change. Chelsea Clinton, correspondent for ABC News, noted in anarticle for Time Magazinethat Millennials are “focused on…getting back to real growth in the developed world,” and, “ensuring that prosperity is more widely shared in the developed and developing world.” Clinton also described working with Millennials who were committed to grassroots social change, such as connecting disadvantaged students with scholarship opportunities and creating apps which allow multi-lingual communication.

Despite the state of the nation’s economy, and current partisan gridlock, Burstein says the Millennial Generation remains “entrepreneurial and optimistic.” It’s this kind of attitude that allows us Millennials to create what is being called the emerging “sharing economy,”according to Eric Liu, author and contributor to Time Magazine. Government, in the minds of Millennials, is meant for creating national goals, from improving health care to addressing global climate change, but should use its power not to mandate, but to spark change from the bottom up. The Millennial Generation tends to believe that forming individual solutions from outside government will be the key to solving the world’s toughest problems. Our generation nurtures the idea of the “active state” and believes that in order to move past partisan gridlock, members of the older generation must embrace it, too.

The Millennial Generation is straddling the line between present and future – and that is truly where we have an advantage. We are more diverse, more tolerant, and more global-minded, and with our fluency in all forms of new technology, as well as our social media know-how, we truly have the future at our fingertips. We are anxious to move forward – and not just with technological devices. Our generation will address the world’s toughest issues through organized action and a grassroots approach, and we will shape the world with tolerance and empowerment. Because we are the Millennial Generation – and there’s nothing we can’t do.

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Elaine Godfrey is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication and global resource systems from Burlington, Iowa.