Analysis Of Joel Stein's The New Greatest Generation

In May of 2013, the American journalist Joel Stein wrote an article called "The New Greatest Generation" for Time magazine that is extremely successful in convincing his audience that although millennials, or individuals born in between the years of 1980 and 2000, have a small number of unfavorable qualities, they will eventually be the generation to "save us all." In his article, Stein is extremely effective in conveying to his readers that millennials are not as terrible they are perceived to be through his use of humor, data, and the way he organizes his writing. Some may argue that Stein is ineffective in convincing readers that millennials are acceptable because he presents his counterargument first, but he organizes the article this way
Stein provides his counter argument first to draw readers in and to intrigue his audience so that they will continue to read the article. Upon first glance, Joel Stein seems to be scrutinizing millennials by calling them "fame obsessed" (28). Stein then shifts to sympathizing and praising millennials towards the middle of the article by stating that "millennials' perceived entitlement isn't a result of overprotection but an adaption to a world of abundance" (31). Stein's strategy in providing his counterargument against millennials at the beginning of the article appeases to an older audience because he is criticizing the younger generation, therefore making the older audience more interested in reading. By criticizing millennials at the beginning of the article, a younger audience is targeted because it causes them to want to continue reading about themselves. Stein then proceeds to present his argument that millennials are not horrible in the second half of the article. For example, Stein claims at the end of the article that millennials are "earnest and optimistic" and "cool and reserved" (34). By presenting his argument favoring millennials after his argument criticizing millennials, Stein compels his audience to continue reading because it is intriguing. By criticizing millennials, he is capturing his audience's
At the beginning of the article, Stein seems to criticize millennials by stating that "what millennials are most famous for besides narcissism is its effect: entitlement" (28). By calling millennials narcissistic and entitled, the reader could believe that Stein does not favor millennials. In reality, Stein does favor millennials, but he has presented all the facts and data for his counter argument first. Another argument that those with opposing opinions may have is that Joel Stein is condemnatory of millennials at the beginning of the article, therefore he is ineffective in convincing his audience that millennials are not as bad as they are perceived to be. Stein only criticizes millennials in the first half of the article to catch the attention of readers and to draw people in so that they will find the article interesting and will continue to read. Stein states at the beginning of the article that millennials are, "cocky about their place in the world" to emphasize that they feel entitled (29). This criticism appeals to readers and