By Hannah Lathen/ managing editor

2017 is here, and millennials have well established their place in society. In fact, the world is almost centered on millennials right now.

Smartphones are in almost everyone’s hands. News headlines and trending topics are flashed before people’s eyes at all hours of the day. Everything is instant and moving at a fast pace that is only getting faster. This is the reality of the world, but with any change in society like the developments in technology that have occurred in the past 20 years, there are always those who are resistant.

There are people, particularly in the older generations, who don’t understand the motives and actions of millennials, especially when it comes to time spent on cellphones and social media. Time and time again, I have heard my parents say, “You spend too much time on the internet. You are not living in the real world,” “Back in my day, if you wanted information, you opened a book,” or “The world is moving way too fast these days. Everyone needs to slow down.”

Well, guess what? We can’t slow down. The world right now is ruled by the internet and getting things done instantly. Information and news can be found and posted with just a click of a few buttons. Social media is now a major tool in most businesses and organizations.

One of the biggest increases among open job positions is in social media. All the time I’m spending on my cellphone could actually be training for my next job. Not only that but just knowing how to navigate technology and the internet is used in almost every field. Even farmers have to buy a computer at some point.

Also, it is extremely important to know what is happening and to understand trends. Marketing agencies are constantly scrambling to communicate with consumers, which include the millennials. The mannequin challenge that went around the internet may seem completely dumb, but people were watching it, clicking on it and imitating it, so there was some impact there.

What people fail to realize is millennials are growing up and living right now. We need to know how things work for the world we are living in. Answers have to be delivered faster. More has to be done to catch people’s attention.

As much wisdom as they can provide, millennials are playing a different field, so older generations need to give them a break.