Millennials Are Sharing The Biggest Lies We've Been Told As A Generation, And Now I'm Depressed
Millennials were raised on promises of flying cars, stable careers after college, and the dream of owning a home. But here 2025, none of that feels remotely true.
We're drowning in student debt, hustling through a gig-based economy, and watching Gen Z ironically recycle our baggy jeans, along with the rest of the early 2000s trends we wore unironically.
While deep-diving through r/Millennials, I came across a post asking millennials to share the biggest lies they were told growing up. From participation trophies to the myth that turning on your car's cabin light at night is illegal, these responses pull back the curtain on just how many tall tales shaped our generation.
1."That millennials created participation trophies. I was 7 in 1988 when my summer baseball team placed second-to-last in league play, and every player was literally awarded a trophy. I PROMISE you, at the age of 7, I did not have the resources to order trophies for myself and all my teammates."
–u/sacklunch
2."The food pyramid and the idea that different areas of the tongue taste different flavors."
–u/Square-Hedgehog-6714
3."Take out student loans to pay for your degree, and you'll definitely get a job making enough to pay off the loans."
–u/the-jish
4."You will write all your papers in college in cursive. Lmao."
–u/Briebird44
Related: "That Sentence Sat In My Head For Months": Men Are Revealing The Most Hurtful Things A Woman Can Say To Them, And It's Actually Fascinating
5."If you're a good driver and don't have any claims, your insurance rates will decrease over time."
–u/MillwrightWF
6."That our future was going to be so much better than our parents'. We were all going to be high paid white collar workers, and the economy was going to keep growing fast enough to make that a possibility for everyone. Lol, instead our life expectancy is going down while retirement age keeps going up and the economy isn't even keeping up with inflation."
"I used to worry more about it, but I'm starting to think it's the boomers that need to panic as they lose control of the vote and the younger generations finally want their pieces of the pie."
–u/SoggyGrayDuck
7."Quicksand is a common thing and knowing how to escape it will likely save your life one day."
–u/akronguy84
8."Discussing your salary with coworkers is wrong."
–u/jgasbarro
Related: People Are Sharing How What Happened In Vegas Did NOT Stay In Vegas, And This Should Be A Lesson To Never Go To A Bachelor/Bachelorette Party There
9."Don't talk to strangers on the internet. Don't get in a stranger's car. Today, I use the internet to hail an Uber so I can get into a stranger's car. But really though, stranger danger was really overblown when we were kids and has made society more insular and crappy."
–u/clothespinkingpin
10."'Hard work will bring success.' Total bullsh*t. This is literally what you tell exploited workers. They told our parents, and our parents told us, believing them."
"From personal experience, it's all about how much you are liked and your ability to convince people to say yes when asking for more. I am at an executive level and manage people with certifications and better marks in school than I have. This wasn't because I was smarter or anything. It's because when I started here five years ago, I decided I was going to play the social angle, and it's surprisingly effective. I dressed like them, talked like them, and walked like them. It wasn't long before they considered me one of them and treated me as such."
–u/jmirelesv3
11."That the United States was built on a system of checks and balances and that the President is not a king."
–u/Liquid_1998
12."'You'll become more conservative when you're older.' That's bullshit."
–u/ANotSoFreshFeeling
13."The Philadelphia Eagles will never win a Super Bowl."
–u/Kindly-Leather-688
14."Be loyal to your job and they will stand behind you 100%. Cue the Great Recession early in my career…luckily, it showed me early on that loyalty to a company is BS. I'm loyal while there, but if I get an uneasy feeling at some point, I'm looking out for myself."
–u/GeauxFarva
15."'Cellphones and the internet are rotting your brain. We don't allow phones in this classroom.' Fast forward to 2025, when you need a cellphone to order at a restaurant, and the internet to basically make money. Without either, you basically don't exist, but back in the day, you weren't allowed more than 30 minutes on a cellphone, if even."
–u/Legal-Baseball9203
16."Turning on the car cabin light while driving at night is illegal."
–u/poison-rationality
17."Video games will get you nowhere in life. Now I see teenagers and 20-somethings making six figures or more streaming online. It's wild how you can never really know the future (but act like you do)."
–u/sstubbl1
18."That you couldn't eat a vegetable or fruit seed because a plant will grow inside of you (curious to know if this was something in other countries, too)."
–u/Admirable_Green_1958
What do you think has been the biggest lie told to millennials as a generation? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Also in Internet Finds: Holy Crap, I Can't Stop Laughing At These 28 Painfully Awkward And Embarrassing Conversations
Also in Internet Finds: I Need To Call My Doc For A New Inhaler After Cackling So Hard At These 41 Funny Tweets From The Week
Also in Internet Finds: Here Are 50 Pictures That Make Me Grin Uncontrollably No Matter How Many Times I've Seen Them, In Case You Need Them
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alliance-area news in brief for June 23
LIBRARY SALE ROOM – Minerva Public Library has opened a book sale room located on its lower level. Library officials say patrons now can avoid the long wait for book sale week. The sale room offers a wide selection of gently used books, magazines and other media at bargain prices during regular library business hours Monday through Friday. SEBRING COUNCIL – Sebring Village Council plans a public hearing at 6:15 p.m. June 23 in Council Chambers in Village Hall, 135 E. Ohio Ave. on legislation pending before said Village Council to vacate part of an unnamed 10-foot north-south alley bounded on the north by Georgia Avenue; on the west by Lots 1710, 1711 and 1712' on the east by Lot 1997; and to the south by a line parallel with the southern lot of Lot 1797 and 132 feet south of West Georgia Avenue. The text is available for review in the Clerk of Council's office. ALLIANCE FIRE – Alliance Fire Department plans a promotional examination for assistant chief at 9 a.m. Aug. 21 atAlliance Area Senior Center, 602 W. Vine St. in Alliance. Eligibility for testing is any current lieutenant or captain with at least 12 months in grade before the exam date. Signup sheet will be posted at Alliance Fire Department, Central Fire Station at 63 Broadway until 5 p.m. July 20. List of references will be posted at the Central Fire Station. DEER CREEK FISHING – Stark Parks Rangers bass boat tournament will begin with 6 a.m. registration and fishing from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 12 at Deer Creek Reservoir. Participants can be individual or partnered with a five-bass limit of largemouth or smallmouth. Fee is $60 per boat, paid in cash. Weigh-in will be 3 p.m. Proceeds after prizes will go to Stark Parks Ranger Explorer Program. All state and local laws apply. 10-HP limit, electric motors only. Visit for more information. LEGACY OF HONOR − The 5th anniversary Legacy of Honor Gala will be 5:30 to 10 p.m. Aug. 16 at MAPS Air Museum in Green. Event will include a program and live comedy and music. RSVP to the formal event by Aug. 1 at Legacy of Honor is a Stark County-based agency that works to assist veterans in various aspects of life. BELOIT COUNCIL − Beloit Village Council plans a special meeting at 6 p.m. June 30 at Village Hall. Purpose of the meeting is to discuss Ohio public works round 40. Streets, buildings and grounds also might be discussed. Action might be taken. This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Alliance-area news in brief for June 23
Washington Post
17 minutes ago
- Washington Post
This sacred place holds our national memory. Don't politicize it.
Amanda Vaill is the author of four biographies, including the forthcoming 'Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution.' In the summer of 1848, after Alexander Hamilton's 90-year-old widow, Eliza, had been campaigning for more than a decade to have the Library of Congress acquire her husband's papers, her goal seemed at last within reach. A 'bill for the relief of Elizabeth Hamilton,' under which Congress would buy his archive and she would have it transcribed and printed in book form for deposit in the Library, had been sent to the House of Representatives in May. Although the measure had not yet reached the floor, it was expected to at any moment.
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania Lottery Pick 2 Day, Pick 2 Evening results for June 22, 2025
The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here's a look at Sunday, June 22, 2025 results for each game: Day: 7-1, Wild: 9 Evening: 6-6, Wild: 5 Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here. Day: 3-9-8, Wild: 9 Evening: 5-7-0, Wild: 5 Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here. Day: 3-3-7-3, Wild: 9 Evening: 8-4-1-2, Wild: 5 Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here. Day: 1-7-3-5-5, Wild: 9 Evening: 6-5-2-8-2, Wild: 5 Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here. 06-25-31-36-48, Cash Ball: 04 Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here. 02-13-14-21-25 Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here. 05-14-19-27-29 Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here. 12-23-37-38-39-48 Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here. Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back. Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105. Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105. Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you. Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday. Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily. Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily. Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily. Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily. Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday. Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday. This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsylvania Lottery Pick 2 Day, Pick 2 Evening results for June 22, 2025
