Confessions of a Montreal millennial

New columnist Marc Richardson’s contributions will appear in the City section Mondays in print.

I’m just going to get this out of the way: I’m a millennial. There, I said it.

The term has been bandied about like a dirty word over the last year, but I actually quite like it. Part of the disdain, I think, stems from the fact that we’re a misunderstood generation. We don’t share the same views as older generations, we have different interests at heart and we are facing an adult reality that is far different than the one we heard our parents talk about when we were children.

There’s nothing wrong with that, though.

It’s exciting, really. There’s no doubt that young people are becoming increasingly involved, and that’s a good sign for a society that, for decades, has been facing what’s been called a “democratic deficit” — a political buzzword that encompasses voter apathy and disenfranchisement.

Aided by technology and globalization, the rules of the sociopolitical game have changed.

From crowdsourcing funding for innovative technologies to crowdsourcing signatures for petitions, young people today might not have better ideas than their predecessors, but they have the tools to be heard by more people.

It’s apt, then, that Oxford Dictionaries’ word of 2017 was “youthquake.”

That changing status quo is what lies at the root of this new column: to not only offer insight into how young people see current events, but also to shed light on what the stakes are for millennials. It’s written for people in their 20s and 30s who are looking for something that talks about their news interests and touches on their concerns, but also for those seeking to understand how we think.

There’s so much talk about a generation gap, but so little dialogue between the different stakeholders. Why do we see things differently? What do we even see? How can we make it work?

Montreal, in all of its complex beauty, is the perfect microcosm for examining those questions, and for examining issues that millennials are particularly concerned with, from the rising cost of housing and the politics of language, to the changing face of the workforce and technology’s role in day-to-day life.

I should warn you that my opinions on this front have been coloured by travel to cities like London, Paris and New York, and I’ll often compare Montreal to them. But we often talk of Montreal as being a world-class city, so it’s only fitting to use worldclass cities as a measuring stick.

I’ll say it again: I’m a textbook millennial, at least according to stereotypes. “Millennials change their minds constantly!” they say. I studied political science and economics before working in a totally unrelated field: fashion.

“Millennials can’t handle authority!” they shout. After a few years, I decided — like many in the 20- to 30-something crowd — that the time was now to go out on my own and freelance. Again with the mind-changing.

“Millennials are glued to their phones!” they cry. I have to charge my phone multiple times a day. But, but, but … is it not better to do something you love, to foster the entrepreneurial spirit, and to encourage consuming information? See, there is indeed a fundamental difference in the way we see things!

Those who know me know that I am opinionated and always up for a good discussion — sometimes heated, but always respectful. I attribute this to the fact that I was the youngest of three siblings — by a decent margin, too — so I had to elbow my way into dinner table discussions with clever commentary to not be dismissed.

That being said, the goal of this column isn’t to be incendiary, but to spark conversation. Each generation of stakeholders has a different view for the city. It’s important to express our ideas if we want to get somewhere — anywhere. So let’s start here, with a few words every week.