A woman holding a "time for change" sign.
A trend appears when looking at the generational battles over the past decade. Millennials (1981 to 1996) are trying to create a more equitable world and repair the damage done by the generations before them. However, they have an uphill battle because baby boomers (1946 to 1965) still hold power in many aspects of American life.
Millennials grew up in an era impacted by 9-11, the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cultural awakening that happened after the George Floyd murder. It’s wrong to paint an entire generation with the same brush. Still, millennials have favored progressive politics with a strong interest in helping to reverse the effects of climate change and fighting for equality. Culturally, millennials have preferred authenticity, whether it's the hipster movement or their love for craft beer, farmhouse decor, and all things chuegy.
@marilyn_mckenna Baby boomers need to pass the baton of leadership to Millennials. Do you agree? #boomers #millennials #millennialsoftiktok #fourthturning #generationtheory #genx #genz
What type of generation are the millennials?
Marilyn McKenna, 62, an intentional aging expert, says all of this makes sense given their generational trajectory. In a video with over 300,000 views, she says that, according to Neil Howe's 1997 book The Fourth Turning, millennials are considered a hero generation. In Turning, the authors postulate that every 80 to 100 years, there is an archetypal generational cycle in the order of prophets, nomads, heroes, and artists. Therefore, millennials are heroes whose job is to rescue America from a crisis that shakes it to its core.
“Hero generations come of age as community-based young adults during a Fourth Turning Crisis,” Alden Guzman writes. “If the outer world crisis is handled well, the hero generation is active participants in the building and championing of new values and institutions to face the crisis at hand.”
A climate change protest. via Linh Do/Flickr
McKenna believes millennials have a significant job ahead of them, but there’s one big problem: it isn’t the task at hand; it’s baby boomers. "Whether in politics, media, corporate leadership, or the economy, boomers still occupy the majority of decision-making roles," McKenna said. "Many are reluctant to make space for new voices—not just millennials, but also Gen X and Gen Z. There's an unwillingness to acknowledge that the world has changed, and that old solutions aren't working."
Unfortunately, she believes that millennials are “screwed” because the boomers won't concede their power. She adds that boomers could play an essential role in changing society if they finally decided to step down. "It doesn't mean disappearing—it means mentoring, stepping back from dominance, and actively helping to prepare and elevate the next generation of leadership. But, too often, boomers have mistaken staying relevant for staying in control," McKenna continued.
A group of people marh in the streets.via John Smith/Flickr
McKenna says that the problems we face today stem from a crisis in agency because those who want to help are being stifled. "The historical patterns may be interesting and instructive, but they don't soften the day-to-day experience of living through a crisis. People are burned out, isolated, and losing faith in institutions,” she told Newsweek. “It's hard to know how to motivate people when they feel they have no real agency, and that's where I think we're stuck."
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Behold, the Rye Riptides miniboat. 
A man sweating in his car.via
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."