"The Myth of the Sharing-Obsessed, Optimistic but Oversensitive Millennial Had Taken Hold"

"Despite skepticism about this fatalistic view of history, Strauss and Howe's thinking about generations—and particularly about millennials—had outsize influence. While promoting Generations, Strauss boasted that 'Al Gore is sending this book to every member of Congress, he believes in it so much.' The Washington Post’s review marveled at the word-of-mouth publicity the book had garnered. The authors expounded their theory in an 18-page feature in The Atlantic, and saw their ideas recycled in endless turn-of-the-millennium columns about the future of the country's youth.
"Perhaps their most influential champion was David Brooks."

Laura Marsh at The New Republic laments that "[t]he media decided what millennial culture and values would be decades ago, before some of us were even born."