A baby boomer has explained why she thinks millennials could be “the middle child of history,” and it is a result of her own generation refusing to let go.
Marilyn McKenna, 62, from Seattle, Washington, shared a video on TikTok (@marilyn_mckenna) in which she referenced William Strauss and Neil Howe’s 1997 book called The Fourth Turning. The book suggests that we live through 80 to 100-year cycles containing four turnings, and that there are generational archetypes in the order of prophets, nomads, heroes and artists.
Millennials are considered a hero generation, as McKenna told Newsweek that they are “meant to rise during a societal crisis to help rebuild or redefine the system.”
Indeed, millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, so many of them came of age during a time of recession, war, economic instability, and fear of the future. However, McKenna said that millennials have shown a “desire to create more-equitable systems” despite the adversity.
If it follows a natural cycle, that all sounds simple enough, right?
Well, McKenna said that her generation has prevented their younger counterparts from taking up the mantle. In her view, millennials have been tasked with fixing a broken system, but denied the opportunity by boomers refusing to let go of their power and influence.
“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.
“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.
In fact, McKenna thinks her generation should have passed the metaphorical baton of leadership over to millennials as much as a decade ago. This is precisely the reason she thinks millennials “are screwed,” because they haven’t been given a chance.
But that isn’t to say it will never happen.
McKenna said she believes there might still be time for millennials to come to the fore, but we face “more systematic collapse first.”
“If boomers continue to cling to power and millennials aren’t given their moment, we risk skipping a generation that could have helped bridge what’s coming. The risk isn’t just generational resentment—it’s a leadership vacuum when we need clarity,” McKenna said.
After sharing her thoughts on TikTok about how this theory pertains to modern-day society, the video went viral with more than 306,600 views and over 32,400 likes at the time of writing.
The response has been overwhelming, as the clip appears to have resonated with so many people. McKenna feels there is “a lot of pain” among millennials and she hopes her post can validate how people feel.
It won’t solve the dilemma, but perhaps it can raise some awareness.
McKenna told Newsweek: “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. 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.”
Many social-media users took to the comments to share their perspective, leading to over 5,000 comments on the TikTok post so far.
One comment reads: “4 generations stuck waiting cause the boomers can’t gracefully step aside.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “Boomers definitely pulled the ladder up & are laughing at us.”
A third person replied: “Gen X getting forgotten once again.”
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