While much has been made of millennials' generational uniqueness — they're exceptionally political independent and internet savvy, for instance — survey analysis from Pew Research suggests that pessimism is not a millennial distinctive.
While it is true that young people are less confident in the future of America than their elders, older generations were similarly worried when they were around the same age:
Adding further complexity to generational assessments, millennials are presently the generation most likely to say America's best years are ahead of her, suggesting intragenerational differences or perhaps simply higher levels of both uncertainty and hope.
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