Accusations of bad habits, reckless behavior, and don’t forget about everyone’s favorite accusation, technology-obsessed, Millennials aged from teen to young adults, often get a bad reputation. Yet, in comparison to other generations, they aren’t doing so bad. Teenagers are not doing badly, they are actually doing good.

“Teens are lazy” is a common complaint, but it’s not that they’re lazy, it’s that they are focused on unexpected things.

Rather than individual gain, Millennials tend to invest in organizations that prioritize the greater good more than any previous generation according to the United States Treasury.

Teens want their work to be meaningful, thus the large following of the Black Lives Matters, LGBT community, feminism movements and more.

Today’s teens are also making meaningful changes to lifestyles.

According to the CDC, teens in 1991 who were a part of Generation X had a drinking rate of 81.6%. Since then, Millennials have dropped the rate to 63.2%.

The CDC also shows that teens in Generation X had a cigarette smoking rate of 70.1% which Millennials have dropped to  32.3%

Millennials have started promoting healthier lifestyles rather than drinking and partying.

The complaint that Millennials are addicted to technology isn’t even something that has been proven. The CDC shows that 42.8% of the previous generation’s teens watched three or more hours of television each night, while Millennials decreased this numbers to 24.7%.

It’s obvious that in recent years there has been an increase in technology use. But why is that so bad?

Using technology often requires a basic understanding of how it works. The increase in technology has lead to an increase in math, science and computer interests among teens. It’s these teens that will one day invent a new product or start a new company.

“A generation ago, we were worried to death about teen pregnancy. Before that, we were panicking about teen drinking and driving,”  wrote Kyle Smith in The New York Post.  

Sparking an interest in technology may mean that kids are staying in more and going out less, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  

Millennials are doing things differently, but that doesn’t mean they are doing anything wrong. They are studying new things and entertaining themselves with less dangerous activities while promoting a greater good. Today’s teens really aren’t that bad.