This year we made history. This past summer, I was but one of the billions of people overwhelmed with pride and happiness for the men, women, and other gender identities who were vindicated by the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriages. The social reform we have spawned will go down in history, defining generations of open-minded revolutionaries in the charge for equality. I am ecstatic. I consider myself infinitely fortunate to have been born in such a socially conscious era. Each and every day, conservative moral standards are challenged by the new voices of today’s youth – my generation of misfits and phone-hounds.

I was born in 1997. I was raised on All The Right Type and Kid Pix, exercising my creativity through puzzle-based computer games and artistic programs. From age nine, my generation relied on technology as the notebooks in which we wrote turned into Microsoft Word documents. Pencils turned into keyboards, and desks to monitors. Our teachers encouraged us to use the world of information at our fingertips to learn and create and to satisfy our curiosity concerning the world around us.

When I turned 12, all of this changed.

The very people who had bewitched our minds with the charm of new technology were now hell-bent on taking it away. Time and time again, I heard: “Your generation have all got ADD because you can’t get off your computers and phones,” “Maybe it’s the technology that’s made you all so aloof,” and my favorite, “Why are computers brainwashing our kids into being narcissistic, simple-minded zombies?” Even now, as I sit at my laptop creatively writing or toying with video editing software, I am accused of “being on Facebook all the time” and “letting my brain turn to mush.”

Now it is 2015. I am 18. An active contributor to multiple social media platforms, I have grown up with generations of Tumblr bloggers and Twitter users. I have felt humbled by the rise of YouTube and the many ways it has inspired people to pursue their dreams. I have used the Internet as a means of self-expression, sharing my writing and music with the world. I have had the pleasure of meeting many open-minded, socially enlightened individuals. I have been bombarded with positive messages on every social website that has taken me into its cyber home.

With the legalization of gay marriage and the spread of gender equality movements such as HeForShe, my social feed seems to be exploding with overwhelming support for equality and respect for individuality. Emma Watson’s address to the United Nations surpassed 15 million views on YouTube, and Facebook’s Celebrate Pride campaign has consumed its users’ newsfeeds. Internet stars like Joey Graceffa, Ingrid Nilsen, and Caitlyn Jenner have used social media to reach out to teens struggling with their sexual identities, by sharing their own inspiring coming-out stories. Popular artists such as Macklemore have released chart-topping singles promoting equality, such as “Same Love,” the video of which has been viewed and shared 145 million times.

Campaigns for social justice have gone instantly viral, most recently “Justice For Leelah Alcorn” and “Pray for Charleston.” Racist, sexist, and other derogatory terms are shunned both online and within the walls of my high school. Gender neutral washrooms are beginning to be opened. The transgender community has been widely accepted thanks to web stars like Gigi Gorgeous and Netflix series like “Orange Is the New Black.” Words like “sl*t” and “wh*re” have almost become extinct as feminism gains mainstream momentum. And this is barely a sliver of the progress made.

I, for one, have sat through many long dinner stories that start with “when I was your age” and end with “we didn’t even have the Internet, and we were much happier.” But what did “much happier” entail? Back when my parents were teenagers, it was normal to use racist slang in everyday conversation. Words like “retarded” were acceptable. The idea of third wave feminism was laughed at, and sexual education still had a long way to go. Does that sound “much happier” to you?

Despite all this, we know our fight is not over. Three years ago, when I was enrolled in eighth grade sexual education, I felt scammed because never once did we discuss female sexuality. We were taught that only men had sexual desires, and it was our duty to hold them off until marriage.

As a woman, I feel cheated by the media for placing so many unrealistic standards and expectations on me every day. At my senior prom, I went dateless when all my friends had escorts. I remember my dad saying, “It must be strange going to prom without a boyfriend. Are you sure you’re okay?” I found this question odd. If I were a boy, would I get the same reaction? I look forward to the day when women are paid the same pay as men for the same work. I hope it comes soon.

Despite all this, I have the utmost faith in what our generation can accomplish in the constant fight for equality and justice. I am proud to have grown up on a computer, to have gone through my hardest years in such an accepting online environment. I am proud to have contributed to one of the most important social revolutions in history. I am proud
that I never got off “that friggin’ phone.”