The City Club of Central Oregon put on a forum Thursday that was equal parts educational opportunity and an episode of “Mythbusters.”

Close to 150 club members and guests filled a conference room at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend to learn the truth about a supposed scourge of the Earth.

Three local millennials made up a panel of experts tasked with explaining themselves to a room chock full of baby boomers. Titled “What do Millennials Think About Myths About Millennials,” the event challenged the stereotype of today’s young adults being slacker baristas living in their parents’ basement. Or, as Oregon regional economist Damon Runberg termed them, “butt-sitters.”

Much of the 90-minute session focused on how generational perceptions shape many of the fears held against those in America’s on-deck circle. The next parent to turn to their child and say, “Yeah, you guys are way better at this whole living thing. Sorry we screwed up” will likely be the first.

Moey Newbold, communications coordinator for Central Oregon Landwatch, took on the label of “slacktivist,” meaning a person who makes a fuss about an issue on the Internet but doesn’t do anything tangible about it.

She had audience members raise their hands if they used a Facebook photo filter to shade their profile picture the colors of the French flag following the attacks in Paris. About 30 hands went up.

“Congratulations,” Newbold said. “You’re all slacktivists!”

So maybe millennials aren’t all antipathetic pacifists. What does it matter if they are incapable of functioning because of chronic screen addiction? John Dempsey confronted that notion by first confirming it: 87 percent of millennials are never without their cellphones, and they’re also twice as likely as older generations to use said phones while going to the bathroom.

“We’ve grown up with technology that adapts to us,” Dempsey said, citing society’s move from towering desktop computers to laptops and tablets.

Not immediately available was the number of people likely to be checking their phones at any point during a City Club presentation. It’s estimated to be between 10 and 12 percent.

The millennial economy is different from the one their parents and grandparents grew up in, Dempsey explained. The so-called sharing economy means a lessened incentive to own multiple houses or even a car. Start-up ventures such as Airbnb and Uber have to some extent replaced the picket-fence American Dream.

Millennials are also the first generation to grow up in a digital world.

“The baby-boomer generation looked at employment primarily as a relationship with a company and a career,” said Deschutes County Commissioner and City Club member Alan Unger. “There’s not as much value placed in that relationship now from either side. It’s different, but not necessarily bad.”

Fine. Millennials might be more capable beings than they’re given credit for at present. It’s irrelevant since they never leave the nest, right? Runberg showed otherwise as he tackled the supposed epidemic of latchkey adults.

Studies do show that more millennials live at home than before the most recent recession. They also present what appears to be a rise in “idle” teenagers — those not employed and not actively searching for a job. Runberg pointed out a major problem with that data set: There’s been a spike in college enrollment of late, and students living in dorms are counted as living at home.

So there you have it. Millennials are far from a sure bet to bankrupt the country while wearing out the cushions on grandpa’s old La-Z-Boy.

“I raised two (millennials) myself, so I have an understanding there,” Unger said. “They just have a different perspective and maybe a harder time finding their path than before.”

Not all of the stereotypes are wrong, though. At the end of his segment, Runberg thanked the audience for inviting him to participate on the panel. After all, he said, millennials aren’t known to turn down a free lunch.

— Reporter: 541-382-1811 wrubin@bendbulletin.com