What is a millennial?
If you were born between 1980 and 2000, you are a member of the Millennial Generation. It is likely that your parent is apart of the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946-1964) and you were probably brought up with dozens of trophies, an adult's eyes watching your every move, and Full House. Your interest about your generation shouldn't stop when you’re catching yourself singing Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You” in late January, watching reruns of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, or finding an old Blockbuster VHS of Shrek that you forgot to return. You must know about the history you were born into– the moments that define you and your fellow Millennials.
Defining traits and stereotypes
Millennials are:
- Made up of 80 million people– that makes the Millennials the biggest generation in American history (Stein)
- America’s most racially and ethnically diverse generation yet (Rainer).
- Surprisingly optimistic about the future of their professional careers. Despite the setbacks the older Millennials faced in emerging into professional careers during the Great Recession, they are determined to find new ways to success. (NCF)
- Less connected to religious beliefs (Root) and politics, more connected to social groups (such as friends and colleagues) (Cramer)
- Narcissistic and fame-obsessed. Sadly, there’s more than just a few crabby members of the older generations to prove it. People in their 20s are three times more likely to have narcissistic personality disorder than people who are 65 or older. (Stein)
- More accepting of mixed-race marriage and gay marriage than previous generations. (Rainer)
- Advocates for religious and racial tolerance. (Towns)
- Considered a very happy and optimistic generation. (NCF)
- Deemed as lazy, partially because older generations see the increase in young people working at low-wage jobs. (Cramer)
- America’s most educated generation with a high school graduation rate of 72% (of that 68% go to college). (NCF)
- Environmentally aware (NCF)
How history has affected the MILLENNIALS
The Great Recession:
The Great Recession has put a crushing financial burden on the older Millennials. By being the youngest professionals in America’s workforce, the Millennials inherently have the least experience. This combination puts them at the weakest and most disposable position in a company. The recession caused an increase in freelance, contracting, and low-wage jobs because of the decrease in higher-paying careers in the workforce available. Inevitably, Millennials have lower homeownership (which means living in their childhood bedroom a little longer) and lower retirement savings (no thanks to most companies ditching pensions)(Cramer). There is one good outcome of the Great Recession. Millennials decided it would be easier to stay in school longer and ,simply putting it, waiting out the economic problems. By doing so, not only is there more student debt than there is credit card debt in America, but the Millennials are also the most educated generation in American history (NCF).
No, the Millennials are not all lazy, they’re just busy studying in their parents’ homes and working at whatever job they can get to start to pay off their student loans until there are more jobs available.
Also – between the Great Recession and witnessing what the “all work, no play” attitudes of the Baby Boomers can do to a family and individuals emotionally – Millennials have decided that a balanced work/family life is essential to maintaining their remarkable happiness (NCF).
9/11:
It goes without saying that the events of September 11, 2001 changed America forever. But for the youngest people in the country, the terrifying and shocking acts of terrorism in 2001 and the thought of a war on home-soil would define their generation forever. History had always brought forth new racial/religious groups for America to be afraid of (from witches to Chinese immigrants to communists during the Second Red Scare). The Millennial Generation responded differently than previous generations. They became more religiously and racially tolerant. (NCF and Towns). The Millennials only know an America with maximum-security airports, racial profiling, patriotism, war on terrorism, and the thought that the NSA is reading their texts (Patriot Act).
Social Media:
The Millennials are social media’s guinea pigs. They’re the first generation to use social media, and certainly not the last. The older Millennials shamefully reminisce on their Myspace profiles while the younger ones browse through Vine and Instagram. From the beginning, social media has had everyone hooked, and there’s no signs of letting go. There is a reason why the young generation can’t seem to release its grasp on the next Buzzfeed article or Kardashian selfie. It’s because they’re addicted. A study at Elon University revealed that “participants are suffering from three and a half of the five tested components of addiction” (Cabral 12). The fact that Millennials are psychologically addicted to tweeting and updating Facebook may be alarming, but they are transforming the world into a fast-paced, highly connected outlet for everyone to share their voices. Since 88% of Millennials get their news from Facebook (“How Millennials…”) and anyone can post on Facebook, the Millennials have created a source of news that is instant and diverse. Recent news posted through social media like the Baltimore riots and the legacy of transgender teen, Leelah Alcorn, not only spread quickly, but created a diverse platform and gave all sides a voice to tell their story. Many people roll their eyes at the younger generations who get all their information online, but if they thought about what the world would have been like if MLK could share his ideas to a global audience in just the click of a button, or how opinions of Japanese-Americans would have changed if they could share their story on a blog post, social media can be a wonderful advance– not a setback– to our growing society.