The generation that everyone loves to hate is now the most populous generation in the world. Millennials, those who are 18-34 years old, have surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest living generation. Despite their size, they continue to be an enigma for many due to their unique characteristics and behaviors. However, there are reasons why millennials act differently than other generations before them including technological advances and societal shifts. This blog post will explore millennial traits and shed light on what makes this group so special while also explaining how technology impacts millennials' lives for better or worse.
Millennials Are A Tech-Obsessed Generation, Not To Be Outdone By Their Parents
It is apparent that technology has impacted millennials for the better and they spend most of their time glued to a screen. As many as 31% of millennials see themselves as "power users" when it comes to tech. This age group also spends more time online than offline in any given day by five hours and 32 minutes according to a survey released by Nielsen Holdings in 2019. Millennials' behavior towards technology has had an immense impact on society and today's generation deems doing activities without their phone or computer once inconceivable. For example, individuals under 34 years old send over 2 million texts per minute or roughly 20,000 per second with 150 million texts being sent each day. This statistic is so high that millennials have even surpassed the total number of texts sent worldwide in 2000, which was considered a pivotal year for mobile communication with 148 billion texts being sent daily.
The Friendliest Generation Yet, But One That Is Jaded Towards Life
Millennials are not only tied to their technology but they are also one of the most social generations ever known. Despite this urge to connect with others either through face-to-face contact or online interaction, many millennials feel alone due to their stress levels. The 2017 Mental Health America survey found that young people are afflicted by stress at more than twice the rate of adults and it is becoming an issue as mental health continues to become lessized in modern times.
Despite this fact, millennials can be found almost everywhere and it is rare to see a millennial stay home on the weekends. This friendly generation is out at sports bars, restaurants and even host events for their friends because they place such importance in building strong relationships with others. While many young adults seek friendships for future job opportunities or personal growth, there are still other individuals looking for deeper connections than what can be found online or through simple interactions with people IRL (in real life).
Despite millennials' ability to make friends quickly and easily because of technology, they do not want superficial relationships but instead ones where people can connect at a deeper level and share genuine interaction like never before possible. Millennials also know how to network effectively use social media as a tool to create and maintain these relationships.
Millennials' willingness to connect with strangers and share their thoughts may be too much for some individuals but it is the trade off for having such open-mindedness than previous generations had. While millennials are friendly towards others, they can be jaded towards life because of the struggles they face on a daily basis including economic problems, relationship issues and other stressors that seem to accumulate far more often than other age groups do. The Pew Research Center found that about 40% of millennials believe that the American Dream has become unattainable for them which has led many young adults to put off major life events like marriage, buying a home or even getting married until later in life to avoid financial strain.
The Most Politically Engaged Generation Ever, But One That Hasn't Made Their Vote Count Yet
Political engagement has always been high for millennials because they feel like their voices can make a difference in the world. According to the Public Affairs research foundation only 43% of eligible voters cast ballots during the 2014 midterm elections which means that 57% didn't vote at all. The numbers are even worse when it comes to presidential elections as only 36.4% of young adults voted in 2012 and 45% didn't bother voting at all according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).
Political engagement may be high among millennials but thus far they have not made their vote count. This is something that needs to change because if millennials continue to skip voting in the 2024 presidential election they may lose a seat in Washington D.C. once again, but this time it will for a political leader strongly affected by their votes which could be catastrophic for the future of our nation and how we handle important issues facing us most.
The Most Educated Generation In Current History, But One That Is Unable To Find Good Jobs
More than 42% of young adults have obtained at least a Bachelor's degree which is more people with college education than any other generation before them. According to Pew Research Center, there are 70 million millennials who have been educated beyond high school compared to 37 million Generation X users and 46 million Baby Bo when it comes to those with a high school diploma or less. This means that these individuals will be able to easily find jobs to pay the debt they accumulated from obtaining such advanced education, right? Not exactly.
There are still thousands of millennials looking for good jobs that can allow them to handle living expenses on their own without support from family members or partners. According to The Wall Street Journal, around 20% of millennials have stated that they have postponed major life events due to being stuck in dead-end jobs which has led many young adults relying on the support of others because even though they know how to work hard towards moving up the corporate ladder it is nearly impossible for them until they receive enough experience.
The Most Open-Minded Generation But One That Experiences Racism And Discrimination Everyday
Millennials are more accepting of people who don't look like them or believe in what they believe in compared to any generation before them. According to Pew Research Center, around 43% of 18-33 year olds strongly feel that everyone should be treated equally regardless of how different they may look meaning that racism and discrimination will not stop within this age bracket anytime soon. Millennials, however, need to try harder when comes to opening themselves up for new ideas and beliefs because we need to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to embracing people who are different from us.
Wrapping Up 🌯
Millennials want what is best in life and they are not afraid to work for it. They have proven that their voices count when comes to the future of our nation with the amount of diversity that has been assembled in just one generation which may be able to lead our country into an even better place than before. Millennials need to expand beyond just politics because there are still issues within their own community that needs attention like how millennial women continue to struggle with day to day things like trying to find places where they can pump breast milk while at work without getting fired or paid less. Millennials must help make change within their own community because at the end of the day, they are the ones going to deal with the effects of what happens in the real world.
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