“Millennials love praise!”
“Millennials love Starbucks!”
“Millennials love technology!”
Now who are we really describing here, Millennials? Maybe. But we could also be describing most of America. What actually makes someone a Millennial? The year they were born, or their mindset?
Most studies on Millennials agree that the generation is categorized by anyone born from the early 80s to 2000. However, it would be easy to argue that there are many more “Millennials” than the 75 million that were born in that specific time period.
The characteristic breakdown
Some common signs of a Millennial, generally speaking, are being tech savvy, zealous to learn, eager for praise and, according to research analyst Heather Ward in a New York Times article, liking specialty drinks at coffee shops more than any other generation.
It could be naïve, but most of these characteristics seem to describe a lot of people: moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas, professors, athletes, entertainers, the list goes on, and much of the list doesn’t fall into the Millennial generation.
It’s not about when a person was born, but rather a conglomeration of when they were born, where they were born, how they were raised, who their friends are as well as a variety of other factors.
So these characteristics may describe a majority of the Millennial generation, but by no means can all 75 million “Millennials” be clumped into the same category.
A person may be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t like to be praised rather than criticized for their work. Just because some of this younger generation were spoiled into thinking they can do no wrong doesn’t mean the entire Millennial population feels the same way.
Of course Millennials seem tech savvy to other generations, but only because they were born into a computer-driven world. Even in their lifetimes, Millennials have faced major advances and changes. They’ve had to adapt to constantly changing technologies just as Generation X had to and the Baby Boomers before them and the Silent generation before them.
A personal touch
Pew Research Center created a test in February of 2010 entitled “How Millennial Are You?” So naturally, I took the quiz. As it turns out, I fall much nearer to Generation X (1965-1980), than to my God-given Millennial title.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not implying there is a problem with the Millennial generation. I just don’t believe each generation is strictly set to the patterns and trends to which it was born.
I could name ten people off the top of my head who were born before 1980 and understand technology and how to use social media to their advantage way better than my 21-year-old self ever could. I also know people in my age range that despise coffee and all things Starbucks. It goes both ways.
To me, the differences and similarities between generations come down to a certain mindset. Yes, I like to be praised for my good work because my parents praised me and gave me value growing up, just as their parents did for them and just as I plan to do for my future children.
I think our culture has become hyper-aware of generational patterns and statistics and are simply fulfilling a prophecy they have given to themselves. I believe there is some truth behind the trends we see, but most of it seems like a whole lot of hype.
An article from Elite Daily talks of how entitled Millennials are and how we are never satisfied, but constantly want more. This is where I think a lot more than birth year comes into play. I’ve had a job since I was 13 because my parents wanted me to learn how to work hard. That’s not to say I have been completely on my own financially, because I haven’t, but they wanted me to “learn the value of a dollar.” When it came to going to the movies, eating out with friends or buying clothes I didn’t necessarily need, that was up to me to foot the bill.
Now what?
Millennial or not, people are constantly changing. A technique that reaches a certain demographic group now will likely not work a year from now, or even in six months. Generational research may work for the time being, but the only way to truly understand people is to get out from behind the desk. Stop using surveys to get to know someone and go talk with them.
One thing is certain: The best way to get to know a group of people, is to actually meet them. That’s right, face-to-face contact. No computer screen, no text message. Hey, take them out for a specialty coffee drink. I hear that’s pretty popular. For now.
