Millennials (generation Y), according to various sources, are supposed to be lazy, overconfident and expecting to be served on a tray. Millennials, too, on the other hand, are said to be a generation that boldly goes ahead and is not afraid of new challenges. Read how it really is with these millennials, find out who they are and what makes them different!

Millennialsare also known asgeneration Y . But who really belongs to the group ofmillennials ? The answer to this question is not so simple. It is easier to explain the origin of the term"millenialsi"- it comes from the English "millennium", meaning "millennium" and, in short, is to describe people born at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Contents:

  1. Who are the Millennials?
  2. What distinguishes millennials?
  3. Who are the baby boomers and the X generation?

Who are the Millennials?

According to various divisions,millenialsiare people born between 1976 and 2000. And yet the former could be the (young) parents of the latter. The American "Newsweek" describes millennials as the generation born between 1977 and 1994, while "The New York Times" in various articles called millennials of people born from 1976 to 1990 or between 1978 and 1998. In turn, for the Times magazine, millennials are people born from 1980 to 2000. And the latter definition has been adopted as the most frequently repeated - millennials are the generation of today's 20- and 30-year-olds. We even have older millennials (those born between 1980 and 1989) and younger millennials (those born between 1990 and 2000).

Millennials are 11 million Poles aged 18-38.

What distinguishes millennials?

Millennials cannot imagine life without a telephone

Regardless of whether the millennials are young or old, there is no problem with using a smartphone or a computer - indeed, without the Internet and access to social media, he will not last long. Generation Y lives in a "global village", does not know the world where new technologies were not at hand. The report "OMG! Or how to talk to Polish millennials" prepared by Odyseja Public Relations and the Mobile Institute shows that 66% of younger and 60% of older millennialsuses a smartphone on a daily basis. The study was conducted in Poland, in the Nordic countries this ratio is 99%. In turn, in 2016, according to GlobalWebindex data, millennials spent 3 hours and 8 minutes a day on their smartphones.

For millennials, friendships are the most important

The above-mentioned study "OMG! …" also shows that for Generation Y friendship is the most important thing - as many as 92% of them indicate it as their priority. A young person is more likely to meet friends than go to their aunt's name day. Millennials also have the most friends on Facebook among all generations - the American agency Pew Research calculated that millennials have an average of 250 friends on this social profile. In turn, as many as 90% of Instagram users are under 35 years of age. It is worth adding, however, that young people are slowly moving away from Facebook - as reported in December 2022 by the New York Post, as many as 35% of young people deleted their Facebook accounts in a short time, but these declines also apply to Instagram, the Tinder dating application, and even more political than entertainment Twitter. Why is this happening? Millennials "have less and less time".

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Who are the baby boomers and the X generation?

Millennials, or generation Y, have their predecessors who also had separate names for their generations:

Baby boomersiare the oldest of these generations - they were born between 1946 and 1964, that is during the post-war "baby boom". This is a generation that does not like to change their place of work - often they just want to work until retirement in one position in one company. Baby boomers are not as open to dialogue with other employees as generation Y, but on the other hand, they are distinguished by responsibility and respect for authorities.

Generation Xare babies of baby boomers - people born between 1965 and 1979. They do well in the world of new technologies, but prefer phone or face-to-face calls. Generation X is a combination of the features of their older and younger colleagues: they are responsible, they can work for several years in one company, but on the other hand, they are not afraid of changes, they have no problems with adapting to new conditions.

Too long? Didn't read

Millennials seem to be a very busy generation. Picture messages appeal to them better than text messages. They are used to being surrounded on all sides by information, and if one does not quickly interest them, they give up reading further. This is the "too long, didn't read" (TL; DR) generation, meaning "the text was too long? So I haven't read it".

A message / advertisement intended for the young generation should immediately attract their attention, be original and creative. If it is full of humor, without digression ( although references to pop culture are welcome), colorful - the greater the chance that it will be liked by the Y generation.

Millennials carefully shopping

They are not as attached to the brand as previous generations - if they like the offer of a new player on the market, they will risk and buy the product without fear. They carefully follow promotions, manufacturers' offers. They rarely get attached to one brand - if the competition proposes something better, they will not hesitate to take advantage of its offer. They are also eager to engage in actions, thanks to which they can support a good cause by buying a specific item. They also like to stock up on iconic products.

Not only the computer

Millennials like to spend time in front of the computer and telephone, but not only that - they play sports more often than previous generations (26% of older and 32.5% of younger millennials exercise at least twice a week). Millennials are also eager to spend time with friends in the city - 34% of older and 32% of younger millennials do so. The difference may be that older people earn more on their own and are therefore more independent.

Millennials think they deserve a lot

This generation has been brought up with the belief that "the whole world is at your feet" and that "you are special". That's why millennials assume that they deserve a good job, with flexible working hours and the possibility to take time off when they wish.

They are most often well-educated, know languages, are curious about the world, and do not remember the times of the Polish People's Republic. They grew up in a world of unlimited possibilities and when they collide with reality, e.g. after graduation, they often find it difficult to adapt to new conditions.

Authorities not for them

As many as 30% of the American Generation Y consider themselves non-believers, and 50% of them - do not hold certain political views. Millennials do not need authorities and it is difficult for them to be someone like that - they treat even bosses at work not as superiors, but as equal employees, but most often with more experience.

Not as bad as they write them

"Time" magazine in 2013 wrote about the Y generation that they are lazy, that it is the "me, me, me" generation, but at the same time "they will save us". The publication generated a lot of negative comments, and there were voices defending the younger generation. Because although they are indeed often uncritical towards each other, they live with their parents, they prefernot to take much responsibility - e.g. a loan for an apartment, and rent it from someone all the time, they also have their advantages. Millennials are usually creative, looking not only for income, but also for development opportunities. They are able to give up a better salary to do something interesting. They like new challenges and are easy to change.

Of course, all divisions of human characters and properties according to the date of their birth are only part of the truth. After all, in every generation there will be both lazy and hardworking people, and those who are not afraid of change, and those who will not decide for anything.

Category:

Psychology