Each generation believes they are the best one ever. Yet, as we solve today’s problems we are invariably creating new ones for tomorrow.
I am a young “Gen-Xer,” one of those age 30-45 (born roughly between 1964-1979), and can sometimes find myself chuckling at the cultural differences between our generations. The previous group are the “Boomers,” which of course include my parents as the pioneers, coming as the kids of the “Silent” generation who lived through the two World Wars and the Great Depression. The Boomers, combining ingenuity, hard work, and sheer size as a people group, shaped everything from health care, to the economy to politics and education. Things have come easy to them as they’ve worked so hard, and rode a tide of prosperity our nation has never before seen. The Gen-Xers have been told all our lives we are smart enough, good enough, and that everyone should like us. We’re hopped up on self-esteem and if any generation deserves the label “Awesome,” it would be us, right?
Well, perhaps the next one is more subtly awesome. What are the defining traits of emerging group of adults today — ages 18-29 — the Millennials? As we enter a New Year, how about a look at how the next generation looks at the world and lives in it.
Fast Company Design’s Infographic Of The Day: The Blessing And Curse Of Being A Millennial
Fast Co. Design’s founding editor Cliff Kuang writes:
Millennials are well-educated, tech-savvy, and independent. They’re also cursed by a bad economy. But all this might have a silver lining…
You heard constantly about the millennial generation–that they’re tech-savvy, and different from everyone that came before. It’s not just hype, or vanity on the part of the youngsters: People who are 18-29 right now have markedly different attitudes, beliefs, and mores than any generation preceding them.
This infographic by Online Graduate Programs does a good job of summing up all that data. First, who are the Millennials, and what are their politics?:
