Statistics on the millennial generation

The Pew Research Center has some new statistics on millennials — people who are currently aged 18-29 in America. They are less white, more socially networked, more likely to be financially dependent on their parents, and more likely to sleep with a cell phone by their bed.

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IamInnocent

Yup, I am all those things, well, except that both my parents are on a rather permanent leave…

Oh, and I am 56.

Ah, statistics!
tyger11

I’m on Boing Boing. I only pay attention to data from the Pew Pew Pew Research Center.
Billy Blight

I always preferred “internet generation”, but millennial is better than “entitled generation”.
Anonymous

According to the Census a generation in the US is around 25 years. So where does this 12 year generation come from? Sound like the start of a marketing campaign to me.
- Robert
  
  I thought one generation was roughly 20 years. I’m a Gen X (born between 1961 and 1981). Gen X is also Gen 13 (I particularly enjoyed the book 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?
  
  Dating the generations from 1776, i.e. considering only American generations, that would be roughly 14 years per generation.
  
  Gen Y, the Millenials, should be 1981-2001, although there’s disagreement and overlap with Gen X. Same thing with Gen Z: it should be 2001-2011, but apparently some people are lumping in people born in the early 90′s with Gen Z.
  
  In the end, these are all sociological divisions, so that there’s no single number of years per generation. I’m somewhat surprised that recent generations are so long, considering that technology advances exponentially.
SamSam

Yay, great to hear that I’m less white that all you old fogies!

For seriousness, studies like this confirm the growing trend in America toward liberalism, secularism, and increased education. Do those people who still fight against things like gay marriage actually believe that they are going to win in the long-term? They must know that they are the last stand in a losing battle against progressivism.

BTW, where does it say “more likely to be financially dependent on their parents?” I couldn’t find that. And I assume, if it says it somewhere, that it’s comparing it with other generations at the same time?
- IronEdithKidd
  
  “About one-in-eight older Millennials (ages 22 and older) say they’ve “boomeranged” back to a parent’s home because of the recession. (See chapters 3 and 5 in the full report)”
  
  I think they were paraphrasing their own report.
  
  Here’s a statistic they probably aren’t tracking: how many boomers have crashed the couches of their Gen X kids? I had that happen for almost two whole years. Anyone else?
  - Anonymous
    
    Check, happened here too. The `rents dream retirement was gobbled up by inflation and the housing bubble. Upside for both, we got free daycare for a while. I’m also having fun being a curmudgeon talking about the lost decade. Kids these days…
  - SamSam
    
    I read that line, but “more likely to be financially dependent” implies “more likely than other generations,” and, presumably, more likely than other generations at the same point in their lives. (After all, they’re not comparing them to 10-year-olds, who are obviously dependent on their parents, and 90-year-olds, who are obviously not dependent on their own parents…).
    
    So I just didn’t see any statement backing up the line that millennials are “more likely to be financially dependent on their parents,” but maybe it’s deeper in the report somewhere.
Anonymous

Here is what I would have said a few months ago:

Gen y begins in 1977 for 3 reasons:

1. The “Baby Bust” REALLY ended that year – a chart on a website proves it. According to the chart, 3.3 million babies were born in ’77, while ’76 had 3.14m (a 159,000 difference).
2. Those born that year just came of age when the web first became available to the general public in ’95, hence the term “net generation,” or another name for the millenials.
3. Studies have shown that those born in the late ’70s have very similar attitudes to those born in the ’80s (the former also voted for Obama by a 66 – 32 voting margin).

Now, however, I believe that ANYONE can be gen y if he/she is tech – savvy, open – minded to ALL kinds of diversity, and is into the latest music and entertainment. There are just some people who do not fit into the generation to which they were assigned, which is why I do not believe in using dates to define where an individual belongs.
Anonymous

I do not believe in categorizing generations according to their “dates”, but rather by a person’s characteristics. For example, ANYONE can be a millenial if he/she is open – minded to ALL kinds of diversity and tech – savvy. I was born in 1979, and am both of the above, and this makes me gen y.
Anonymous

…brought to you by the dataminers at Facebook.
Church

“… more likely to sleep with a cell phone by their bed.”

By their bed? Hell, half the time I sleep with my earbuds in.

You youngsters are going to have to step it up.
jrishel

Aw, man, being 29 still gets you lumped in with the millennials? I feel like I was just told to sit at the kids table at Thanksgiving.

[ ] less white
[x] socially networked
[ ] financially dependent on their parents
[x] likely to sleep with a cell phone by their bed
Alan

@ jrishel: At least 18-29 is a narrow range. Technically, I’m a baby-boomer (though I totally deny it), and so are my parents. Ewww.

My daughter is 17, meaning, I suppose, she’s on the vanguard of the next generation behind the millenials. She sleeps with her cell in her bed. It’s also her alarm clock.
ephcee

I am all of these things at 26. Although I’m fairly financially independent and if anything I’m more white as time goes on…
Anonymous

As the proud parent of three millenials, I agree with the part about being financially dependent on their parents. Does it say anything about them being more apt to sleep until noon and complain about any requests for physical labor?
Anonymous

I love reading all these Gen X-ers pissed off about Generation Y even though they are the ones who raised us and made us who we are today. Jason Dorsey anyone? give it a try.
skysky

I’m a Millennial and this squares pretty nicely with what I see around me. I think that a lot of us are respectful and kind to older folks because a lot of them have helped us do things like go to college amid this recession.

The views we don’t share with older generations are numerous, but I think we’re waiting for them to die off so we can fix those :)
Teller

Enjoy your Millenialism. It’s the last time the world will beat a path to your style.
Suds

Hey! I’m looking for a job. Get off my back! ;)

I’m all four of the categories. Do I win a prize?!
Anonymous

Wait, so, if I’m 34, what generation am I in if I sleep with my cell by my bed? (Where else would I put it?)
mccrum

Don’t most people sleep with a phone by their bed really? This study should simply reflect the fact that more people are comfortable just getting rid of their land lines. I haven’t missed mine in seven years.
Anonymous

Where’s the “More likely to expect everything be handed to them”?
das memsen

wait- there’s an update from the year 2021:

[ ] less white
[ ] socially networked
[ ] financially dependent on their parents
[ ] likely to sleep with a cell phone by their bed
[ ] unable to focus on anything for more than 3.6 seconds
[ ] still in therapy over not getting that promotion 7 years ago
[ ] fell into a comatose state after their iPads died during the great power grid crash of 2019
Beezy

It seems as if no one read the article about the dangers of cell phones that was listed in the comments the other day.

http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radiation

It will certainly keep me from keeping the cell phone by the bed.
Anonymous

“The views we don’t share with older generations are numerous, but I think we’re waiting for them to die off so we can fix those :)” Hah, I’m in my 40′s and that’s what we said. ;)
Anonymous

Gen X gave you video games, punk rock and PCs… Take that Generation Y.
- das memsen
  
  as much as i’d love to claim credit for giving the future generations punk rock, um, i think it came slightly before our time. the best we could garner is a shitty rehash from the pacific northwest that someone dubbed “grunge.” sorry, gen Y.
  
  we did bring you a resurgence of good american independent cinema, though… which then got co-opted, oy, don’t get me started…
  
  …well, at least we brought the world detached, self-referential irony.
Gloria

“more likely to sleep with a cell phone by their bed.”

Hmm. Is that supposed to mean something? Some kind of comment? I never bothered getting a landline when I moved out of my parents’ home. Why duplicate?

And as for people who keep their landlines — does that mean anything either? I don’t think it’s a comment on whether they can “adapt” or anything; I think it just means that a lot of people are known by a particular number and it’s a *tad* too much hassle for most to make sure everything is switched over to your cell exclusively.