The Millennial generation

Millennials are setting economic trends and breaking history records as the leading generation on so many avenues.

Millennials are the largest generation in history and have stark differences across the boards in areas such as in economic patterns, love, health and wellness as compared to generation x and the baby boomers.

Who Are the Millennial Generation?

The start of the millennial generation is often debated but most demographers believe the millennial generation began the year of 1980 and goes up until the year 2000.

The millennial generation is much larger than the baby boomers, which at the time was hailed the largest generation in history, with the millennial population estimated at 92 million and the baby boomer generation population estimated at 77 million according to the United States Census Bureau.

Digital Natives

The millennial generation grew up with the most powerful resource known to man, the internet. For this reason, they are the most tech savvy and digitally skilled generation in the United States.

In a survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the Media Behavior and Influence Study, representatives from the millennial generation, generation x and baby boomers were asked what online activities they regularly do for fun and entertainment. The categories included playing video games, watching TV online and downloading music and/ or video.

50 percent of millennials said they played video games compared to 28 percent of generation x and 16 percent of baby boomers who said they also play video games regularly for fun and entertainment.

38 percent of millennials said they watch TV online compared to 25 percent of generation x and 18 percent of baby boomers who said they also regularly watch TV online.

43 percent of millennials said they download music and/ or videos compared to 32 percent of generation x and 18 percent of baby boomers who said they also regularly download music and/ or videos online.

Marriage, Children and Property Owners

Millennials are left with less money than previous generations due to lower employment levels and smaller incomes. With less money to spend millennials are putting off commitments like marriage and home ownership. The average marriage age in the 1970’s was 23 years old and in the 2010’s the average marriage age is 30 years old.

In the year 1981 over 40 percent of adults aged 18 through 31 owned their own homes and were married. In the year 2007 28 percent of adults aged 18 through 31 owned their own homes and were married and in 2012 just 21 percent of adults aged 18 through 31 owned their own homes and were married. This data is credited to the Pew Research Center.

But it is not just marriage and home ownership that millennials are putting off, they are also waiting longer to have children. Where the median age for a woman to begin having children was once 25 in the 1970’s, it is now 30 years old.

A New Economy

Millennials are also proven to be less reluctant to buy items such as cars and other luxury goods. Instead, they are supporting a new set of services that give access to products without the trouble of ownership, giving way to what is now being called a “sharing economy.”

A sharing economy is a socio – economic system where assets or services are shared between private individuals for free or for a fee by means of the internet.

Popular companies deemed as examples that are spearheading this new form of consumption are Uber, Airbnb and Instacart.

“25 years from now, car sharing will be the norm, and car ownership an anomaly,” says Jeremy Rifkin an author and economist according to Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research.

Education

The millennial generation is the most educated generation in the history of the United States and in turn the most who hold student loan debt. The average student loan debt for 25 year old’s is an estimated 22 thousand dollars, according to the Federal Reserve.

Recent graduate, Tyler says his main priority is getting his student debt paid off as quickly as he can. “If that means I have to live with my parents for a few more years and cease any additions to my wardrobe then so be it but I can’t bear to have this debt weighed on my credit score any longer.”

Many millennial graduates share Tyler’s sentiment with student loan payments taking up an increasing chunk of postgraduate millennials’ income.

Shopping and Retail

The affinity millennials have for technology is modifying the retail space. Because product information, reviews and price comparisons are at their fingertips, millennials are turning to brands that can offer the most convenience at the least cost.

And expectedly, the generation who lives online, buys online.

According to a survey conducted yearly from 2008 through 2014 by the Office for National Statistics in the United Kingdom, 16 through 24 year old’s were asked if they purchased anything online over the last year.

In 2008 well over 60 percent said they did purchase online during the past year. In 2011 78 percent said they did purchase online during the past year and in 2014 83 percent said they purchased online during the past year.

This steady growth regarding online consumption was anticipated by many economists.

Health and Wellness

For millennials, exercising and healthy eating habits are matters taken more seriously than previous generations. They are exercising more, eating healthier and smoking less than generation x and the baby boomers. Being the most digitally inclined generation, millennials are using fitness and track training data apps to monitor their exercise habits and online information to find the healthiest foods.

Communication

Although millennials love their social media accounts, they are less than social butterflies as generation x and the baby boomers were. Millennials are less likely to communicate or engage with others in person but they do communicate and engage more frequently than the two previous generations. This is due to constant access to friends and family via text message, instant messengers and video calling. Millennials are also less likely to meet up with friends or family in person but this is justified due to various forms of communication available.