The Millennials
Born after 1982
About 100 million people
33% more than boomers
Ethnically diverse
39% minority
The Millennials
Double income family, but
“cherished” generation
Baby on Board
Used to and expect a lot
Driven by fun and high energy, but
also era of increased community
The Millennials
Older parents
Mom’s age at birth
1974
24.4
1997
27.0
Smaller families
Median # siblings = 1
The Millennials
More parental education
Parent with degree
1973
26.0 %
1998
42.5 %
Slowing of family breakup
The Millennials
Special
Sheltered
Confident
Team-oriented
Achieving
Pressured
Conventional
The Millennials
Howe & Strauss (2000)
In general, Millennials are
• less vulgar
• less sexually active
• less violent
than the youth culture that adults
have created for them
The Millennials
Love to cook… but
often eat later (10 p.m.)
like diverse foods
learned “from the box”
Spend about 13 – 27 $B per year
56 mall visits per year; 90 min. each;
$US 38.50 per visit
School
Howe & Strauss (2000)
First generation since 1945 to
face higher academic standards
than the last
Teachers rate elementary school
students as more proficient…less
so for high school
School
Howe & Strauss (2000)
I.Q. scores are 14 points over
grandparents, 7 points over
parents
Used to and expect teamwork
Community oriented
Technology literate
The Millennials
“Today preschoolers acquainted
with cell phones, pagers, and
personal computers go into
kindergartens where chalkboards
and overhead projectors represent
the state of the art.”
- Bill Gates, The Road Ahead
Technology
Levin & Arafeh (2002); Jones (2002)
94% use web for school
70% use IM & 81% use email
56% prefer the web to telephone
84% university students have own CPU
Notebooks replacing desktops
67% get their “valid” info from web
Politics
Stronger gun
control
Downloading
music theft?
More
accepting?
Legalize pot
Yes %
No %
47
53
29
71
83
17
51
26
Politics
Pro Choice
Favor the
WTO
Main source
political news
1. Education
Yes %
No %
58
42
56
44
74 web
26 all others
2. Civil rights
3. Environment
Current Psych Students
Mean
Median
Mode
How well did HS prepare you?
4.83
5.0
5.0
University teaching better?
4.80
5.0
5.0
Comfortable with technology?
5.56
6.0
7.0
How much stress in daily life?
4.08
4.0
5.0
Stress re: education?
4.94
5.0
6.0
Current Psych Students
Mean
Median
Mode
5.52
6.0
6.0
Confident you can shape future? 5.50
5.0
5.0
Hours watching TV per week
5.51
3.0
2.0
CPU use: school per week
8.04
5.0
3.0
14.09
10.0
10.0
Optimism re: success in life?
CPU use: personal per week
Most Difficult Adjustment at University
Time management
Information overload
Work load
Exams
Living with someone else
Being away from home
Being responsible for self
Balancing academic and social life
Info Age Mindset
Frand, 2000
Computers aren’t technology
The Internet is better than TV
Reality is no longer real
Doing is more important than knowing
Learning resembles Nintendo more
than logic
Info Age Mindset
Frand, 2000
Multitasking is a way of life
Typing is preferred to handwriting
Staying connected is essential
Zero tolerance for delay
Consumer and creator are blurred
What Can Managers Do?
Be a leader
Provide challenges
Allow for work with friends
Allow for fun in the workplace
Be flexible
Claire Raines: Connecting Generations
Contact me:
Mike Atkinson
Department of Psychology
The University of Western Ontario
London Ontario
519-661-2111 ext 84644
atkinson@uwo.ca
NOTE:
The following slides present some
survey data re: student opinions
about university. These may or
may not be presented in the talk.
Surveys
1997 Survey
• Acadia, Dal, Memorial, Laurier,
Toronto, Nipissing, Manitoba,
Lethbridge, SFU
• Random sample: 2713 replies
• Mean age = 25
• 63% female
University Debt
73% had some debt
Mean = $17,577
Med = $15,000
Also a mean credit card debt of
$1,800
Grading the University
Students asked to “grade” their
university for contributions to
personal growth
Means ranged from a high “D” to
a low “B”
Top Five Areas
• Gaining broad knowledge of
major field
• Working independently
• Thinking logically
• Written communication skills
• Commitment to life-long learning
Bottom Five Areas
• Entrepreneurial skills
• Appreciation for the Arts
• Math skills
• Specific employment skills
• General employment skills
Other Surveys: Dissatisfaction
Course availability: 20%
Seminar availability: 23%
Quality of advising: 25%
Stress: 17%
$ management: 21%
Time management: 30%
Other Surveys: Dissatisfaction
Turn to Prof for advice: 24%
- Christie (1988), Dalhousie
Prof is boring: 70%
- Wong (1994), Trent
Learning atmosphere: 57%
- Univ. of Victoria (1992)
Satisfied with class size: 42%
- Gilbert (1995), Guelph