MillennialsKaitlin Heenehan

Jordan King

Residential Leadership Community 11.27.12

Quiz

What is a generation? “Peer personality”- shared events in formative years (ages 10-18) have impact

“We are what we experienced together”

“ A generation is also defined as a series of birth cohorts who share a common location in history and a common peer persona that reflects their collective identity as well as a sense of having shared experiences” (Strauss in Lowery, 2001)

Current GenerationsBirth Years

O Civic (“GI”)- 1901-1924O Adaptive (“Silent”)- 1925-1942O Idealist (“Boomer”)- 1943- 1960O Reactive (“Gen X”)- 1961-1981O Civic (Millennials or Gen Y)- 1982-

2002O Adaptive (Homeland, Gen Z)- 2003-

current

A Timeline of Generations of College Students

*Note: Those born from 2003 – present are now being considered part of the “Homeland Generation,” the next Adaptive generation

Millennials…aka…

6

• Echo Boom• Generation Y• Generation Next• Digital

Generation• Net Generation• Y2 Kids• Generation 9/11• Tell All

Generation

• Generation Tech• Boomer Babies• Generation Why?• Generation.com• Generation 2000• Generation XX• The Therapy

Generation

Critical events, factors, trends in their formative years (1992 – present)

7

• 9/11/2001 (The Fourth Turning?)

• Clinton, Bush, & Obama • School Violence

(Columbine, Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois, etc.)

• Terrorism and Tragedies (Tsunami, Katrina, Haiti, etc.)

• Computers• The Internet• Social Networking• McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds

• Bush vs. Gore Election• Wars (Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq,

etc.)• Death of Princess Diana• OJ Simpson Trial• Rodney King Riots• Monica Lewinsky scandal• Capture of Saddam

Hussein• Death of Osama bin Laden• Government overthrows in

Egypt, Libya, etc.• Economic collapses• The “Occupy” Movement • Polarization of society

Characteristics of Millennials

Mainly from the CIRP (Cooperative Institutional Research Program) study done by HERI (Higher Education Research Institute) at UCLA

Academics

Philosophy for education

ChallengesO Arrive late, skip, or leave earlyO Sleep in class or are bored in classO Spend less than 10 hours per week

studyingO Text/Tweet/Surf in ClassO Disrupt class with cell phone use

Social ActivismO Civic Minded

O More volunteerism in high schoolO Local and Global

PressureO Overwhelmed and depressed

O Physical Appearance/Modesty

O Ambitious and driven to achieveO 76% rate their drive to achieve above

averageO 73% see chief benefit of college as

increasing earning power

Parental Involvement“The ways students learned to fend for themselves developmentally-by building up problem-solving skills and coping skills-have been undermined with the attention to supporting them and the immediate contact with parents at all times.”

(Denise Hayes, President of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Dirs.)

Social LifeO Too busyO Fear intimacyO Avoid traditional dating (travel in

groups/packs)O Casual sexual relationships (not

emotional)

TechnologyO Advanced competencyO Frustrations with other generations

High ExpectationsO Expect high (often unrealistic)

“customer service” O Expectations of faculty, staffO Want things right now (or 5 minutes

ago!)

Team-orientedO Like to work in groupsO Travel in packs

Follow the rulesO Not linked with moralityO About not getting caught

O 70% of college students admit to cheating at least once (Center for Academic Integrity)

Group Work

Millennials LOVE working in groups!!

Task: If you could redefine the millennial generation, what would you keep and what would you throw away?

The Lost Generationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

Civic-mindedO Return to this part of the generation

cycleO Believe they can change the worldO Optimistic about future

Now what?

How can we work with other generations and help them understand us?

ReferencesLowery, J.W. (2001). The millennials come to campus: John

Wesley Lowery talks to William Strauss. About Campus, Jul. – Aug., 6-12.

Pryor, J.H. (2010). The American freshman: National Norms for Fall 2010. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.

Spencer, E. (2011). Understanding and working with the millennials. Blacksburg, VA.

Strauss, W. & Howe, N. (1992) Generations: The history of America’s future, 1584 to 2069. New York: Morrow.

Strauss, W., & Howe, N. (1997). The fourth turning: An American prophecy. New York: Broadway Books.

Questions?

Feel free to email us too if you have follow up questions!

kheenehan@vt.edujtking@vt.edu