speaking on myths of the millennials

UndiMsia! Chats - "Millennials: The Entitled Generation?"

On 30th September 2017, I was invited by UndiMsia!, a civic campaign by human rights NGO Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR) to speak in a panel on millennials. Held in their office (Pusat Rakyat LoyarBurok in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, I joined two fantastic panelists - Mr Fuad Rahmat (Project Dialog & BFM) and Jean Vaneisha (Challenger Malaysia). This session was moderated by Mr Koh Xiu Heng from MCCHR. 

Some of the points we discussed:

Generation: a group of people born within a certain period of time who shared age and experiences shape a distinct worldview

Millennials (AKA Generation Y) born roughly from 1980s to 2000

• Generations (1991) by generational demographers William Strauss & Neil Howe
• Strauss-Howe generational theory:
  • Lost Generation
  • The Greatest Generation (WWII Gen)
  • Silent Generation (The Lucky Few)
  • Baby Boomers
  • Gen X (MTV Generation)
  • Millennials (Gen Y)
  • Gen Z

The most educated generation

• 34% 25-29 year-olds Americans held a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, professional degree or doctoral degree last year -- highest at any point
• 57% of undergraduates are women

Technologically savvy

• “Digital natives in a land of digital immigrants” (Pew Research)
  • Gen Z: first generation to grow up being exposed to internet
• Do everything tech-related more than previous generations: internet, email, social networking

Civic-oriented and socially conscious

• The most civic-minded gen since G.I. generation (1930-40s)
• Focus on larger community needs than individual needs; make a positive impact in the world
• Global citizens: rising inequality, climate change, gender inequality  (Deloitte Millennial Survey 2014)
• 81% expects companies to show their commitment to CSR (Forbes)

Entrepreneurial

• Growing up in the Great Recession, inspired by Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg
• Self-employment on the rise; millennial entrepreneurs launched twice as many businesses as boomers (BNP Paribas)

Progressive

• Increasingly liberal to social and cultural issues -- same-sex marriage, marijuana legalisation, interracial relationships, immigration, gender roles (Pew Research Center)
• However, this is not the case in Malaysia -- young Malaysians are increasingly pious (IYRES, KBS, 2014)

Confident

• Self-confident and ambitious (PwC Millennial Survey 2015)
  • Generation Me (2006) by Jean Twenge: Self-entitled and narcissistic
• Parents have raised them to believe they can accomplish anything
• Helicopter parenting (because they hover overhead, overseeing their child’s life -- pay extremely close attention to child’s experiences)
  • China experience one-child policy (Little Emperor Syndrome)
• Peter Pan generation (Kathleen Shaputis) -- delaying rites of passage into adulthood (e.g. staying with parents)

Myth: Lower self-esteem, highly self-absorbed, narcissistic, and entitled

• Self-critical -- willing to ascribe negative stereotypes to their own generation (Pew)
• Narcissistic?
  • Different definitions. Only 1% meet textbook definition of narcissism (American Psychiatric Association)
  • “One could argue that every generation seems a little more narcissistic than the last, going out into the world with an overabundance of confidence. Every generation is Generation Me, as every generation of younger people are more narcissistic than their elders." (The Atlantic, 2014)

Myth: Job hopping, lack of patience

• Millennials are no different than the previous generation -- most people would take a new job due to better pay and better culture
• Facing the Great Recession, they are struggling with lower paying jobs, unfulfilling jobs and unavailable jobs
• “49% of millennials in our research say they would like to stay with an organization for more than 10 years.” (WSJ 2016)

THE MILLENNIAL POINT

• Let this generation develop -- it’s still too early to generalise this generation
• The data will change -- this is a relatively young generation (late 20s, early 30s)