“Selfish,” “spoiled,” and “egotistical” are commonly used to describe Millennials. As a Millennial myself, I find these words harsh. It’s difficult to compare generations, when each cohort has different circumstances to face.
As we all know, times have changed drastically, including, most notably, the recession that has left the majority of Americans struggling to make ends meet or even find a job. Millennials find themselves in an interesting position. We have the education and resources, yet we cannot land our dream jobs. So, we are left living at home and looking for any job to pay our crippling student loans. It’s a slippery slope.
At the same time, we have adopted a mentality of never settling for less. Before I graduated high school and went off to earn my bachelor’s degree, one of my high school teachers told me to “follow my bliss.” When given the option of money and happiness, she said, choose happiness every time, because that’s what really matters; but most importantly, never settle for less.
When it comes to Millennials as consumers, the notion of never settling for less is apparent. We have benefited from the technology boom and use it to our advantage. Our access to technology influences how we spend. We are just a click and a couple days away from a product showing up at our doorstep.
If a product or idea goes viral, we will be first to know about it. Take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, a prime example of viral networking. Whether you participated or not, you knew about it. It was all over social media and television, and it reached far more people than was even imaginable, accounting for over $100 million dollars.
Our tech bent has made us the driving force behind researching and comparing products on a level that wasn’t possible in the past. We can search for reviews from complete strangers and base our purchase intent off of their experience or ideas. Our word of mouth is through technology and it’s an extension of our generation.
This is where market research comes in, specifically, co-creation. As Millennials, we want our voice to be heard, and when it is, it is significant to us. We’re interested in having the best, most effective solutions that yield positive outcomes not only for ourselves, but others. We would rather discuss and build upon a solution, than having someone just tell us what to do.
We have been taught for years to respectfully question others and seek alternative outcomes. A co-creation platform, which allows for differing opinions, yet strives to meet one viable goal is the perfect fit for Millennials.
So, while we may be selfish and spoiled now and again, I’d like to think of our generation as innovation seekers who will never settle for less.