In my last post, I started talking about the Millennials, an American generation between the ages of 18-30 (Previous Article). This is the second post in a three-part article.
No Millennial Is an Island
Most people require a certain amount of alone time to sit, collect their thoughts, and focus on the task at hand. I, on the other hand, am the anti-hermit; there are very few things that I’d rather do by myself. Because of that peculiar trait, I busy myself with events, friends, and dinners every night of the week. I’m always texting or calling after work, and I’ll often fall asleep with my phone quietly buzzing near my pillow (like 83% of Millennials, according to Pew Research Group). Though I might be an extreme case, my friends are all used to a much higher level of connectivity than their parents. For them, checking email/Facebook/Twitter is as routine as glancing at a clock. Once again, this trait can be traced back to our collective upbringing.
We were still young when the Internet was born and split the world in two. Before, there was just the physical world where you pay with cash, write with pens, and anchor friendships with a hug. The Internet created a digital world that is expanding into the way we interact with fellow human beings (online dating, for one). We grew up as this rift was happening, and as a result our generation straddles both with ease. If you ask us to “unplug” and re-establish our roots in the physical world, we probably wouldn’t understand you. We could, but what for? To us, virtual relationships can be meaningful. Digital conversion doesn’t have a nasty connotation. We don’t need vacations from our gadgets- how would you know how remote our beach is if we don’t share it on our statuses? Likewise, the retail space has never been solely physical to us. Packaging and branding must be able to navigate both worlds in order to relate to us.
The Appeal of “We”
If there’s one word that describes us better than connectivity, it’s sharing. Millennials like to share details, both exciting and mundane, so that others can feel connected with us. Our generation is all about collective connection- we crave the opinions and acknowledgement of others. When shopping for something, we might be more research-oriented than impulsive. I can’t remember the last time I went to a restaurant without Yelp-ing it or getting recommendations from a friend. Big purchases are almost always pre-verified by our friends, consumer reviews, or editorial suggestions. We’re even willing to share preferences with outside sources and third parties, but only if we get something in return. In a world where data is nauseatingly endless, Millennials would happily give out information to have someone else personalize the sea of options to our taste.
“Peer-ents”, “peer-ticipation”, “peer-ocracy”: Shore believes that adding “peer” instantly describes the Millennial mentality. We love the idea of sharing something tangible amongst a large group of users. Think of Zipcars, where you can “rent” out a car when you need it and share it with a network of others; Grooveshark.com allows you to listen to any song in full by streaming it; and Rent the Runway rents out couture dresses for your weekend getaway or gala event. House swaps, Couchsurfing, Netflix, cloud computing- the examples go on. Our generation does not prize ownership as much as generations past: what we truly crave is access and flexibility.
Most people require a certain amount of alone time to sit, collect their thoughts, and focus on the task at hand. I, on the other hand, am the anti-hermit; there are very few things that I’d rather do by myself. Because of that peculiar trait, I busy myself with events, friends, and dinners every night of the week. I’m always texting or calling after work, and I’ll often fall asleep with my phone quietly buzzing near my pillow (like 83% of Millennials, according to Pew Research Group). Though I might be an extreme case, my friends are all used to a much higher level of connectivity than their parents. For them, checking email/Facebook/Twitter is as routine as glancing at a clock. Once again, this trait can be traced back to our collective upbringing.
We were still young when the Internet was born and split the world in two. Before, there was just the physical world where you pay with cash, write with pens, and anchor friendships with a hug. The Internet created a digital world that is expanding into the way we interact with fellow human beings (online dating, for one). We grew up as this rift was happening, and as a result our generation straddles both with ease. If you ask us to “unplug” and re-establish our roots in the physical world, we probably wouldn’t understand you. We could, but what for? To us, virtual relationships can be meaningful. Digital conversion doesn’t have a nasty connotation. We don’t need vacations from our gadgets- how would you know how remote our beach is if we don’t share it on our statuses? Likewise, the retail space has never been solely physical to us. Packaging and branding must be able to navigate both worlds in order to relate to us.
The Appeal of “We”
If there’s one word that describes us better than connectivity, it’s sharing. Millennials like to share details, both exciting and mundane, so that others can feel connected with us. Our generation is all about collective connection- we crave the opinions and acknowledgement of others. When shopping for something, we might be more research-oriented than impulsive. I can’t remember the last time I went to a restaurant without Yelp-ing it or getting recommendations from a friend. Big purchases are almost always pre-verified by our friends, consumer reviews, or editorial suggestions. We’re even willing to share preferences with outside sources and third parties, but only if we get something in return. In a world where data is nauseatingly endless, Millennials would happily give out information to have someone else personalize the sea of options to our taste.
“Peer-ents”, “peer-ticipation”, “peer-ocracy”: Shore believes that adding “peer” instantly describes the Millennial mentality. We love the idea of sharing something tangible amongst a large group of users. Think of Zipcars, where you can “rent” out a car when you need it and share it with a network of others; Grooveshark.com allows you to listen to any song in full by streaming it; and Rent the Runway rents out couture dresses for your weekend getaway or gala event. House swaps, Couchsurfing, Netflix, cloud computing- the examples go on. Our generation does not prize ownership as much as generations past: what we truly crave is access and flexibility.