millenials

I am now a member of a new breed … the millennial mom.

Millennials are growing up and the generation now includes folks in their late 20s and early 30s, like myself, who are starting their own families. In fact, according to Pew Research, 21% of US Millennials are married. And, in a study by Mr. Youth, roughly 30% of Millennials in the US and UK have at least one child. Pew also found that Millennials place their two highest life priorities on being a good parent and having a successful marriage. That sure sounds like me.

Another key characteristic of Millennials that sets them apart from other generations is technology use. Based on the same study from Pew, the majority of Millennials feel that new technologies makes life easier, makes people closer to friends and families and allows people to use their time more efficiently. Yup, sounds like me again.

Using technology to access the online world is a huge chunk of how I stay connected to friends and the world around me. The first thing I do when I wake up is check my smart phone for emails and messages. Once I have my cup of coffee, it’s time to turn on my computer and open up my saved tabs (Case Foundation website (of course!), Gmail, Google Docs, Facebook, Twitter…), log into AIM, Yammer and Outlook, and let the compulsive checking of and communicating via emails, status updates and tweets begin.

Now that I am a mom, it's no suprise that I am recording and sharing all of my baby's milestones, smiles and giggles, and daily outfit changes via photos, videos, emails, blog posts and Facebook updates. The online world is also where I first turn to for everything from parenting advice to finding childcare. Apparently, I am not alone. It turns out 65 percent of Millennial moms utilize five or more separate technologies each day, according to an article by David Stillman. He also notes that many say participating in online communities that provide support and information helps relieve their anxieties of entering the new stage of mommyhood. Again, that’s me … I never realized I was such a stereotype!

But, as most new moms know, the challenges of sleep deprivation and 24/7 attention and focus on your newborn leaves little time for reaching for that computer to get online. And, if your baby is anything like mine, who is a motion junkie that doesn't like to sleep and demands being held at all times, then you’ve really got some logistical problems preventing you from sitting in front of a computer. It has forced me to learn how to live life with one arm/hand, because the other one has turned into baby's personal carrier and cradle.

Enter: the mobile device, this new mom’s best friend.

If you can picture this, I actually drafted this post with one hand on my iPhone while holding baby with the other and simultaneously bouncing on an exercise ball to keep her happy! My handy iPhone had been the only way for me to connect to the outside world the first couple months after giving birth. With one hand, I could email, text, set Facebook status updates, browse the internet, take and post photos and videos - all things necessary for this Millennial to live happily, connected and informed. Not to mention all of the helpful apps for everything from keeping track of feeding schedules to educational kids games. Isn't technology wonderful? Honestly, I don't know how mothers of other generations were able to multi-task without the great gizmos and gadgets that I and other Millennials have readily at hand and are dependent upon.

Are you a Millennial mom? Or mom of any other generation? What are your strategies for staying connected and favorite tech tools for balancing the challenges of mommyhood?

We came across this infographic below - "Who are the Millennials?" from Flowtown - that does a great job at illustrating data from the Pew Research Center on the millennial generation - Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next. According to survey respondents, the top indicator that millennials feel makes their generation unique is technology use (24%), which is reflected throughout the various aspects of the infographic below. In addition to some extensive research and comparisons between generations, Pew also has a 14 question quiz to determine "How Millennial are You?" I scored 53 out of 100... How about you?

They have trouble making decisions. They would rather hike in the Himalayas than climb a corporate ladder. They have few heroes, no anthems, no style to call their own. They crave entertainment, but their attention span is as short as one zap of a TV dial. They hate yuppies, hippies and druggies. They postpone marriage because they dread divorce. They sneer at Range Rovers, Rolexes and red suspenders. What they hold dear are family life, local activism, national parks, penny loafers and mountain bikes. They possess only a hazy sense of their own identity but a monumental preoccupation with all the problems the preceding generation will leave for them to fix.

The above is taken from a 1990 article that ran in TIME magazine about the then rising generation – GenX. Now, if you replace “zap of a TV dial” with “click of a mouse” and “hippies” with “hipsters” and “penny loafers” with “flip flops” it seems the more things change the more they seem the same. While such significant attention is being placed right now on the rising Generation of Millennials or Gen Y and how they are disrupting the workplace, disrupting technology and disrupting everything in between – it seems this is not an uncommon theme when we rewind history and take a look at how preceding generations characterize those who follow.

From last week’s NY Times Magazine cover story, What is it About 20 Somehings to a piece that a local Fox affiliate ran, Can Generation Y Keep America Great, or the release of the Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014 – there really isn’t a description of “the Millennial” that serves as a distinct profile, despite all of the attempts at labels. The diversity of values, interests and personalities is as widespread among Millennilas as any other group -- and in fact most Millennials (dare I say, myself included) would fairly disagree with the generational descriptors as “not me!”

While generational profiles help us understand how to most effectively communicate across generations, to truly understand one another requires listening, not presuming. The environment, values and life experiences that surround us as we grow up help shape our life in more ways than we may realize. World events like wars and depression, or economic prosperity and technological advancements have a great baring on generations. Translated into the workplace this often means different values, ideas, work ethics, attitudes toward authority, and general outlooks on life.

That’s why today, we want to open up an experiment here on Social Citizens.  For as much as things can change from decade to decade, there is one constant – we’ve all been mischaracterized by the preceding generation.  Perhaps we’re more similar than different.  So, we’re asking individuals from all generations to weigh in on one simple question:

Which stereotypes do you think have been inaccurately associated with your generation? 

We’re interested in fostering greater understanding across generations and will continue this discussion in posts to come. After all, there may be more that unites us than divides us. Please weigh in below and stay tuned as we continue to address some of these stereotypes. We’ll be taking a deeper look at whether or not generational stereotypes are counterproductive – or if they might ever serve a constructive and positive role in our understanding of how different generations think, work and live.