Age of the Millennial
Angel Roane
Argosy University
The term Millennial is used to describe a generational cohort of Americans born between 1980 and the mid-2000s. My generation is the largest generation in the United States—outnumbering the Baby Boomers. The U.S. Census Bureau (2015) states “…representing more than one third [83.1 million] of the nation’s population. Their size exceeds that of 75.4 million baby boomers.” Millennials have very specific and unique traits, like other generations that precedes them. Not only have millennials earned the distinction of the largest generation, but we are the most racially and culturally diverse, most tech-savvy, most educated, and had number of important societal events to significantly impact our lives.
In an age where we are all interconnected, millennials have a sixth sense for new technology. In 1997, Six Degrees, which was the first social media platform hit mainstream America. Much like the interactive style of Facebook, users were able to connect with friends, add a profile picture, etc. Then came MySpace, Bebo; instant messaging via AOL, Aim, Yahoo, all of which seem ancient in comparison to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, which practically drive the social media revolution. As a millennial social media is an important part of my life because it enables me to have a platform in which I am able to freely express myself, engage with others about topics ranging from social justice to food recipes, stay connected with friends from high school and college, stay connected with family, read up on the local, nationwide, and global news; or simply just express how I feel that particular day when I post. Social media is changing the way we receive the news and information. According to the American Press Institute (2015) 88% of millennials get news from Facebook. Social media and new technological advances will continue to impact and influences the lives of millennials daily.
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