Millennials: the myths versus the reality
By Chandler Fleming, Editor & Publisher
Millennials are a hot topic at the moment, and with good reason. Numbering about 80 million, individuals born between the years 1980 and 2000 are becoming increasingly important to society. Of particular interest is how millennials interact with media and their potential impact on the news market. Most people seem to think that millennials are abandoning print for online publications, but is this really the case?
Are millennials too cheap to pay for newspapers? Is social media leading to the decline of humanity? Is this generation a little too preoccupied with themselves to care about their surroundings? The following are six common myths about millennials and media, and my effort—as a millennial—to prove whether or not they’re accurate.
Myth #1: “Millennials hate traditional media.”
False. Even though millennials may not be the most popular demographic with legacy news outlets (nor is it our preferred method of information), we certainly don’t hate it. In fact, Arbitron data suggests that millennials are heightening their radio use while other generations are decreasing. Also, Scarborough Research has uncovered that more than half of the millennial population polled (about 57 percent of 200,000 participants) read either an online or print news subscription over a week period.
Now, although millennial readership does exist, it’s nowhere near as frequent as older generations when it comes to heavy reading. Yet, this is not to say that we have abandoned print news completely. The New York Times maintains that one out of 10 of its print subscribers are between the ages of 18 and 24, and its website enjoys millions of millennial visitors each month. Perhaps then millennials have just shifted to the online offerings, not completely abandoning news overall.
Contrary to popular belief, not all of us prefer videos, photos and GIFs in our digital news. Interestingly enough, many millennials like our online news to resemble print media. We want clean, efficient reading that provides the information we seek without having to scroll past images and pause automatic videos. Just because we’re young doesn’t mean we don’t know how to read. And just because we prefer the Internet doesn’t mean we don’t like reading about what’s happening in the world around us, we just like reading about it a little bit differently.
Unlike past generations, we now have multiple platforms that can be used to connect with people, places, and events. We are aware of the alternatives to print media, most especially the digital versions, and since the Internet is probably not going away any time soon, we’ve embraced it.
Myth #2: “Millennials are cheap so they won’t pay for newspapers.”
False (sort of). This isn’t quite fair considering the circumstances we were raised in. Not only have we inherited an economic situation likely to cause many more years of struggling, but we have to accept the reality of student loans forever looming over us for a degree we desperately need in the hope that we can find a decent job.
Pity party aside, millennials actually aren’t as cheap as people seem to think we are. In an article for Nieman Lab, media analyst Ken Doctor projects that millennials will “spend $200 billion annually by 2017 (and $10 trillion in their lifetime) in the U.S. alone.” In addition, a recent report by Deloitte states that millennials in North America will spend $62 billion on media this year alone. The catch? The same report concedes that the average millennial will only use $19 towards purchasing newspapers. And herein lies the problem: millennials aren’t necessarily cheap, they just don’t want to spend their money on traditional media. And who can blame us when there are multiple ways to find out the same information for free?
The challenge then becomes attracting millennials with content they connect to on a level deep enough to warrant paying for it. It sounds easier said than done. But it can indeed be done. Especially considering how a majority of my generation values experiences over products and, according to the report “How Millennials Could Upend Wall Street and Corporate America” by Morley Winograd and Michael Hais, “Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of millennials said they would rather make $40,000 a year at a job they love than $100,000 year at a job they think is boring.” Millennials are not opposed to spending money, even on traditional media, as long as they have a good reason for doing so.
Myth #3: “Millennials only respond to/value social media.”
False. Although social media has proven to be very influential informing millennials about decisions regarding the purchasing of products (who doesn’t trust their friend to recommend the best local Italian place for dinner?), it is not trusted nearly as much as legitimate news sources.
According to a Nielsen study of media reliability, about 60 percent of millennials consider their local newspapers and corresponding websites “trustworthy,” while only 43 percent answered the same of social media sites. So don’t worry, even though we log countless hours on those little apps, most of us still believe newspapers to be more credible.
This perceived addiction to social media is one of the most prominent stereotypes about millennials. I know, I know. You’re wondering how I could be an impartial observer when I probably have every social media account under the sun. Well, you’d be right because to date I have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr profiles. (Fun fact: I didn’t actually set any up myself. The perks of having a very social best friend I suppose). Still, as far as social media goes, millennials basically own it. The creators of the previously mentioned sites are all millennials, and we are the first generation to really embrace it—for better or worse is still up for debate. Yet, this is not to say that we are the only generation to adopt selfies and status updates: The Pew Research Internet Project learned that the 89 percent participation last year amongst 18 to 29 year-olds is only a few points higher than the 82 percent of people between the ages of 30 and 49.
Either way, social media is probably here to stay and maybe that’s a good thing. After all, many popular social media sites are actually very adept at quickly spreading information. Social media is no longer only about what your neighbor ate for breakfast, Facebook includes a news column and the ability to share stories with friends, while Twitter is fast and unforgiving with how it can get things trending. Instead of dismissing social media as a narcissist’s dream come true, traditional media companies would do well to harness the influence they are capable of providing over the public.
Myth #4: “Millennials are impatient/lazy and want information as fast as possible.”
False. I don’t believe this trait is exclusive to millennials anymore. Yes, it seems like younger generations are quicker to change stations when there is a commercial, and I find my own eyes grow wider with impatience when a website takes just a bit too long to fully load, but efficiency is not something to be ignored. In this new age of technology, everyone has become accustomed to a certain pace of life, not just millennials.
The problem I, and others I’m sure, have noticed with many news publications lately is the monopolistic tendency to suck the life out of a story. Having the same sites and networks cover each new detail in a topic for weeks may educate me thoroughly on one subject, but it also leads to deprivation of other stories. This is something that many start-ups do not have to face, as there always seems to be an endless stream of information flowing every hour of the day.
What some people don’t consider when labeling millennials “impatient” or “lazy” is the quality of information they are absorbing. Yes, we may want things fast, but that doesn’t mean we’ll take whatever we find first. In reality, we don’t just want the information; we want the right information. A study by YPulse reveals that two-thirds of millennials would prefer to be the last to know something as long as the information was correct. Being the last person to know? Quite a healthy display of patience I think.
Myth #5: “Millennials are obsessed with technology.”
True. But so is everyone else. It’s 2015, we have devices that can contact someone from across the globe, tell us the weather at that exact moment, direct you towards any destination, take high quality photos and talk back…all fitting in the palm of a hand. Perhaps it appears that millennials are much more engaged with technology because most of us grew up with it, learning how to use it as children. As we developed, so did technology. For this reason, we are more comfortable using it (I’ll never tire of my mom’s awe at how fast I can type a text message). But we are not alone. While it is true that millennials largely get our news on digital platforms, Pew Research Center suggests that almost every demographic, regardless of gender, education, salary, race or age—except seniors—use computers and phones to get their news. Therefore, it’s not so much millennials individually who have reserved the domination over technology, rather it just so happens that we adapted to the age in which we were born.
It’s this position as “digital natives,” a popular term for young millennials that gives media companies the perfect opportunity to use us to their advantage. Our familiarity with the Internet allows us to easily share by tweeting, posting, pinning, reblogging, etc. It’s just easier for us and more efficient for everyone else. We’re not ignoring newspapers on purpose; they’re just no longer our native tongue. Not that we aren’t capable and even willing to learn this endangered language, but it is probably better to start shifting to where the future consumer is located than waiting for them to maybe, possibly, doubtfully return to you.
Myth #6: “Millennials are narcissistic and only care about their own lives.”
False. Each young generation is comprised of a fair amount of selfishness and entitlement (the lack of wisdom and life experience will do that to you), but millennials are actually the most socially conscious and charitable generation yet. Even staring straight at a future teeming with political divisions, lofty unemployment, and a stagnant economy, millennials continue to be hopelessly optimistic (even more impressive—delusional?—considering we will be the first generation since the early-to-mid 20th century expected to be less successful than our parents financially).
Articles nicknaming millennials the “Me Me Me Generation,” as Time magazine did in 2013, make an impact on a lot of people who develop strong opinions on a generation they don’t really belong to. Curiously, these same people have unquestionably been labeled such when they were younger as well. It is not a new trend to feel that those your junior are over-confident and self-absorbed. In fact, researchers at the University of Illinois have even posited that this type of thinking “leads to the conclusion that every generation is Generation Me, as every generation of younger people are more narcissistic than their elders.” So, I’m betting that in another decade or two, millennials will be feeling the exact same way about Generation Z—or will it officially be known as iGen by then?
For as many pictures of ourselves we put online, millennials genuinely care. We care about the environment, we care about economic equality, and we care about social justice issues—we are the most diverse generation to date, and thus the most tolerant. And, in order to learn about and support these causes, we need the news. But where we get it will depend a lot on efficiency. And by efficiency I don’t necessarily mean what we have the easiest access to, I’m more so talking about the overall experience of news consumption. In this age of information, the option to follow additional links, share stories with peers and provide commentary or opinions on news is essential in establishing a stronger connection with media.