“Millennials were the most planned and wanted generation in American history to date. While Gen X’ers turned the individualism of Boomers to the level of a blasé assumption, Millennials raised the bar: The individual self was not merely important; it was paramount. It was also, almost always, really awesome.” —Jean Twenge, “Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents,” p. 231.
Born between 1981 and 1996, 72 million increasingly diverse Millennials today thrive in midlife. Using social media for networking and efficiency, mostly Facebook and Instagram, this Internet generation discovered that Snapchat erases embarrassing photos. “In late 2020…Millennials spent an average of 2 hours and thirty-four minutes a day on social media…40 minutes longer than they spent watching TV.” —Twenge, p. 256.
Raised for Y2K
Millennials were raised in optimism from victory in the Cold War, strong economics and a computer revolution. Students in the 2000s spent less time on homework, with the number of 12th graders spending 10 hours a week or more studying falling 24% between 1996 and 2006.” —Twenge, p. 246-7. Schools awarded all students just for attendance, so all might feel good. “[M]any Millennials—and their elders—were convinced that boosting self-esteem without basis was a good thing.” —Twenge, p. 241.
But this can also promote narcissism and increase disappointment from the 2008 recession and Covid. “Endless articles and online discussions dissected whether Millennials would ever own homes, catch up with their parents, or be able to quit their side hustles.” —Twenge, p. 232.
Parents compensated for weak education by spending more time with kids after 2010, encouraging them to join sports activities or clubs in a “rug rat race.” So coddled millennials became the highest educated generation to date, with 43.6% holding bachelor’s degrees or higher and women increasing wages. Uneducated millennial males face declining real wages and unemployment in weakening blue collar labor markets with AI competition. Boomers can offend millennials by suggesting they work their way through college when public universities no longer give free tuition. So readily obtained student loans festered into millennial wounds.
Slow Life Strategies
College delays marriage, family and homeownership: “More than four times more Millennial women, 1 in 4, had never been married by their late 30s compared to Boomers at the same age (1 in 18).…About twice as many Millennial men in their late 30s (28.9%) have never been married compared to Boomers (15.2%).” —Twenge, p. 279-80. Too many borrow with credit cards (36%), auto loans (33%) and high-cost borrowings (46%), sapping lives with interest.
Millennials may gain quick wealth with entrepreneurship, crypto or stock options, with less college planning for kids, but building credit and paying down debt are paramount concerns. Amazingly, 48% of millennials own homes as young adults compared to 50% of Boomers: “Thus, only about 5% fewer Millennials owned houses than Boomers at the same ages, hardly the stuff of headlines or social media wars.” —Twenge, p. 266.
Millennials voted more often than Gen X’ers but not as frequently as Boomers, and roughly 40% voted Republican. The majority may follow Democrats from Boomer teachers and the Internet. As Derek Thompson (b. 1986) put it in The Atlantic, a “popular template of contemporary internet analysis” is “if you experience a moment’s unpleasantness, first blame modern capitalism.” —Twenge, p. 277. Religion goes against the individualism millennials treasure, so their social ties are weaker and friendships fewer with longevity often correlated to faith and marriage. Where will this generation leave money?
Seriously, They Are Winners!
Millennials get serious when so many lack jobs or they become obsessed with jobs hard won. “Nearly half of Millennials said they wanted to be seen as ‘martyrs’ by their bosses, compared with 39 percent of Gen Xers and 32 percent of Boomers.” —Charlie Wells, “What Happened to Millennials: In Defense of a Generation,” p. 117.
Yet, by 2019, “The median Millennial household made about $9,000 [inflation adjusted] more than Gen X’ers at the same age, and about $10,000 more than Boomers.” —Twenge, p. 260. With computers raising productivity, the St. Louis Fed found that 2022 millennials “had accumulated 25% more wealth than Boomers and Gen X’ers at the same age. They’re no longer lost…They’re found.” —Twenge, p. 265.
Robert Arne, EA, CFP, MS, of Carpe Diem Financial Life Planning, is a Santa Cruz Mountain Certified Financial Planner who gives holistic financial advice as his client’s fee-only fiduciary. These articles are not personal financial, mortgage, tax or investment advice; consult appropriate professionals. Learn more at carpediem.financial.
