The Lead

CNN notes that 2011 marks the rise of the Millenial generation and asked what will they bring to the cultural table:

History will mark 2011 as the year the baby boomer generation, which has so dominated American politics and society, first became eligible for retirement. But little is known about the new guard of American leaders, the Millennial generation, born between 1980 and 2005. There are more of them than baby boomers and, at numbers three times the size, demographically dwarf Generation X.

They have already made their power felt in everything from the Facebook phenomenon to the unlikely rise of Barack Obama to the presidency. And they are only now entering the scene. But what comes next?

To answer this question, the Brookings Institution organized a project in which we surveyed more than 1,000 young Americans -- student leaders, kids attending young leader conferences, policy internships. These are kids seen by their peers as leaders and who want to become presidents, legislators, generals, journalists and diplomats.
...
Some of the findings were to be expected -- they text and tweet like crazy, an average of about 79 times a day; they admire Apple and Google; they don't think terrorism will end in their lifetime. But many other outcomes ran directly counter to common preconceptions and media reports about today's young people:

-- They don't get their news from blogs or comedy shows.... their first choice is a news organization website. That is followed by cable news shows.

-- Mom and dad, not Puffy or Pat Robertson, matter most to their politics. Some 60% cite parents as the influence on their own politics. ...

-- Isolationism, not globalism, is winning out. Fifty-eight percent of the young leaders think that America is "too involved" in global affairs and should instead focus more on issues at home. ...

-- China scares them. When asked to name any countries that they think will present the biggest problems for the U.S. over the next 10 to 20 years, China was listed the second most frequently, behind only Iran and ahead of nations such as North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan and Russia. ...

-- They don't admire what the TV channel TLC, which runs Sarah Palin's reality show, wants you to think. When asked to name a figure who personifies the type of leadership needed for the 21st century, only 9 out the 1,057 young leaders, of whom about a third were young Republicans, identified Palin.

What will this mean for the church?

Comments (5)

I wonder how the 1980-2005 cohort was defined. My nephews were born in the early 1980's. The college-age students I teach were born in the early 1990's. The two groups were shaped by very different experiences. The children I to whom teach Godly Play were born between 2004 and 2008. I'm not sure how much a 6-year-old grade-school student (born in '05) has in common with a 30-year-old working adult (who may or may not be a parent as well). Did the 6-year olds *really* say they prefer cable news?

What will this mean for the church? A desire for more credible use of statistics and a realistic understanding of the potential (and limits) of accurate demographic information. I hope.

Posted by Mary Caulfield | March 25, 2011 7:25 PM

This is true of every generational cohort, Mary.

The Baby Boom generation is usually defined as 1946-64. Technically then, being born in 1962, I'm a Boomer...

...but in point of fact, socio-economically and culturally I have WAY more in common w/ "Gen X" (which isn't surprising---Douglas Coupland who invented "Generation X" was born in 1961! ;-/)

JC Fisher

Posted by tgflux | March 26, 2011 1:52 AM

JC, I am also part of the later Baby Boom cohort and feel the same way. In fact, when I was in high school I recall older Baby Boomers distancing themselves from us, calling us "Watergate Babies." They were concerned that we were disengaged from the larger political process and had lost faith in large institutions. We were criticized for being too pragmatic, perhaps as a result of facing the difficult job market of the late 1970's/early 1980's as we graduated.

But how useful are these broad generalizations? For a bit of interesting reading (albeit in Wikipedia), follow this link and be sure to read all the way to the end: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X:_Tales_for_an_Accelerated_Culture

Mary

Posted by Mary Caulfield | March 26, 2011 11:01 AM

I was born in 1945 and I have more in common with Gen X. I have little in common with my peers except my age.

Posted by Lois Keen | March 27, 2011 8:39 AM

I also feel there is a significant difference between those born between 1980 and 1995ish, and those born after that point. Mainly, I see a significant difference in how we approach technology. My younger siblings and their peers don't have the sense of wonder when new technologies come out, to them it is a normal process, and is expected, whereas the older members of this generation seem to adjust easily, but still maintain a sense of wonder.

Gregory Stark

Posted by Starkg | March 27, 2011 8:30 PM

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