Understanding the Millennial Mind: A Menace or ... - Big Business Zoo

24 | Free eBook Part 2: How Do You Make A Millennial? How Do They See Things?
24/7 On Demand access to everything they
want
Video games and rapid non-linear stimulation
(The preceding two topics will be covered
in depth as we look at the world from their
perspective in the next section.)
Millennial Technological Advances
♦ 1980’s - Personal Computers with modern
operating systems & mouse-based point-&click
GUI’s, requiring fewer keyboard skills;
cable television & MTV were becoming almost
universally available; the Millennials have
been a much more protected generation than
had ever existed before
♦ Early 1990’s - Sophisticated computer graphics
in many video games, animated movies &
television shows
♦ Mid 1990’s - The Internet in a more prolific
form for the general user, robotic & digital
pets (1990’s-Tamagotchi, Furby/2000’s-
Robosapien (V2,V3), Aibo, Poo-chi, i-Dog,
Pixel Chix, Neopets, Webkinz)
♦ Late 1990’s – Cellular phones, instant
messaging, DVD’s, standardized testing
♦ 2000’s – Digital audio players (MP3 players,
iPods), digital video recorders (Tivo, etc.),
HDTV, broadband internet, digital cameras,
camera phones, satellite radio, GPS systems,
city-wide wireless internet access.
Millennials Process Change and
Information That Would Overload Any
Previous Generation
World Events and Cultural
Changes
When I was a kid, I can remember two or
three important things such as: the invention
of the color television, the moon landing,
the Kennedy Assassination and the Viet
Nam War.
Look at how much is happening as Millennials
are maturing. Combined with 24/7
exposure on news and internet feeds there
is what would amount to change overload
for any earlier generation.
More importantly, it is not the stuff that is
happening but the stuff you have already
forgotten. Look how many of these things
are passing trends or fads that have
already gone by the wayside. By the way,
these are just the high points. We could go
on for hours and hours. There has really
been an enormous acceleration of change
and transience.
They are very aware of it even if they don’t
watch the news or read the papers. This is
all going on around them all the time.
You can look at the world and technological
events listed here, but don’t forget there
have been a lot of cultural events too. This
is what they have grown up with.
World Events Since 1980
♦ The demise of the Berlin Wall
♦ Tiananmen Square Massacre
♦ Loma Prieta (1989) & Northridge (1994)
earthquakes in California
♦ Rwandan Genocide & Kosovo Conflict
♦ The Gulf War
♦ Waco Siege involving David Koresh