The Millennials are the connected generation. Statistics show them to be early adopters and avid users and consumers of all kinds of communication technology including texting, social networking, email, blogging, smartphones, etc. Now, the Pew Center is asking how all of that “hyperconnectivity” will affect the generation’s personality. Pew surveyed over a thousand internet experts about the long term effect of hyperconnectivity on Millennials. 42% saw at least one significant downside: Millennials will be apt to make poorly informed decisions based on shallow or incorrect information the get from the internet or their connected peers. On the other hand, 55%… Read More
Categories: Downloadable MediaMillennials are starting to feel like the dream of home ownership is just that – a dream. As the leading edge of the generation moves into its 30s, many of them are still finding the goal of owning a home elusive. According to the Federal Reserve, only 9% of 29-34 year olds got a mortgage between 2009 and 2011. That’s about half the rate of a decade ago for the same age group. According to CreditKarma.com, only 11% of twenty-somethings have a mortgage compared with figure of 30% for all consumers. Millennials are victims of a perfect storm that’s keeping… Read More
Categories: Home Ownership, Matures, Recession EconomyA new study by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission sees many Baby Boomers selling their homes as age, downsize, and retire. The study projects that Boomers will divest themselves of as many as 26 million housing units over the next 20 years. The problem is that the generation that should now be entering the market for homes, the Millennials, are not generally in a position to afford them. As we noted last week, a combination of high real estate values, lower real wages, tight credit, and high indebtedness is preventing many Millennials from realizing the dream of owning a… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Home Ownership, Real EstateAs Baby Boomers retire and turn to their portfolios to support themselves, the returns on those investments are likely to diminish, Robert Arnott of Research Affiliates, LLC tells the Wall Street Journal. The large number of Boomers retiring at once will glut the market with the stocks and bonds they are trying to sell, reducing value. Meanwhile, the working population will have fewer resources to buy them and less interest in doing so than previous generations. The result: anemic returns. To make matters worse, the high proportion of retired population (once Boomers retire) to working population will increase the cost… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, WorkMillennials are beginning to demonstrate an inclination to travel and hotels are keen to accommodate them. Travel spending by Millennials rose 20% in 2010, according to the New York Times, and now nearly every major hotel brand has developed products to appeal to them. For Millennials, a hotel being “interesting is more important than comfort,” according to the dean of the hotel management division at New York University. That’s the reverse of the Baby Boomer market, he adds. Another key feature: Wi-Fi. “High-speed internet is like air to Millennials,” he adds – they consider it as important as beds and… Read More
Categories: TravelGeneration X has a reputation for expecting the worst and many of their career paths are, well, meeting expectations. Gen Xers are stuck between the two largest generations, Boomers and Millennials, and they are feeling the squeeze at work. Boomers are delaying retirement and Millennials are rising fast and the advancement of Generation X has suffered, according to a study of the Canadian financial industry by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Despite forming the largest single cohort in the industry, Gen Xers are increasingly passed over when it comes to promotions. While the rates of promotion for Millennials have held fairly steady, the rates… Read More
Categories: Generations, WorkplaceSelling to Millennials poses a special set of challenges, especially for older generations. But those marketing and selling cars to Millennials have an even higher bar to clear: Millennials are just not that interested in driving or owning automobiles. According to the New York Times, less than half of teenagers eligible to drive had obtained a license in 2008, down from two thirds in 1998. The number of twenty-somethings with a driver’s license has also dropped. And only 27% of new car buyers are in their twenties or early thirties, down from 38% a generation ago. As with their reluctance… Read More
Categories: Blog, Recession Economy