Understanding Millennials: Key Facts & Developments

Millennials: 🧐 Steady Attention (34/100) | RankUpTrends

Millennials

This analysis was updated on August 07, 2025 to incorporate the latest information and developments.

Current Trend Status: 🧐 Steady Attention (34/100)

Introduction & Background

Interest in Millennials is climbing fast. Here’s an in-depth look at what’s fueling this rise and why it matters.

Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years, with the generation typically being defined as people born from 1981 to 1996. Most millennials are the children of Baby Boomers. In turn, millennials are often the parents of Generation Alpha. As the first generation to grow up with the Internet, millennials have been described as the first global generation.

Key Analysis & Context

Terminology and etymology

Members of this demographic cohort are known as millennials because the oldest became adults around the turn of the millennium. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe, known for creating the Strauss–Howe generational theory, are widely credited with naming the millennials.

Date and age range definitions

Oxford Living Dictionaries describes a millennial as a person "born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s." Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines millennial as "a person born in the 1980s or 1990s".

Psychology

Psychologist Jean Twenge, the author of the 2006 book Generation Me, considers millennials, along with younger members of Generation X, to be part of what she calls "Generation Me".

Cognitive abilities

Intelligence researcher James R. Flynn discovered that back in the 1950s, the gap between the vocabulary levels of adults and children was much smaller than it is in the early twenty-first century. Between 1953 and 2006, adult gains on the vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler IQ test were 17.4 points whereas the corresponding gains for children were only 4.

Cultural identity

Political scientist Shirley Le Penne argues that for millennials, "pursuing a sense of belonging becomes a means of achieving a sense of being needed ... Millennials experience belonging by seeking to impact the world.

Economic prospects and trends

Trends suggest developments in artificial intelligence and robotics will not result in mass unemployment, but can actually create high-skilled jobs. However, in order to take advantage of this situation, people need to hone skills that machines have not yet mastered, such as teamwork.

Health and welfare

According to a 2018 report from Cancer Research UK, millennials in the United Kingdom are on track to have the highest rates of overweight and obesity, with current data trends indicating millennials will overtake the Baby boomer generation in this regard, making millennials the heaviest generation since current records began.

Political views and participation

Millennials are reshaping political discourse, showing evolving attitudes towards governance, social issues, and economic policies. Their increasing political participation and distinct generational identity signify a transformative phase in contemporary politics, with potential long-term implications for national and global political trends.

Preferred modes of transport

Millennials in the U.S. were initially not keen on getting a driver's license or owning a vehicle thanks to new licensing laws and the state of the economy when they came of age, but the oldest among them have already begun buying cars in great numbers.

Religious beliefs

Millennials in the USA often describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious" and will sometimes turn to astrology, meditation or mindfulness techniques possibly to seek meaning or a sense of control.

Workplace attitudes

In 2008, author Ron Alsop called the millennials "Trophy Kids", a term that reflects a trend in competitive sports, as well as many other aspects of life, where mere participation is frequently enough for a reward. It has been reported that this is an issue in corporate environments. Some employers are concerned that millennials have too great expectations from the workplace.

Use of digital technology

Marc Prensky coined the term "digital native" to describe "K through college" students in 2001, explaining they "represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology". In their 2007 book Connecting to the Net.

See also

9X Generation Generation Snowflake Little emperor syndrome Millennial pause Sampo generation Strawberry generation Thumb tribe

External links

The Downside of Diversity. Michael Jonas. The New York Times. 5 August 2007. Why 30 is not the new 20. Meg Jay. Ted Talk. 13 May 2013. (Video, 14:49) Gen-Z Matters More than millennials: Goldman Sachs' Christopher Wolf. 4 March 2016. (Video, 3:21) Is a University Degree a Waste of Money? CBC News: The National. 1 March 2017.

📰 Latest Developments & News Updates

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This recent development highlights the ongoing relevance of Millennials in current events and demonstrates why this subject continues to capture public attention.

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This recent development highlights the ongoing relevance of Millennials in current events and demonstrates why this subject continues to capture public attention.

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Beijing wants more babies — are businesses ready for Gen Z parents?

This recent development highlights the ongoing relevance of Millennials in current events and demonstrates why this subject continues to capture public attention.

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Meet the Editor

Written and compiled by the RankUpTrends editorial team. Our staff curates trending topics and transforms them into engaging, insightful articles designed for readers who value clarity, relevance, and accuracy.

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