<title> Generation Y&#8217;s Guiding Words: Confidence. Connection. Change</title>

Generation Y’s Guiding Words: Confidence. Connection. Change

PEW Research Center has done some great research on Generation Y (Millenials age 18-29) and how America is changing.

Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. – Pew Social & Demographic Trends: “Generations, like people, have personalities, and Millennials — the American teens and twenty-somethings who are making the passage into adulthood at the start of a new millennium — have begun to forge theirs: confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.”

(Via PEW.)

The generation has taken quite a beating from the economic crisis and recession however they’re still going strong. In terms of politics, the generation is “more supportive of progressive domestic social agendas” as demonstrated by the support for Barack Obama during the election.

Perhaps the findings of greatest interest was that Generation Y is the most technologically saavy and that they don’t claim to have the greatest work ethic compared to older generations. The first point was no surprise — the generation literally lives and breathes with cell phones by the bed side (many of them). The second point was unique in that Generation Y may be skeptical of the moral high ground.

“It might be tempting to dismiss these findings as a typical older adult gripe about “kids today.” But when it comes to each of these traits — work ethic, moral values, respect for others — young adults agree that older adults have the better of it. In short, Millennials may be a self-confident generation, but they display little appetite for claims of moral superiority.“

So what do you think about PEW’s work? PEW admits that social research like this is never perfect and some may not agree with the results. How do you think these trends are affecting the way businesses and organizations operate today?

Are you a youthful Gen Y spirit in need of some guidance or career assistance? Let us know by email, Facebook or Twitter. — we totally understand what your situation is like (because we happen to be Millenials ourselves).