Never Judge a Millennial by Her Selfie

Thanks to articles like the one published in Time by Joel Stein, millennials (most widely defined as people aged 18-35) have somewhat of a bad reputation. Stein described this group as being narcissistic, entitled and lazy, yet for marketing agencies around the world, they are perhaps the most coveted audience. 

Contributors

As Stein phrased it, “Millennials got so many participation trophies growing up that a recent study showed that 40% believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.”

However, The Economist decided to conduct a study surveying over 90,000 millennials to observe media consumption trends. “We felt that the conversation about millennials was being somewhat dictated by a set of clichés,” said global managing director Nick Blunden.

And after discovering that an overarching number of people in this age group not only consume news media online and interact with brands, The Economist concluded that millennials “aren't the lazy, narcissistic, entitled, apathetic parental leeches they're often described as.” 

Gen-Narrators

Blunden described this valuable, contributing group of millennials as “gen-narrators.” As they create content and hold a considerable share of market, these people are “sophisticated media consumers whose reach is coveted.” Marketing agencies who have noticed the presence of these “narrators” won’t treat them as spoiled 20-somethings in arrested development.

Products of Society

Megan Lasher, a writer for Huffington Post, also argues that millennials might not be the self-centered air heads Stein made them out to be. “We're products of our society, and we take advantage of the technology we're lucky to have grown up with,” Lasher said. 

She points out that selfies could be seen as a reflection of self-love “in a world of body shaming” rather than narcissism, and staring at a phone all day doesn’t make someone stupid when the internet contains a world of knowledge and connects cultures across the globe. 

So for marketing agencies wanting to get on the millennial’s good side, remember they’re people too. Smart people with smart phones who hold more influence than you might think. 

Emily Culp writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. She writes for many other clients as well. Follow on Twitter