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Kieler, Ashlee. “Shopping Healthier & Without Lists, Millennials Are Changing The Supermarket Game.” Consumerist. 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://consumerist.com/2014/08/29/shopping-healthier-without-lists-millennials-are-changing-the-supermarket-game/. Adamczyk, Alicia. “Here’s The Average Net Worth of Millennials.” Time. June 20, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://time.com/money/4375215/student-debt-millennial-net-worth/. “Average Wedding Cost.” Cost of Wedding. 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. www.costofwedding.com/. Bhattarai, Abha. “Data Shows Millennials Going for Pets over Children.” Sunjournal. September 18, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://sunjournal.com/news/bplus/2016/09/18data-shows-millennials-going-pets-over-children. Blake, Aaron. “More Young People Voted for Bernie Sanders than Trump and Clinton Combined — by a Lot.” Washington Post. June 20, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/20/more-young-people-voted-for-bernie-sanders-than-trump-and-clinton-combined-by-a-lot/. Blodget, Henry. “90% Of 18-29 Year-Olds Sleep With Their Smartphones.” Business Insider. 2012. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/90-of-18-29-year-olds-sleep-with-their-smartphones-2012-11. Chacon, Felipe. “Organic Food Retailers.” Organic Food Retailers -. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.sbdcnet.org/small-business-research-reports/retail-organic-food-industry-in-the-u-s. Decker, Cathleen. “New Poll of Millennial Voters Shows Clear Shift toward Democrats, Away from Trump.” April 25, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-millennial-poll20160425-story.html. “Excessive Alcohol Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2015. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/alcohol.htm. Halzack, Sarah. “How We Shop for Food Is Changing, in Three Charts.” The Washington Post. August 28, 2014. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2014/08/28/ how-we-shop-for-food-is-changing-in-three-charts/. Harris, Sam. “Science Can Answer Moral Questions.” Sam Harris: Science Can Answer Moral Questions | TED Talk | TED.com. February 2010. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.ted.com/talks/ sam_harris_science_can_show_what_s_right. Hirsch, Jerry. “Who Needs a Car? Smartphones Are Driving Teens’ Social Lives.” Los Angeles Times. 2013. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/15/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-teen-driver-20130316-1. “How Millennials Use and Control Social Media.” American Press Institute. March 16, 2015. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-social-media/. Howard, Jacquline. “Millennials More Conservative than You Think.” CNN. September 7, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/07/health/millennials-conservative-generations/. Howe, Neil. “Don’t Worry, America: Millennials Still Want To Marry.” Forbes. March 25, 2014. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/03/25/dont-worry-america-millennials-still-want-to-marry/#6c07671e631f. Khalid, Asma. “Election Results Provide New Insight Into Millennial Voters.” NPR. November 10, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2016/11/10/501613486/election-results-provide-new-insight-into-millennial-voters. Kieler, Ashlee. “Shopping Healthier & Without Lists, Millennials Are Changing The Supermarket Game.” Consumerist. August 29, 2014. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://consumerist.com/2014/08/29/ shopping-healthier-without-lists-millennials-are-changing-the-supermarket-game/. Lowry, Erin. “Why Are so Many Millennials Opting for Pets and Not Parenthood?” Forbes. August 31, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erinlowry/2016/08/31/why-are-so-many-millennials-opting-for-petsnot-parenthood/#6ef755d67db. Mas, Natalie. “Millennials and Their Muscles: A New Way of Working out.” How Cool Brands Stay Hot. March 4, 2014. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.howcoolbrandsstayhot.com/2014/03/04/millennials-and-their-muscles-a-new-way-of-working-out/. Mayer, Chole, and Lee Sorrell. “H&M in Factory Horror as Workers Endure ‘outrageous Sweatshop Conditions’ Making Clothes Which Include Beyonce’s Own Line.” The Sun. 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1851851/hm-in-factory-horror-as-workers-endure-outrageous-sweatshop-conditions-making-clothes-which-include-beyonces-own-line/. Jeanna, Smialek. “Millennials Like to Hit the Gym, and It’s Good News for the Economy.” Bloomberg.com. September 13, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-13/millennials-like-to-hit-the-gym-and-it-s-good-news-for-the-economy. Moore, Peter. “A Third of Young Americans Say They Aren’t 100% Heterosexual.” YouGov: What the World Thinks. August 20, 2015. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/08/20/ third-young-americans-exclusively-heterosexual/. Richardson, Bradford. “Majority of Millennials Support Tougher Abortion Restrictions, but ‘pro-life’ Brand Is Damaged.” Washington Times. June 30, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/30/millennials-abortion-views-trend-pro-life-despite-/. Shuqom, Dina. “Millennials Are the Generation of Fitness and Well-Being.” ParkerWhite Brand Interactive. 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.parkerwhite.com/insights/millennials-are-the-generation-of-fitness-and-well-being/. “Social Media | Millennial Marketing.” Millennial Marketing. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.millennialmarketing.com/category/social-media/. St. Clair, Ben. “The Real Reason so Many Millennials Are Living at Home.” Washington Post. June 30, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/30/the-real-reason-so-many-millennials-are-living-at-home/. “Teenage Marijuana Use Is on the Rise.” National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). 2011. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes/2011/03/teenage-marijuana-use-rise. Jennette, Zitelli. “The Food Institute Blog.” How Millennials Shape All Generations’ Eating Habits - The Food Institute Blog - The Food Institute. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://foodinstitute.com/blog/ millennials-shape-all-generations-eating-habits. Thomas, Emily. “This Is How Much It Costs To Raise A Child In The U.S.” The Huffington Post. September 2, 2014. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/18/cost-of-raising-achild_n_5688179.html. “Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time, 1976-77 to 2016-17, Selected Years.” Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time, 1976-77 to 2016-17, Selected Years - Trends in Higher Education The College Board. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/tuition-and-fees-and-room-and-board-over-time-1976-77_2016-17-selected-years. Varga, Peter. “Millennials Shifting Commuter Trends: Column.” USA Today. 2014. Accessed November 28, 2016. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/05/04/peter-varga-millennials-transportation/8577831/. “What Millennials Want From Work and Life.” Gallup.com. 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/191435/millennials-work-life.aspx. “Why Millennials Are Fitness Fanatics: The Social Nature.” Brightmark Consulting. June 9, 2015. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.brightmarkconsulting.com/posts/why-millennials-are-fitness-fanatics-the-social-nature. Wicker, Alden. “The Earth Is Covered in the Waste of Your Old Clothes.” Newsweek. 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/09/old-clothes-fashion-waste-crisis-494824.html. Zitelli, Jennette. “The Food Institute Blog.” How Millennials Shape All Generations’ Eating Habits - The Food Institute Blog - The Food Institute. September 27, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://foodinstitute.com/blog/millennials-shape-all-generations-eating-habits.
Magazine Letter From the Editors
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s 2016 comes to a close, we see the largest, most diverse generation in modern history coming into adulthood. We present this magazine as an unbiased insight into our fellow millennials. In this magazine we poke holes into the many misconceptions that surrounding the millennial generation. Millennials are not simply what the media and society tells us we are; the fact is we are not simple at all. This a uniquely complex generation. We were the first to grow up with home computers and the internet, we have become digital natives. These new forms of technology have truly made the world a smaller place and some ways a scarier place. But we are also a rather optimistic generation. We look towards the future trying to better ourselves and the world around us. We hope this will be the legacy we leave behind, one of skeptical optimism and impactful transformation. Enjoy.
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ANARCHY By Rachel Barnhart
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obody would openly admit that they don’t care where their country is going. But actions will always speak louder than words. In the 2016 presidential election less millennials voted than in the 2012 election, according to NPR. In those four years the numbers should have increased, especially with the outreach that both parties made to us throughout the course of the year. So what happened? In a whole hodgepodge of mistakes and upsets it boils down to one thing: we didn’t trust the system, so we didn’t care about the system. 80% of millennial voters voted for Bernie Sanders in the US Democratic Primaries. Months later it turned out that the system had been rigged by the higher ups in the DNC so that Bernie Sanders’ victory was given to Hillary Clinton. It had been hard for millennials to then rally around the person who stood for something they didn’t believe in: big business. It seems that through everything that we disagree on the one thing that all Americans have a profound distrust of is big business. And we have good reason to- lobbies and donations have a long and confusing history of buying our politicians’ viewpoints. Our government is a difficult thing to have to maneuver through. But it’s about to get a lot more confusing. A large majority of older millennials identify as liberals. It seems that in the continuation of our duplicity that many of the younger millennials are identifying as conservatives. So if you have a younger brother or sister there is a likely chance that in the coming
elections you will disagree with who and what they vote for. But is that entirely true? It seems that while many of us are liberals we hold many conservative values to be true. One of the most surprising ones is the stance on abortion. 53% of millennials believe that abortion should be illegal in “all or most circumstances,” according to The Washington Post. The issue of a woman’s choice in this matter has almost created a perfect divide between the democrats and republicans. Now this divide has given birth to probably the largest group of independent party supporters that America has seen in awhile. 59% of us identify as members of an independent party. How will this affect us in the future? Well, we could see the birth of more parties. For a country the size of the United States two political parties is a pretty low number. England has over five major political parties and it is a fraction of the size. As we continue to develop our viewpoints that are caught in the middle of an old and new generation more parties could start to cater to what we want. In other words, if you thought this election was confusing just wait.
we didn’t trust the system, so we didn’t care about the system.
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By Rachel Barnhart
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o you may have heard that a lot of millennials are putting off things like marriage and having children, but in fact only about half of this generation feels that way. For every millennial putting off starting a family there is another who wants those thing sooner rather than later. Although the number of marriages has dropped significantly in this generation, to a surprising 26% as compared to say the baby boomers who were at 48% married by our age, the desire to get married has stayed roughly the same between these generations. 61% of millennials say that if they are not already married they would still like to do so some day. Even though less of us are getting married at what has been the traditional age in the past, it doesn’t mean that it is because we don’t want to get married at all.
There are many factors that go into the decision of when to get married and start a family. One of the biggest factors in my opinion would have to be finances. The average wedding these days costs about $26,645. The cost of raising a child is about $245,340 from birth to age 18. The average millennial is in about $37,172 of debt and only makes about $24,355 a year. I know that was a lot of numbers to follow, but you may have noticed that it just doesn’t add up. It really is no wonder why millennials are having trouble getting married, most of us couldn’t hope to afford it anytime soon. Another possible factor influencing marriage rates may be that it is hard to meet people after college. Now hear me out, I have interviewed many millennials who have already graduated from college and they all seem to say the same thing: “Dating is getting
harder”. Many offices have strict rules against workplace romances these days, many of us don’t have extra activities outside of our friend groups that allow us to meet new people and with the normalization of hook-up apps like tinder it is hard to find a decent companion interested in the same future and life-style as you. I recently spoke with a 25 year old female graduate student who told me that she “does feel a certain rush to meet someone at school” and that she regrets not dating more in her undergraduate schooling as she hopes to get married some day and worries it will become more difficult after she leaves school again. So, yes, less millennials are getting married at a young age, but don’t despair that hasn’t stopped many from dreaming about the possibility of starting a family some day.
why die alone?
find your soul date with
Amber McGrove // 2:43 PM
What the hell am I doing with my life?
E
By Rachel Barnhart
very day we present ourselves the way we want the world to see us. For most of us it’s a daily struggle. On the few occasions we want to show the world that we’re a little bit together, we turn to stores like H&M or Zara for keeping us fashionable and up-to-date. These stores restock so fast that it’s easy to keep up with the trends that you see in instagram or pinterest. As you walk into these practically glowingly white stores, questions like “How are these shirts only $7?” and “How do they restock this fast?” quickly fly out of mind. But they shouldn’t. They really shouldn’t. Companies such as H&M, Forever21, Zara, and ASOS are tarnishing our care-about-the-planet reputations. Every time we make a purchase in these stores we are giving them the greenlight to do a whole lot of stuff that doesn’t exactly fly with our millennial manifesto. One of our biggest fears about the future is that our home will no longer be here to support us as it always has. Companies that promote this “fast fashion” are definitely contributing to the problems that will make that fear a reality. By continually mass producing clothing and restocking practically twice a week to keep up with current fashion trends they are oversaturating the market for clothing. And it’s all got to be made somewhere, right? H&M is known for using sweatshop labor to produce those cute sweaters that we all like. This isn’t a sustainable future. If you are thinking “I donate my clothes though?” You might scoff as you read this article. Although reusing clothing can help the environment, it can hurt the world in other ways. For example, through H&M’s program of recycling old
clothing for store vouchers, only 0.1% of the stuff donated will actually be recycled. The rest will be donated to countries in Asia and Africa. Many times donating these massive amounts of clothing can cause the textile markets in these countries to collapse, creating a dependence on donations from outside sources. But in the end most of the clothing will still end up in a landfill with the rest of our stuff. If we want to continue to be known as the generation that is the most concerned with sustainability we have stop buying into these “fast fashion” gimmicks. Yeah, that shirt only cost you $7 but it’s only going to last you $7 worth of time before you throw it in the garbage. And once it does end up in that landfill it can take years to breakdown. For instance, it takes 30 to 40 years for Nylon to fully degrade in a landfill. If you really want to reduce the amount of clothing sitting in landfills, you might consider spending a little more money and investing in organic clothing. They not only break down faster, but their production is also less harmful to the environment. Bamboo clothing for example is made without harmful pesticides and breaks down faster because it is made of plants. If that isn’t in your budget, try first looking in thrift stores, purchasing used clothing & accessories on websites such as threadUP or Vinted, or consider swapping clothing with friends and family. So if you want to make a real change start investing in the long-term instead of buying into the next trend. Think staple instead of statement. High quality, ethical fabrics that will last a lifetime. Purchase garments from companies who are working to reduce their effects on the environment. And when you can try to buy second hands items. Millennials want to save the Earth. This is where it star
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By Alex Singleton & Abigail Dunlay
here is a unique duality of morals among millennials. While many of us have an attraction towards what would be traditionally considered a vice, we also each seem to have our own specific virtues that we hold ourselves too. Past generations have accused millennials of being generally less virtuous. Although, I believe that millennials are simply redefining what high moral standards can be. Our generation is perhaps one of the most empathetic to come along in US history. Maybe that’s not the first thing that comes to mind when one mentions millennials, as we’re often labeled ‘narcissistic’ ‘anti-social’ ‘lazy’ ‘spoiled’ people. But can that really be true? Through our consumer power, political activism, and our desire to take care of ourselves and others, not only are we the most empathetic generation, but we strongly desire to be perceived as virtuous people. We care very deeply about not only taking care of ourselves, but ensuring that others are cared for as well. Our food purchases are largely influenced by factors such as sustainability, whether a product is organic or not, and the overall ethical impact of the food. We don’t just see food as food; we see food as something that is a part of a larger picture. For instance, when observed as consumers, we as millennials are more likely to purchase a product from the organic section of the grocery store. Why organic? Because we believe that organic food is more wholesome, ethical, and sustainable-- and if we eat what we believe in, it makes us better people in our society. Even though organic food is more expensive, we see long-term effects made by our consumer choices, not only for ourselves, but for others. We consider how organic foods are more likely to come from a local source, like small farmers and small businesses that are a part
of the community, and when we invest in our community, we invest in the well-being of our local economy and industry. In fact, Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of the OTA (Organic Trade Organization), noted “[we found] that Millennial parents seek out organic because they are more aware of the benefits of organic, that they place a greater value on knowing how their food was grown and produced, and that they are deeply committed to supporting a food system that sustains and nurtures the environment.” Another thing that attracts us to organic products is that we believe it will benefit our well-being and keep us healthy in the long run. Speaking of health, no generation can compare to Millennials when it comes to taking care of ourselves. In fact, according to Overhead Space, 81% of Millennials say that they exercise regularly, compared to only 61% of Boomers, and 76% of all regular exercisers are Millennials. To say we love fitness is an understatement. Millennials value being perceived as healthy, just look at the amount of fitness related selfies on instagram! We love to share with the world that we worked out because it means we care about taking care of ourselves. Our interpretation of ‘virtuous’ has changed from past generations in that we define our virtue by our actions and less by our religious association We, as millennials, in droves have decided that we do not trust Corporate America to do the right thing with our food, so much so that we have started to grow our own food and only eat local, all natural food. We also have such lack of trust of big business, and such a concern about how they do not care about the little man, that we have become very aware of this, and we, as millennials, are becoming more liberal because we want to help the poor. Now even though it seems that Millennials are moving away from religion, it is also true most millennials have become liberal, because they
care about the poor and other ethnicities. This is proof that our morality does not need religion to know what is right and wrong. Our generation has become more inclusive and accepting than any other generations regarding; religion, ethnicity, and sexuality. Like one of my favorite Liberal intellectuals, Sam Harris, has said, “the separation between science and human values is an illusion,” which means, we as Millennials do not see the need of religion to do the right thing. We see that no matter your creed, color, or sexuality, we as people can understand that no one wants to be persecuted for something they can not control and we find it easy to look at things from other people’s points of views. Many people have an inner voice pushing them to do more in life, so we tend to see that in others, but sometimes through no fault of their own they have been dealt a bad hand in life. We can sympathize about our differences more easily with one another than other generations, and we are more willing to accept someone regardless of sex, color, or creed. Another virtue that we possess is the demand for natural food, and willingness to shop at local fresh food markets that get its vegetable and meats from local farms, even though these goods are usually more money. With the market for organic foods at an all time high with 42 billion dollars in the organic food market, zhealthy, all natural foods and goods. We as millennials see the benefit of garnering a relationship with local farmers and small businesses, because we all benefit if more people shop with local businesses that share our core beliefs and principals. We tend to give business to companies with similar moral compass; this isn’t strictly a millennial phenomenon many middle-aged people will do that as well whether it be, buying a car from an American automotive company or using a certain bank because they trust that corporation with their money as opposed to others. We have some company’s virtues become apparent when we look at any individual’s consumerism and shopping habits. The reason all of these things tie to the fear of the future, is that we see
problems develop that have seemed to been ignored by the elites of America and the world, and we take it upon ourselves to make a difference. We don’t just want change just for ourselves, but for anyone who can not speak up for themselves, and to fight for a future we can all be proud of.
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By Franklin Wallace
F Millennial fashion is changing, and the way we approach clothing and expressing ourselves is changing with it.
ashion is an unavoidable part of life. Our personal involvement is bound up in the premise that unless you are naked, you are participating in fashion. As a society, we move through stylistic trends at relatively the same pace. Functionally, keeping up with the “latest” styles just prevents you from standing out and appearing as though you haven’t been keeping up with everybody else. Of course there is a huge range of what’s considered current in fashion, but millennials are using the way they dress for more than to just to ascribe to a norm. We are becoming more focused on treating our appearance as our brand. This idea of self-branding is not a new one, as we are often advised to present ourselves as professionals in our chosen field and in life in general. The difference is that now rather than dressing in a manner to fit the idea of professionalism, millennials are using the way they dress as a means to brand themselves with what they are personally interested in. Thinking of fashion as more of a personal tool, rather than a predetermined set of standards. Millennials are using fashion as a means of making themselves stand out as an individual. As a result of all of the new found freedom millennial have created their own fashion statements and trends. They adhere to trends within their social communities, many times dressing in non-traditional styles but still similarly to their friends. This trend makes the mentalities of millennials evident in a very real way. Millennials are moving away from the bright colors that the generations before them wore. Most will be seen in more subdued muted colors rather than bright highly visible colors; mirroring their standout-but-fit-in mentality. The task of dressing oneself is now a careful balance of being an individual but also fitting within their social communities and trends within their social communities. Millennials concern for themselves is outweighed by their concern for the greater whole of their communities and communities prerogatives. Millennials are pushing back major life events, because they see them as something that would slow them down in our fast paced society. We can see this shift in thinking in the trend of following group style aesthetics rather than traditional norms. We can observe high fashion designers cashing in on fashions from sub and countercultures such as black metal; and these are making more and more appearances in runway shows. Particularly with the company Vetements; a new high fashion brand anchoring on gothic and metal/ black metal subculture. Standing out in a crowd is hard, especially with the current high visibility nature of being in public — Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter are constantly being updated with photos of everyone and everything and you never know when your next online appearance may be. Millennials face the largest public audience any generation has experienced to date. Our globalized and ever-connected world now allows millennials to be seen by more people than ever-- even by people that are not actually with them. This puts a new perspective on millennial fashion. Before the internet and social media outlets the way you dressed and how you looked would only be seen by the few people that you would actually see or pass by that day. With the rise of social media, our daily audience has changed from our friends and immediate public to the number standing after our “followers.” 15
By Megan Kiely
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o some extent this has become the war cry of the Millennial. No longer do we wish to be defined by our social media presence or how many parties we go to. In fact, 70% of millennials have reported feeling some kind of social anxiety in their lives. The mobile phone has become a sort of hiding spot from the people and the pressures of our world. There’s no need to wonder what other people are thinking about you when you don’t pay attention to them. When you go outside you’ll see hundreds of people either on the bus, running, walking, or doing a number of activities shut off from the world with their headphones in.
This means security. As we all know, earphones-in is the universal sign for leave me alone. So what does this mean for the future? In the near future we could have interaction-optionable systems. They already exist in a subtle form. There are quiet cars in planes or study rooms in libraries. The self-checkout in the grocery store. Don’t feel like talking to your hairdresser? Start making non-conversation hair dressing appointments. In the near future services could center around the idea of accommodating those of us who don’t wish to make small talk. Does this mean the death of spontaneous connections? Yes and no. In this opt-in future it’s possible to go into the world of social butterflies once you’ve had time to recharge your batteries. Levels of anxiety in our generation are already so high that the option to participate could be one very positive way to reduce some stress. Of course there are the dangers that people could just shut out the world almost completely. Places like Japan are already seeing that as an issue. Hikikomori are a group of people in Japan who shut themselves away from the world for a variety of reasons. There are even virtual high schools for those who find it too difficult to socialize with people their own age. There are many programs surrounding this issue in Japan as there is a huge stigma that engulfs it. We have to be careful that as we go forward, while avoiding uncomfortable interactions, that we remember that it’s also a part of being human. Being uneasy is a part of being human. It sucks and so does everyone else.
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By Franklin Wallace
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Are we still human? Accessing Our Future
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By Rachel Barnhart
t seems like as time goes on that question becomes harder and harder to answer. This wave of tech has given birth to some of the greatest advantages that our generation has. We traditionally make choices faster than our elders because we have the information at our fingertips. We’re more informed consumers. And we’re accepting of this. In fact 56% of us are the first to try new technology according to Millennial Marketing. We have become so comfortable with the technology that the world has to offer that we can indulge ourselves in this curiosity. Of course we do have the brands that we feel at home with. We are more likely to check our weather every morning via our iphones than we are to do it with our androids. We’re more creative too. 46% of us post original photos and videos online. This is huge. This means that almost half of us have been given the ability to become creators and share our creations with the world. There is also the advantage of having a distance from your art from posting it online. You are just another instagrammer, not a professional photographer. One bad shot in a 100 won’t kill your “career.” This ability to share and achieve fame via social media has given birth to
a new type of artist. It also has given us the ability to work on projects that probably were not possible before. The best example of this would be Kickstarter. With this connection funders and makers can come together and collaborate on work that could not have been done before. These projects can require up to thousands of dollars and thanks to social media we can see newer, more creative technology even faster than before. It saves us time too. 68% of prefer mobile banking than going into an actual bank. Which means a modern remake of It’s a Wonderful Life is probably not going to happen. But with these small conveniences come huge amounts of time that we can save. When you can purchase your movie tickets online you can spend more time getting to the theater without having to worry about the line. In the coming years we will only see a continuation of this convenience economy. Our creativity will create more competition for artists who do their work for a living and we could see an entire new avant-garde era of art. The future is bright and we can acess it with a small device in our hands.
How Are Your Corporate Ethics C
orporations seem to have a bad connotation to Millennials now a days, and many Millennials are will to spend more time and money finding a company that have the same moral compass as the buyer does. These are a list of companies that may fall in line with your moral compass.
• • • • •
L’OREAL- Beauty and Cosmetics Dell- Technology Kellogg Company- food and drink Microsoft- Technology Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company- Life Insurance • Tom’s- Apparel, all natural products • Petco- Retail This list of corporations has a laundry list of moral values that could very well line up with any common day consumer’s moral compass. So with these praises that these companies have been receiving, the Millennial consumer that wants to reward an accurate moral compass these companies should be taken into consideration when shopping.
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By Megan Kiely ind a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life. We have probably all heard these words and while this would seem to be getting harder and harder to achieve, they also seem to be words that many millennials try to live by. We are an experience driven generation and we bring that with us into every part of our lives including our careers. In a recent survey 92% of millennials said that success should be measured by more than just profit. We are a generation that places more value on personal gain than on monetary gain. While many of us want to achieve some form of the American dream, we are not as quick to take a high paying job that we do not enjoy just to get there. In fact, compared to past generations, only 28% of millennials are employed full time. Another interesting generational difference is the fact that the vast majority of millennials most likely will not have the same job for much of their adult lives. The job market seems to be changing in general as most jobs at this point have a turnover rate of about five years. Although it’s not just the market that is changing, remarkably, 44% of millennials said that they plan to change employers in the next
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two years. I spoke with a millennial named Sheryl Watkins the other day. She graduated with a degree in human resources and is currently working at a local non-profit women’s shelter. She told me that she makes enough to get by, and that is all she really needs. “I get paid in immeasurable smiles, thank yous and tears of joy. Sometimes things are tight with my bills, but it is worth it every time I get to help someone out of a horrible situation.” I believe we are generation that, like Shery, measures success and productivity in experiences and emotional takeaways. I believe that there is an important correlation to be made between putting off major life milestones, taking lower paying jobs that we love and our experience driven economy. We value emotional experience and personal gain, and we seem to want the opportunity to find these things earlier in life, whether that may affect our finances or our future. We are a generation living in the present with a watchful eye on the future.
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We Have So Much Time To Live By Jonathan Laframboise
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rom the moment we were put on this planet, Millennials have reinterpreted each opinion that previous generations have made, making us the most unpredictable generation so far. We choose to look at each situation as if it has multiple outcomes, weighing out each potential option before we decide which to pursue. “Time to live”, doesn’t necessarily mean the amount of time we as humans have before we die, but possibly how we choose to spend it. Living in the moment requires only relaxing the mind, and focusing on what truly matters personally to you as an individual. Our free-spirited attitudes allow us to enter each situation with an open-mind. Life is full of adventure, and as adventure-seekers we live to be in the moment. It has been said by our peers, that “Millennials are more interested in experiential opportunities than they are in material goods” 1. Experience is everything, in fact, it is the reason why we wake up every day, in order to experience something new. Interaction with others, allows us as Millennials to collaborate on ideas and combine our efforts into one success. Millennials are determined to leave a legacy behind, something to inspire the future generations. We aspire to create a safe and better future for our kin. Motivated by success, we are driven to follow through in each venture we undertake.
What makes the Millennial get out of bed each day? Many things drive us to live, whether it be spending time growing with others, or spending time enriching our own ambitions. Travel and experience go hand in hand, and getting outside and exploring the world around us is what excites our generation the most. Experiencing life outside of society, for example in nature, allows the individual time to relax and reflect, while discovering new environments. Millennials see every day as a new adventure, and when you have an average of 27,000 days in a lifetime, life can seem endless.
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disillusioned millennials who have already given up on controlling any of what goes on around them. Between the corruption going on in many governments and our own personal affairs that spin out of control it’s no wonder many millennials feel like they can’t effect change.Edmund Burke once said, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” At least that’s what many of the inspirational posters on our Social Studies’ classroom walls said throughout high school. Yet it continues to hold a lot of relevance to us today. Why are millennials so uneasy? It’s because we don’t have a personal history yet. This generation is currently writing a history that the next few hundred years will look back on. At no time in the past did they have a world like we do today. Nobody in history had a massive communication information highway that their lives centered around. Nobody in history had such a huge world that was accessible to them at any and all times. Nobody in history has had this same kind of burden put upon them as this generation has. That is why we are scared. There is no guide book to show us the way. There are only our parents and google, and sometimes they just end up freaking us out more. Yet somehow Millennials are an optimistic bunch. We look at the world and its entirety and instead of hiding in bed all day in our sweatpants, we take it on. We develop ways around our many constraints with the
hope that one day we can pass a better world onto the next generation. Maybe one day we’ll have everything the light touches. Or at least a nice place to retire.