People born between 1980 and 2000 are called Millennials or Generation Y. Some argue for differences in this age range, but in general, they are those who reached adulthood after the year 2000, that is, at the turn of the century. They follow Generation X and Baby Boomers. Who lived through armed conflict and economic instability.
There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on who is part of this generation. The ranges vary depending on the country, the media, statistics, and different sociological studies. A minority of demographers and researchers begin the generation in the mid-to-late 1970s. Such as MetLife, which uses birth dates ranging from 1977 to 1992, and Nielsen Media Research, which uses dates from 1977 to 1995 or 1996.
Most researchers and demographers begin the generation in the early 1980s, and some end it in the mid-2000s. Let’s accept that convention, then; a few years more or less don’t make a significant difference.
Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe are widely credited with naming millennials. They coined the term in 1987, at a time when children born in 1982 were starting preschool. And the media first identified their potential link to the imminent new millennium as the class that would complete secondary school in the year 2000. Strauss and Howe wrote about this demographic in several of their books.
Simon Sinek, an English writer and motivational speaker, an ethnographer by profession, has commented: “Millennials are accused of being entitled, narcissistic, selfish, aimless, and lazy. (…) Most millennials grew up with parenting strategies that failed. For example, they were told they were special, they were told they could get anything they wanted in life, just by wanting it.”
From my perspective, there’s a lot of speculation about absolute definitions, with labels such as: “Millennials are fickle, they can’t stand commitment.” Furthermore, the reports draw conclusions about aspects of couple life: “Millennials prefer to be alone.” “They aren’t romantic.” “They prefer a pet or a collection of Facebook likes, consumer habits, and free time.”
What is very true is that people in this generation are very adapted to technology. For most, virtual life is an extension of real life. Although they maintain some privacy codes regarding what they do or don’t share online (unlike centennials, who share everything, but I’ll discuss them another time).
To what extent do these characteristics attributed to Generation Y reflect reality? How true are they?
In an essay entitled “The Y or Millennials: Generational Attributes Versus the Ideal Profile of the Contemporary Extension Professional,” Argentine researcher Héctor Gabriel Varela, a Master of Science, describes the personal, professional, and social characteristics of this generation.
Personal Characteristics of Millennials
- Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996. So in 2025 they are between 29 and 44 years old. As a generation of democracy, they grew up in contexts of high participation.
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They carry with them a wealth of values that differentiate them from older people. These are neither better nor worse values. They are simply another “chip.”
- They reject authority and make emotional demands in all areas. This is why they are distinguished by their defiant and challenging attitude.
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Emotional factors in this generation weigh four times more than other motives.
- They are fundamentally free young people who want to be the masters of their time and reject others managing it with stipulated schedules.
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They value autonomy and decision-making more than their parents.
- They seek pleasure in all areas.
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They value being able to express themselves, express their opinions, be recognized for their achievements, and enjoy their time.
- Success for them is about self-realization. Which involves doing much more than just work, which is why work-life balance is so important.
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They are independent and individualistic.
- The difficulties in accessing their own home and the fact that motherhood and fatherhood are increasingly postponed lead to extended adolescence.
Let’s keep in mind that this generation grew up with the full and accelerated development of new technologies. Researchers highlight among their characteristics: lack of maturity, individualism, egocentrism, narcissism, high expectations, self-confidence, inflated self-esteem, and a need for comfort.
At the same time, they emphasize traits such as the ability to adapt to new conditions and change environments and Jobs. As well as the ability to grow quickly and solve several problems simultaneously.
They are unwilling to put up with uninteresting and routine work. They don’t want to put off good things for later. What they do want is to live an interesting life, be part of something big, grow and develop, change the world around them, and not just make money.
Professor and founder of Lectorati.com, Ramiro Fernández, disagrees with so much criticism of this generation. In a post that quickly went viral, he wrote:
“I think deep down, what we feel for Millennials is envy. And a deep one. (…) It seems like Millennials, all Millennials, got together at the G.I.M. (Lair of the International Millennials). Which must be on a dormant volcano in the Caribbean (very James Bond-esque) and decided they weren’t going to eat the same shit their parents ate. And that’s what, ultimately, bothers us: it’s not that just one doesn’t want to do it, none of them will. They think it’s useless. The same thing we believed, but with the difference that we didn’t have the courage to say it: they did.”
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