A millennial is called each member of the Millennium Generation or Generation Y , a group made up of people born between the beginning of the 1980s and the beginning of the 2000s . Millennials, according to sociologists, share certain characteristics beyond individual and cultural differences.
At a general level, a millennial is said to be an individual familiar with the use of digital technology . These are subjects who grew up while the Internet became widespread and who, in this framework, adopted the virtual universe as their own.
It is important to note that there is no consensus regarding start and end dates; In fact, the differences in this aspect are usually linked to the area from which they are analyzed. While we broadly adopt the aforementioned range, some believe the key point is the beginning of the millennium . Others claim that millennials were born between 1977 and 1992.
Fleeting sentimental ties characterize millennials. Unlike members of other generations, they do not usually believe in love for life and do not opt for stable couples.
Other properties attributed to millennials are discontent and distrust . Millennials do not believe in political leaders or religious authorities and express their discomfort at the state of reality: they are not conformists. Environmental awareness and individualism are also part of the personality of millennials.
On the other hand, it is often emphasized that, having grown up surrounded by technological and computer resources, millennials are prepared to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously ( multitasking ). This skill is highly valued in the workplace .
We should not despise multitasking, since no matter how natural it may seem for a millennial, it is not something that their parents and grandparents can carry out easily. Today it is normal to combine writing or design work with music, conversations through instant messaging programs, constant research through search engines and software updates, among other activities to which we can dedicate portions of our time as I would make a processor.
There are those who describe millennials as digital natives , precisely because they were born with an ability to understand digital technology that goes beyond academics. This allows them to learn to use the various current devices and operating systems with a level of intuition that their elders did not possess, and thus integrate it into all aspects of their daily lives with complete naturalness.
When it comes to higher education, millennials have also surpassed their ancestors. In statistical figures, it is estimated that 34% of them have a university degree under their belt.
It should be noted that the term millennial is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). That is why the Urgent Spanish Foundation ( Fundéu BBVA ) recommends not using this anglicism and replacing it with millennial or millennial .
In his book "The Lira of the Masses", published by Páginas de Espuma, Martín Rodríguez-Gaona makes an in-depth analysis of the way in which contact with new technological tools has caused a radical change in the way of conceiving poetic creation. Regarding the millennial generation, he says that the search for an elaborate and thoughtful poetics is not a priority; because poetry is for them only one of the possible ways to achieve visibility and fame . Success has then supplanted tradition and superficiality, reflective work.