Inside a millennial mind

Often found flailing about under the critical lens of the older lot, millennials need a break. The custodians of the future are not as callous or oblivious as they’re often labelled in popular discourse at workplace or academic settings. As per a latest global survey, the millennial folk have a largely progressive and compassionate view about their increasingly uncertain, volatile world.
That survey, titled “Global Shapers Survey”, a World Economic Forum (WEF) initiative, polled 26,600 adults under the age of 35 – millennials – in over 180 countries between May and August this year. Respondents were found to be a largely optimistic bunch: about 70 percent of them felt that the world is “full of opportunities”.
For millennials, biggest issue facing today’s world is “climate change and destruction of natural resources” (45%). If these climate-friendly feelings of 18-35 year olds are acted upon in the future, one can hope that an unmitigated climate catastrophe will be averted in the approaching decades. After climate change, millennials are most concerned about large-scale conflicts and wars, both of territorial (38%) and religious nature (34%).
When asked what were the three most serious issues facing their countries, “government accountability & transparency” came on top (57%). Millennials may be twiddling away their thumbs on their smartphones, but politicians mustn’t take that for apathy, as social media helps expose gaps in public service. The millennial concern over corruption was followed by “lack of economic opportunity” (34%) and “lack of education” (30%).
Millennials seem cozy with technology: 86 percent agreed that technology is creating more jobs. Interesting, because the older generations saw their jobs made redundant by automation, and estimates suggest millions of more jobs being yanked by tech in coming years.
Millennials’ faith in tech, however, could be partly explained by the fact that they have grown up in an age of tech-centric lifestyle. They seemingly have a high comfort level with technology. And perhaps they associate tech with freedom as well. Take the rise of tech-led sharing economy, for instance, where the likes of Uber and Airbnb are helping youngsters to own their time while making a decent living.
The survey also spotlights millennials as remarkably open to cultural diversity. When asked if they would welcome refugees to their country, 73 percent agreed. When asked if they would welcome refugees to their homes, 22 percent agreed. The fall in the two responses is stark. But still, every fifth millennials is willing to open their doors to a refugee. That says something, in an era when mature democracies are debating closing themselves to outsiders.
A globalist identity seems predominant among the polled folks. A majority of respondents, 36 percent, defined their identity as “global”. This was followed by 22 percent who identified with their nationalities, 10 percent who didn’t subscribe to any identity, and only 9 percent who subscribed to a religious identity. In terms of work, millennials look for careers that offer a fair salary (54%), growth (45%) and sense of purpose (36%).
The findings would be more meaningful if they were disaggregated on a country level. One could then find their correlation with economic and social indicators to identify possible attitude predictors. Survey results are skewed towards online and urban respondents.
And respondents may inevitably have better education and income profiles compared to what a statistically-rigorous methodology would demand.
The survey’s methodology is weak. But even then, there is a valuable takeaway for politicians and mature adults here. Just as the Brexit saga underscored, it is important to listen to the aspirations of the young, who seemingly desire a world with more openness, less conflict, and greater opportunities to shine.
Those who have played their innings must leave a level-playing field for their successors.