Millennials In American Culture

A millennial is a person born between 1981 and 1995, making the age range 20 to 35. There are 83 million millennials that make up the United States population, more than any other generation (Babin & Harris, p. 207). Not only are millennials the first digital natives, they are connected more socially, have less money to spend, are burdened with debt but also have different priorities. Millennials play video games, instant message, download music, watch television online and use social media more than Generation X and Baby Boomers. With forty-four percent using text messaging and thirty-eight percent using social media, millennials have a platform to reach the world the older generations never had. But these millennials have less money to spend and have more debt than ever before (Goldman Sachs, n.d.). Millennials can be considered a microculture, which is defined as a group of people that have similar values, tastes, interest and are included within a larger culture. The meaning of culture used here refers to the habits and idiosyncrasies of a group (Babin & Harris, p. 200). There are many different microcultures in the United States such as regional, sex role, age-based, generational, religious, ethnic, income and social class, and street …show more content…
One of those characteristics lies in race and ethnicity. In 2014, there were more Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians and other ethnicities than the older generations. Marriage rates were also lower compared to the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers and Generation X in 2014. Only twenty-eight percent of Millennials were married when they were 18 to 33, and sixty-four percent of the Silent Generation were married at that age. Religious views are another difference. There are more unaffiliated religious groups since 2014 than before making up thirty-five percent of the Millennial population (Pew Research,