12 More Frustrating Myths About Millennials
YEC (Young Entrepreneur Council) surveyed some more folks about frustrating Millennial stigmas. Did catch the first round? Check it out here!
Here are the responses.
What’s the biggest myth about Millennials that annoys you? Why?
1. Millennials Don’t Care
There is an assumption that Millennials don’t care. It’s simply that we are not motivated by the same things that previous generations prioritized. Millennials want to create something they care about, not work for a destination or achievement for the pure sake of doing so. We care about the process and the impact of what we’re doing, and we’re willing to sacrifice a great deal because we care.
– Andrew Thomas, SkyBell Technologies, Inc.
2. Millennials Are Lazy
Just because many Millennials don’t fall in line with the traditional 9-to-5 slog doesn’t mean we are lazy. We simply work smarter. Many of us have found that you can buck the status quo, work on your own terms and still change the world. Work when you want, where you want, how you want. Results speak for themselves.
– Joel Holland, Video Blocks
3. Millennials Are Spoiled
The myth that annoys me most about Millennials is that they’re spoiled and lazy. Any of those kids who experienced the economic excess of the ’90s had all the spoiling crushed out of them during the unwind of the dot-com bubble and collapse of the housing market and economy in the 2000s. The myth is simply another case of one generation misunderstanding another.
– Dusty Wunderlich, Bristlecone Holdings
4. Millennials Are All the Same
Judging Millennials as a group is as inappropriate and foolish as judging a group of people based on their race, gender, or religion. While some statements (“millennials grew up using technology”) are common sense, many of the other oft-stated generalizations are unprovable, unfounded, or pure conjecture. Like every other age group, there are fantastic 20-somethings and terrible ones.
– Brittany Hodak, ZinePak
5. Millennials Aren’t Competent Because of Their Age
Young people don’t get the benefit of the doubt, because “they can’t possibly have figured everything out in such a short amount of time… right?” However, there are in fact a great deal of young competent people due in part to the easy access of information from the Internet. In fact, we learn faster and more dynamically. Because of that, age actually works against our older peers in many ways.
– Andy Karuza, SpotSurvey
6. Millennials Are Entitled
I think Millennials sometimes get a bad rep because they crave ownership, leadership and autonomy. While many interpret these traits as entitlement, they’re the traits that will create a great generation of innovative leaders who own their work and are accountable for it too. These are skills that are extremely valuable in a startup, but only underneath the right leadership.
– Abby Ross, ThinkCERCA
7. Millennials Aren’t Success-Motivated
Lots of articles are being written about how Millennials are driven by the non-financial aspects of achievement: flexibility, social capital, balance. This is certainly true in part, but I’ve seen success in companies that are overtly capitalist and incentivize Millennials largely with equity, and back that equity up with growth. Millennials are as financially driven as other generations.
– Brennan White, Cortex
8. Millennials Are Selfish
Most of the Millennials that work for us are more concerned with our business and client’s success than non-Millennials. I’ve heard that Millennials are selfish, but I see Millennials who understand the greater good when we all work together and who want others to succeed as much as themselves.
– Angela Harless, AcrobatAnt
9. Millennials Can’t Communicate in Person
It’s a popular misconception that Millennials can only communicate in text message speak, Facebook updates and tweets. While it’s certainly true that they spend more time on smartphones and tablets, studies show that ALL age groups do this, too. I’ve found that many Millennials are just as personable and engaging face-to-face as their older peers, and in some cases more so.
– Grant Gordon, Solomon Consulting Group
10. Millennials Expose Too Much of Themselves on Social Media
In fact, Millennials are more concerned about their online privacy than anyone. Think about how Snapchat and a flurry of “anonymous” and “ephemeral” messaging apps have taken teenagers by storm (and conversely, how Facebook is lagging behind in this segment). This reflects their growing consciousness of keeping their lives as private as possible.
– Pratham Mittal, VenturePact
11. Millennials Are Afraid to Get Their Hands Dirty
I don’t like when people say Millennials don’t like to do dirty work. Yes, our parents had to do more physical labor and mental work without technological help, but we have learned from them and are thankful for their accomplishments. I want to show thanks by taking what they built to the next level.
– Kumar Arora, Aroridex, Ltd.
12. Millennials Only Like Humor
Just because Millennials enjoy humor and satire, doesn’t mean that gifs and “listicles” are all they want. In many cases, they want in-depth, credible knowledge that will allow them to make well-informed purchasing decisions and serve as sources to their peers. Companies who oversimplify Millennial interests will lose out on these customers.
– Zach Robbins, Leadnomics
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Young Entrepreneur Council
Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective (http://businesscollective.com), a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.