GEN Y HAS A NEW "AMERICAN DREAM"

Steve: Churches who seek to minister to emerging generations need to be attending to the research that is available so we can exegete our culture as we develop missional strategies. This post was written by Sharalyn Hartwell on a blog site called Generation Y Examiner.

Less than half of Millennials are confident they can reach the “American Dream”, according to research conducted by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, so they are creating a new dream relying less on financial success.

Only 46 percent of Millennials said they expect to be better off financially than their parents when they reach their parents’ age and eleven percent anticipate to be worse off than their parents.

This sense of discouragement supports the growing notion that Millennials are defining success differently and seeking to create a new American Dream.

Their priorities simply aren’t limited to the big home in the suburbs. Experts at the Urban Land Institute predict Generation Y will continue to rent this decade, further compounding the floundering real estate market.

The state of the economy as a whole, not just the real estate market, has certainly played a role in this shift. Despite continual reports of Gen Y sponging off their parents, the economy has still taken a toll on this group. Nearly half (45 percent) are concerned classify their personal financial situation as “bad” and are “very concerned ” or “somewhat concerned” about meeting their bills and obligations, affording a place to live and affording health care 60 percent, 58 percent and 56 percent respectively).

Millennials place a high value on education, but nearly half (45 percent) of current undergrads and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of community college students question their ability to stay in school because of financial constraints. Add their waning confidence in their ability to find a job after graduation (84 percent say it will be “difficult”) and it is apparent Millennials are becoming disenchanted with the old definition of the American Dream. While they believe it takes hard work to get ahead, Millennials seem to be questioning if it will always pay off.

Is it any wonder Millennials talk so passionately about topics considered taboo by their Boomer predecessors? Millennials openly tell employers about their new American Dream. Work will not be their life, they only work to live because they seek a work/life balance. They want flexible benefits (such as telecommuting) and a work environment that feels like home away from home. They are willing to leave a company when they aren't offered these things.

Their dream includes volunteering and maintaining relationships. The same Harvard study found that 70 percent of Millennials, and 81 percent of those enrolled in a 4-year college or university, think community service is an “honorable” thing to do. A 2009 Participatory Marketing Network study reported that a whopping 99 percent of Gen Y has an active profile on at least one social media site (Facebook is the most common way they maintain relationships).

Additionally, when Millennials travel, it is more about having an experience that could lead to bragging rights rather than doing nothing in posh surroundings. They will use social media to make connections to find places eat and stay and things to do.

Watching their parents draw the short straw after a lifetime of following the quintessential American Dream equation--saving, investing and dedicating yourself to your employer to buy that big house in the suburbs--has led Millennials to find alternative ways, ways not likely to change even when the economy recovers, to create a high quality of life.

Visit this web site for more useful research on emerging generations.