How Millennials Changed the Home, Workplace, and Economy
Millennials are ruling the world these days. Seriously. As the generation that has grown up with connective, advanced technology and access to more information than ever before, we’ve shaped all aspects of life, from the home to the workplace to the economy.
Smart technology is our technology. We grew up in the information age, with the internet, computers and digital gadgets. And now we’re entering an era where life is an augmented experience, thanks to the internet of things connecting us all.
Change In the Home
Smart living is so in. We’re talking wireless home automation systems that make living easy. We’re all in a rush these days, and let’s face it, we’re also a bit distracted. But you can dart out of the house without second-guessing whether or not you turned off all your lights or closed your garage door. You can look at your doors and turn on your home automation security system all from your smartphone. Thanks to our second-hand nature of utilizing smart technology, we are the generation that’s embracing smart home technology the most and driving it to be the norm.
Whether you’re one of the pioneering Millennials who owns a home or falls into the younger range of Millennials that rent, our collective demographic is more interested in buying home automation products than the population as a whole. In fact, 41 percent of Millennials want to own smart home products.
We ask these human-named, voice-detecting smart devices to perform tasks for us:
“Alexa – turn on the lights,”… “Siri”- where can I find a burrito.” These phrases symbolize the epitome of cool and are becoming common practices. Our hands-off approach is trending with smart home appliances like washers, dryers, and refrigerators that are highly efficient and often appease our environmentally conscious tastes.
Although easy access seems to be the theme of the millennium, we still find importance in protecting our private space, both digitally and physically. We use home automation security systems like ADT’s Pulse, a smart home system that lets you do everything, from turning down the thermostat to activating your security alarm and video surveillance while you’re away. And we can do this all remotely from our smartphones via real-time applications.
Change In the Workplace
As for shaping the workplace, boy have we really revolutionized what work is. Millennials drove the BYOD policy (that is “Bring Your Own Device”) to be an office standard. Many companies see this practice as beneficial because it lets employees utilize their personal smart devices to do the job more efficiently. Answering emails, reviewing documents in a timely manner, Tindering while you procrastinate—it’s all included when a smart gadget connects your work life and personal life in one spot.
Compared to older generations that have had to learn new technology later in life, we have been familiar with it our whole lives. And our ability to master technology at work quickly has given us an advantage in the job market. Our tech-savvy skills optimize operations and employers using modern technology cater to us.
Change In the Economy
The economy is vastly different from pre-Millennial influenced days. Holding information to more knowledge is crucial to operating successfully in society. In fact, Millennials have invested in human capital more than previous generations, particularly in education.
We’ve been through a recession-laden economy, where staying competitive in the job market is a must, and a college degree is the what a high school diploma used to be. And you can bet that the increased desire for endless information has driven our quest to continue learning, in hopes for a better future.
Millennials have also paved a new type of industry and that’s a sharing economy. Think of businesses, like Uber and Airbnb, that allow people to become their own bosses by leveraging communicative and connective, social technology. Using these new types of services has forced traditional businesses and corporations to change their business models. For instance, hotels need to offer a different type of experience that competes with local vibes and often lower prices offered with Airbnb’s home-sharing services.
There’s a reason why the term “Millennial” is used over and over again—both in business and in life. It’s because we’re the generation that has been the first of many. One that has made a revolutionary change in how we live, work and play. As we proudly own this modernized way of life, we will continue to progress forward and happily reap the benefits.
