Boomers and Xers, make way for the Millenials. As Generation X finishes college and some head into their 30s, what do we make of the bumper crop of kids that filled this year’s high school yearbooks? If you were born in 1982 or after, you’re part of what historian Neil Howe calls the Millennial Generation. Counter to knee-jerk stereotypes of “young people today”, Millennials are optimistic, community-minded, modest and morally conservative. Unlike the latchkey kids of Gen X, Millennials can’t remember a time when parents and politicians weren’t focused on them and their needs.
This is the generation that grew up with “baby on board” signs and George W. Bush urging us to hug our children. But it is also a stressed-out and overscheduled generation, and one with record levels of obesity, asthma, and attention-deficit disorder. Neil Howe says the Millenials’ mores mirror those of the G.I. generation. Kids today this hour on the Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Neil Howe, historian, economist, demographer, and co- author of “Millenials Rising: The Next Great Generation.”