The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change.
The study analyzes the values, attitudes and experiences of the Millennial generation, or young adults ages 18 to 29. It examines employment, religion, political affiliation, social media use, self-expression, education, government views and moral values. Its results suggest that Millennials are confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.
According to the report, Millennials are more ethnically and racially diverse than older adults. They're less religious, less likely to have served in the military and are on track to become the most educated generation in American history. Steeped in digital technology and social media, they are history's first "always connected" generation. More than 8 in 10 say they sleep with a cell phone by their bed, three-quarters have created a profile on a social networking site, and 1 in 5 have posted a video of themselves online. Their entry into careers and first jobs has been badly set back by the Great Recession, but they are more upbeat than their elders about their own economic futures as well as about the overall state of the nation. They remain the most likely of any generation to self-identify as liberals.
The report includes comparisons of Millennials with other generations, based on more than two decades of Pew surveys. It is part of a Pew Research Center series that analyzes the Millennial generation.
