The Millennial Version of the American Dream
You may be forgiven if you thought that Millennials’ lives only revolved around going to modern art museums for Instagram photo ops with their friends. But a recent study gave some very interesting insights into the minds of these young adults, especially with regards to money and The American Dream. Some key findings illuminated their attitudes towards a number of things.
Here are some highlights:
Helping Others
Only 22% of Millennials considered helping others as a valued part of their American Dream. This percentage is the lowest reported among any age group.
Money Conscious
Millennials were the group that placed the most importance on having a job that paid well, with 46% saying that was crucial to their attainment of the American Dream. While most everyone wants to attain financial security and maintain a work-life balance, Millennials are just more "direct" than others about their future and pressuring employers for better wages.
Luxury
Millennials placed the most importance of all age groups polled on luxury items, with 32% saying having luxury items were crucial to their attainment of the American Dream. The 30-and-under set valued traveling to other countries, owning a nice car, having the latest technology, and belonging to exclusive organizations. In a world moving dramatically toward technology, this isn’t all too surprising and is possibly evidence that Millennials seem to value luxury items because they're optimistic about the future.
Children
Millennials were the most likely to value having children. 20% of Millennials said this was an integral part of their American Dream. [4]
While the fact that more Millennials placed greater importance on having kids is interesting, it might not translate into their actually having children.
Optimism of Youth
In keeping with the stereotype of optimistic youth, Millennials believe that they will attain the American Dream more than any other group. Of those polled, 31% said they thought the American Dream was alive and well. Participants between the ages of 51 and 64 were the least optimistic about this at only 17%.
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