Catanduanes State University

COLLEGE OF INFORMATION AND

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Virac, Catanduanes

LEARNING MATERIALS AND COMPILATION OF

LECTURES/ACTIVITIES

GEC3
LIVING IN THE I.T. ERA
 Table of Contents

Cover Page ........................................................................................................................................... i

DISCLAIMER ....................................................................................................................................... iv
Chapter 2: MEDIA ENVIRONMENTS .................................................................................................. 9
LEARNING OUTCOMES .................................................................................................................. 9
KEY TERMS ..................................................................................................................................... 9
LESSON 1: MILLENNIALS ......................................................................................................... 22
1.1 Millennials and Other Generations .................................................................................... 22
1.2 Understanding Millennials ................................................................................................. 22
1.3 The Millennials Compare with Prior Generations .............................................................. 24
Supplementary Resources: ..................................................................................................... 25
LESSON 2: MILLENNIALS, ADAPTING TO NEW TECHNOLOGY ............................................ 26
2.1 Emerging Trends in Information Technology for 2020....................................................... 26
Supplementary Resources: ..................................................................................................... 28
LESSON 3: OVERVIEW OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT .................................. 29
3.1 How Millennials Use and Control Social Media ................................................................. 29
Supplementary Resources: ..................................................................................................... 33
REFERENCES: ....................................................................................................................... 33

ii
GEC3
Living in the I.T. Era

iii
 D ISC LA IM ER

This learning material is used in compliance with the flexible teaching-learning

approach, espoused by CHED in response to the pandemic that has globally affected

educational institutions. Authors and publishers of the contents are well acknowledged. Such

as, the college and its faculty do not claim ownership of all sourced information. This learning

material is solely for instructional purposes and not for commercialization. Moreover, copying

and/or sharing part/s if this learning material in all forms (such as, but not limited to social

media like Facebook, Instagram, etc.).

College of Information and Communications Technology

iv
 C HA PTER 2: M ED IA EN VIR ONM ENT S

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Understand who the millennials are and who they are perceived;
2. Distinguish the difference between millennials from the other generations;
3. Know how the millennials control social media;
4. Be aware of the effects of the Internet to us humans;
5. Know how technology affecting us humans and the world; and
6. Be informed on how technology has changed over time.

KEY TERMS
1. Baby boomers
2. Generation X
3. Millennials

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 LESSON 1: MILLENNIALS

1.1 Millennials and Other Generations

The Baby Boomer generation is anyone
born between 1943 and 1960. They are
called Baby Boomers because when the
men returned from fighting in World War
II, a large increase in birth rates followed,
thus creating a baby boom. Baby
Boomers were raised in a prosperous
economic time. This generation did not
grow up dependent on technology as our
younger generations have (Kaifi et al.,
2012; Smola & Sutton, 2002).

Growing up to the development of technology, they are classified as digital immigrants. Boomers were
in their teens to early 30s when the first IBM PC’s and Apples appeared. They grew up with pre-
cellphone mobile technology, such as radio, television and landline telephones. Therefore, they did not
have videogames or cellphones in their childhood. When it comes to technology, the Baby Boomers
experienced a much different upbringing, compared to those born after them. The main technology
breakthrough at that time was the rotary telephone and tube television. Otherwise, entertainment could
be found outdoors with other children in the neighborhood, where conversational skills, exercise and
life lessons occurred.

Generation X (also called Gen X, or Xers) were born between 1961 and 1979. Generation X marks
the period of birth decline after the baby boom and is significantly smaller than previous and succeeding
generations (Kaifi et al., 2012). Generation X was the first generation to return home from school without
a parent to greet them because their parents were out working. This generation grew up around divorce,
a poor economy, and high crime (Cahill & Sedrak, 2012).

The most recent generation are the Millennials, who are individuals born between 1980 and 2000. They
are called Millennials because of their closeness to the new millennium and being raised in a more
digital age (Kaifi et al., 2012). This generation was influenced by computers and a greater acceptance
of non-traditional families and values (Andert, 2011).

1.2 Understanding Millennials

A. Demographics

The millennials are between 23 and 35 years old. There are more than 77 million millennials
(Taylor and Keeter, 2010). The millennial generation is larger than the 46 million who are in
Generation X and the millennials are almost equal in size to the 76.4 million in the baby boomer
generation. There are likely to be differences between younger and older millennials. The
millennials who were born between 1986 and 1992 were entering the job market during or at
the end of the recession which began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, while
millennials born since 1992 might still be obtaining their education and entering the job market
(National Bureau of Economic Research).

Millennials are more racially diverse than previous generations; 47 percent are minority
compared to 37 percent for Generation X, 26 percent for baby boomers, and 9 percent for the
silent generation. One-fourth of millennials have college degrees, which is similar to other
generations. However, millennials may exceed the educational levels of previous generations
as time passes and they complete their education. A 2010 Pew report entitled Millennials: A

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 Portrait of Generation Next projects that millennials will be the most educated American
generation (Mottola, 2014).

Studies show that people pursuing higher education report a higher quality of life. Using data
from the General Social Survey, Oreopoulos and Salvanes (2011) found that schooling is
associated with a lower likelihood of being unemployed or being on welfare, success in the
labor and marriage markets, better health decision-making skills, happier marriages, more
successful children, more civic participation, and decreased risky behaviors.

B. Challenges

Many millennials have faced and are facing a slow job market and a lot of college loan debt.
The College Board (2014) stated that 60 percent of students who earned bachelor’s degrees
in 2012-13 from public and private nonprofit institutions graduated with debt. The average
student loan debt was $27,300 (Cho, Kiss, and Yu, 2015). Including borrowing for both
undergraduate and graduate studies, 40 percent of borrowers with outstanding education debt
owed less than $10,000; 29 percent owed between $10,000 and $24,999; and 4 percent of
borrowers owed $100,000 or more in 2013 (College Board, 2014). Based on the 2012 FINRA
Investor Education Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study, 65 percent of millennials
earned less than $50,000 per year (Mottola, 2014).

Millennials have responded to the recession and the challenging economic situation in many
different ways (Burstein, 2013). One example is social protest. Other examples include
millennials moving back in with their parents, delaying marriage, delaying buying first homes,
and starting their own businesses. Considering their propensity for social change, it is not
surprising that millennials are involved with socially responsible businesses.

C. Strengths

Millennials are hailed as “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001). In contrast, “digital immigrants” are
people who arrived online after having a substantial life offline. Prensky states that baby
boomers and even some members of Generation X are digital immigrants. Burstein (2013) who
is himself a millennial explained his early connection to technology this way: “As first and
second graders, we could write reports with a word processing program and spell check them”
Burstein continues: “Through our formative years, however, digital technology began to make
quantum leaps almost daily in the variety and extent of applications and functions, as well as
user access and mobility”.

Burstein (2013) believes that “the power for the young to influence and create new technology
has grown tremendously in the last decade”. He illustrates this point by saying that the founders
of the following companies have all been millennials: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Groupon,
Foursquare, Instagram, and Tumblr. Burstein points out that millennials demand that
companies should be open to comments and criticism and those companies should listen to
those comments and criticism. The CEO of one company has written, “The elites—or managers
in companies—no longer control the conversation”.

D. Mindset and Attributes

Traits attributed to the millennials include: entitled, optimistic, civic minded, close parental
involvement, values work-life balance, impatient, multitasking, and team oriented. The traits
attributed to the other generations present a real contrast. For example, traits attributed to
Generation X include: self-reliant, adaptable, cynical, distrusts authority, resourceful,
entrepreneurial, and technologically savvy. Traits attributed to the baby boomers include:
workaholic, idealistic, competitive, loyal, materialistic, seeks personal fulfillment, and values
titles and the corner office. The traits attributed to the silent generation include: patriotic,

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 dependable, conformist, respects authority, rigid, socially and financially conservative, and a
solid work ethic (Alsop, 2008).

E. Nonprofit Engagement
Saratovsky and Feldmann (2015) have written a book about engaging millennials in nonprofits.
The authors identify themselves as being “cuspers,” which means that age-wise they are on
the cusp between Generation X and Generation Y (i.e., millennials). Based on their experience
with nonprofits, Saratovsky and Feldmann suggest that readers of their book who lead nonprofit
organizations should (1) learn how to engage with millennials, and (2) realize that their nonprofit
organization should be open to trying new ideas and methods. Saratovsky and Feldmann stated
emphatically that millennials are digitally connected, creative, solution-oriented, self-organized,
and open and transparent. They believe that millennials are motivated as much by their
personal relationships and human connections as they are by the influences of their
technological skills and social media.

Saratovsky and Feldmann (2015) suggested that organizations should engage millennials
using four approaches. The first approach is to provide access to leadership and enable
millennials to take an active role in the development of their own leadership roles. The second
approach is to be transparent and allow millennials the ability to access information on how the
nonprofit organization affects the community and about the way the nonprofit organization
raises and spends money. The third approach is to develop engagement platforms that are
social in nature and allow for greater discussion both online and offline. The fourth approach is
to create an environment in which millennials can develop solutions and execute strategies to
fulfill solutions.

1.2 The Millennials Compare with Prior Generations

1. Millennials are better educated.

Today’s young adults are much better educated than their grandparents, as the share of young
adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher has steadily climbed since 1968. Among Millennials,
around four-in-ten (39%) of those ages 25 to 37 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared
with just 15% of the Silent Generation, roughly a quarter of Baby Boomers and about three-in-
ten Gen Xers (29%) when they were the same age.

2. There is a gain in educational attainment among millennials, women outpacing men in

college completion.

Among women of the Silent Generation, only 11% had obtained at least a bachelor’s degree
when they were young (ages 25 to 37 in 1968). Millennial women are about four times (43%)
as likely as their Silent predecessors to have completed as much education at the same age.
Millennial men are also better educated than their predecessors. About one-third of Millennial
men (36%) have at least a bachelor’s degree, nearly double the share of Silent Generation men
(19%) when they were ages 25 to 37.

While educational attainment has steadily increased for men and women over the past five
decades, the share of Millennial women with a bachelor’s degree is now higher than that of
men – a reversal from the Silent Generation and Boomers. Gen X women were the first to
outpace men in terms of education, with a 3-percentage-point advantage over Gen X men in
2001. Before that, late Boomer men in 1989 had a 2-point advantage over Boomer women.

3. Millennials have higher employment rate.

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 Millennial women today, 72% are employed while just a quarter are not in the labor force.
Boomer women were the turning point. As early as 1985, more young Boomer women were
employed (66%) than were not in the labor force (28%).

4. Millennials have longer tenure in their workplace.

Despite a reputation for job hopping, Millennial workers are just as likely to stick with their
employers as Gen X workers were when they were the same age. Roughly seven-in-ten each
of Millennials ages 22 to 37 in 2018 (70%) and
Gen Xers the same age in 2002 (69%) reported working for their current employer at least 13
months. About three-in-ten of both groups said they had been with their employer for at least
five years.

5. Millennials hit hard by the Great Recession, have been somewhat slower in forming their
own households than previous generations.

They’re more likely to live in their parents’ home and also more likely to be at home for longer
stretches. In 2018, 15% of Millennials (ages 25 to 37) were living in their parents’ home. This
is nearly double the share of early Boomers and Silents (8% each) and 6 percentage points
higher than Gen Xers who did so when they were the same age.

Millennials are also moving significantly less than earlier generations of young adults. About
one-in-six Millennials ages 25 to 37 (16%) have moved in the past year. For previous
generations at the same age, roughly a quarter had.

6. Millennials are starting families later than their counterparts in prior generations.

Just under half (46%) of Millennials ages 25 to 37 are married, a steep drop from the 83% of
Silents who were married in 1968. The share of 25- to 37-year-olds who were married steadily
dropped for each succeeding generation, from 67% of early Boomers to 57% of Gen Xers. This
in part reflects broader societal shifts toward marrying later in life.

7. Millennials financial well-being is complicated.

The individual earnings for young workers have remained mostly flat over the past 50 years.
But this belies a notably large gap in earnings between Millennials who have a college
education and those who don’t. Similarly, the household income trends for young adults
markedly diverge by education. As far as household wealth, Millennials appear to have
accumulated slightly less than older generations had at the same age.

Supplementary Resources:
Dimock, M. (2019, January 17). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins.
Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-
end-and-generation-z-begins/

Main, D. (2017, September 9). Who Are the Millennials? Livescience.Com.

https://www.livescience.com/38061-millennials-generation-y.html

Millennials Infographic. (2021). Goldman Sachs.

https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/archive/millennials/

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 LESSON 2: MILLENNIALS, ADAPTING TO NEW TECHNOLOGY

“They have grown up with technology and are used to having 24/7 access to it. Millennials love
technology so much that half of them would rather give up their sense of smell than a critical device.”
(Russ Warner, Entrepreneur (2013, p. 1)).

Scholars suggests that millennials have “seen the rise of a pervasive, ever present connectivity and
access to capture, process, send, and receive information through multiple devices (wireless handheld
computer, smartphones, PDA-phone hybrids, and next generation handheld gaming devices) anytime
and anywhere, like never before (Chelliah & Clarke, 2011, p.277). “The emergence of social networking
sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter create an even more connected millennial
generation. A recent study suggests that 96%of the millennial generation belong to at least one social
media (Childs, Gingrich, & Piller, 2010). This technological culture of millennial students influences the
way this generation approaches higher education, what they demand of curricula, as well as how
knowledge is transferred (Kirkwood & Price, 2005). Millennials expect technology to play a large role in
the learning process by allowing access to vast areas of informational sources to be incorporated into
the actual delivery of knowledge through multimedia modes with an emphasis on entertainment during
the learning process (Franz, 1998; Gardner, 2006; Chelliah & Clarke, 2011).

Caraher (2105) has written about the millennial mindset. She quotes a recruiter as saying, “It’s not a
question of whether or not they are right for the job, it’s a question of is the job right for them”. Millennials
believe they are very capable and they do not relish the idea of working their way up the ladder. Many
millennials prefer to work at smaller companies where they believe they will be able to have a hands-
on role and make a bigger impact. Millennials are likely to say that they plan to change jobs frequently.
One millennial said that she had moved several times because “No one told me why what I was doing
mattered”.

Millennials want to be happy in their work. Caraher (2015) interviewed millennials in their twenties and
found two distinct groups. She called them the Digital Freedom Crusaders and the Office Traditionalists.
The first group did not place much value on being in the office at specific times. They said things like, I
am more productive at Starbucks or at home and I should be able to work where I want. However, the
second group valued office hours and being together. They felt that being seen mattered for
advancement.

Several employers have said that millennials were more demanding than other employees about
worklife balance (Caraher, 2015). Employers have observed that millennials were willing to change jobs
to manage their perception of the good life. Employers have noted that millennials have been very open
in expressing their wants which include: access to senior management, having a strong mentor, and
wanting a career path, as in “What is my next opportunity?”

2.1 Emerging Trends in Information Technology for 2020

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence holds significant potential for businesses. While we have yet to achieve
the full spectrum of capabilities frequently at the center of futuristic cinema, AI is poised as a
tool of choice for businesses and solution providers. As is often seen with social media, AI,
combined with machine learning, can be a powerful combination. Businesses can use AI to
achieve cost-saving benefits, streamline workflows, enable more efficient communications,
improve customer satisfaction, and provide insight into purchasing behavior.

2. Blockchain

The blockchain is an information system that holds promise for supply chain management,
enabling transparency into the origin and journey of materials from origin to product. Blockchain

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 technology will also allow for better record management, providing a snapshot of any record
from its origination. This could be used to verify orders, purchases, returns, receipt of product,
you name it.

3. Cybersecurity as Critical Business Function

Cybersecurity will no longer operate as an addendum in the world of information technology.

As companies leverage emerging trends and move more toward cloud computing,
cybersecurity will become a critical business functionality and will be an integral business
process.

Data protections and PII are real-world concerns that are steadily creeping to the forefront as
media coverage of data breaches affect our trust in brands. Making information security an
operational necessity will position a business as a trusted entity and ensure smooth delivery of
products and services.

4. Drones

Drones are helping to transform certain verticals, giving an edge over competitors, and offering
a technologically powered physical connection between businesses and end users. The remote
capabilities of drones coupled with AI applications are transforming business in the industrial,
public safety, construction, and insurance sectors, just to name a few.

5. Edge Computing

Edge computing is a decentralized model which places computing nodes closer to the source
of interaction. Gartner defines edge computing as a model where “information processing and
content collection and delivery are placed closer to the sources, repositories and consumers of
this information.” This model optimizes technological interactions and reduces latency at the
point of origin to enable more effective and real-time data consumption. Edge computing is
quickly becoming the most efficient path for localized interactions.

6. Internet of Things (IoT)

As the world becomes more and more digitized, informed business is the key to success and
internet of things provides greater clarity into consumer behavior. The Internet of Things is
increasingly offering business opportunities in the form of data collection and analysis. In fact,
IoT is the most widely adopted technology in CompTIA’s emerging tech track.

7. Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality

Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies (now referred to as XR), provide context to
possibility. Consumers and businesses may know that they need a solution but have difficulty
visualizing how a product or service will enable a particular outcome. Businesses can use XR
to enhance their offerings and inform effective decision making.

8. 5G

The speeds accomplished with 5G greatly outpace those seen with previous networks. 5G
offers the supporting foundation that businesses can leverage to embrace emerging
technologies. When unencumbered by latency issues, businesses can provide greater
capabilities and service. Reaching consumer bases via mobile devices and smartphones will
soar to new heights as the IT infrastructure for 5G expands and becomes more pervasive.

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Supplementary Resources:
Zachos, E. (2019, August 8). Technology is changing the Millennial brain. PublicSource | News for a
Better Pittsburgh. https://www.publicsource.org/technology-is-changing-the-millennial-brain/

Mery, K. (2019, October 3). Millennials in the Workforce: How Technology Shaped Them (and What to
Do About It). Fond. https://www.fond.co/blog/millennials-in-the-workforce/

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 LESSON 3: OVERVIEW OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

3.1 How Millennials Use and Control Social Media

Social networks are an extraordinarily important part of Millennials’ digital lives, in part because social
networks have become much more than a way to connect about personal matters.

At the same time, we heard in various ways that people increasingly want to take more control over
social media, manage their time there, and improve the quality of what they see. Various people
expressed a sense of frustration, particularly with Facebook, for having too much information, taking
up too much of their time, and containing too much content that wasn’t trustworthy or worthwhile.
Below show how millennials use social media

1. Millennials use a variety of social networks for news and information, especially
Facebook.

The survey measured the use of seven different social networks as pathways to news and
information. That analysis provides a landscape view of social media and news. One striking
finding is that every one of these social networks, to greater or lesser degrees, are now news
platforms.

Fully 88 percent of those surveyed get news from Facebook at least occasionally, 83 percent
from YouTube, and 50 percent from Instagram.

Sizable minorities of Millennials also report getting news from Pinterest (36 percent), Twitter
(33 percent), Reddit (23 percent), and Tumblr (21 percent). And while these numbers are
smaller, they represent quite large percentages of those who use these social media platforms
at all.

For all that, the omnipresence of Facebook stands out. Fully 57 percent of Millennials who get
news from Facebook do so at least once a day (including 44 percent who say at least several
times a day).

That is roughly double the number using YouTube (29 percent) or Instagram (26 percent) on a
daily basis to get news and information, the next most popular social networks for doing so.
Far fewer report getting news on a daily basis from Twitter (13 percent), Pinterest (10 percent),
Reddit (8 percent), or Tumblr (7 percent).

People who describe themselves as

active news and information seekers are
more likely to use certain social networks
for news. In particular, these more active
news seekers are more likely to use
Reddit (13 percent vs. 4 percent) and
somewhat more likely to use YouTube
(33 percent vs. 26 percent) at least once
a day than those who say they mostly
bump into news.Although Facebook is
popular among all adults under age 35,
younger Millennials are even more likely
to use a mix of social networks for news
than older members of this generation.
The average 18-to- 21-year-old uses 3.7 social networks out of seven platforms asked about
in the survey. For the average older Millennial age 30-34, that decreases to 2.9.

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 Stevie, age 19 from Oakland, has deleted his Facebook entirely in favor of other platforms,
though he acknowledges that he may be missing out on some of his social network as a result.
“I shouldn’t have [deleted it] because a lot of older people still use it; college students, and all
my college friends still have it, but I deleted it because I felt like I had too many things. I stopped
using it because there are other things to use.”

2. While social networks may be a place that people bump into news, many Millennials
engage more actively with the news once there.

The survey asked the 91 percent of Millennials who report using Facebook for any reason about
their behavior there. Seven in 10 click on and regularly read or watch news stories or headlines
posted by other people. They also participate in news in ways that are not entirely possible in
more traditional platforms. Six in 10, for instance, say they regularly “like” a posted news story,
headline, or link. Nearly half, 42 percent, say they regularly post or share news content to
Facebook themselves, and 34 percent say they regularly comment on news stories, headlines,
or links. Only 11 percent of Facebook users say they do not do any of these things.

The data also suggest that Facebook may be increasing news awareness and consumption in
ways that even its users do not anticipate or intend. A good deal of this news consumption is
unexpected, or serendipitous. For instance, while 7 in 10 regularly click on news stories on
Facebook, less than half (47 percent) of Millennials using Facebook say that hunting for
interesting articles is one of the main reasons they use the platform.

The more common motivations for turning to Facebook, these users say, are social. Fully 76
percent of these Facebook Millennials cite seeing what their friends are talking about and what
is happening in their friends’ lives, as a main reason they turn to Facebook. A clear majority (58
percent) cite using Facebook to find things that entertain them, such as funny lists, articles, or
videos.

The reasons they use Twitter are related but

slightly different than the reasons they turn to
Facebook. Twitter is a place to learn about
what people in general are talking about, not
just the lives of people they know. For
instance, the number one reason these Twitter
users say they use the social platform is to see
what’s “trending” and what people are talking
about (43 percent). The number two reason is
to find things that entertain them, such as
funny lists, articles, or videos (40 percent).
About half as many Twitter users as Facebook
users (36 percent vs. 76 for Facebook) say a
main reason they use Twitter is to see what’s
happening in their friends’ lives and what they’re talking about.

Twitter, by contrast, is a different kind of platform. While it is a significantly less popular social
network overall than Facebook, it is more popular among this group of younger Millennials than
it is among adults overall. In general, recent surveys of adults of all ages show that 23 percent
have a Twitter account. Among Millennials, however, fully 37 percent say they use Twitter.
Along with getting news, fewer than half cite sharing content (42 percent), or seeing what’s
trending and what people are talking about on social media (35 percent) as a main motivation
for turning to Facebook. Even lower percentages of this generation say they look to Facebook
as a way of learning more about things, or a means to getting more information on something
they heard about either on social media or in the news (33 percent).

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 News is not the primary reason that Millennials use Twitter. About one-third say they go to
Twitter mainly to look for interesting articles or links their followed friends or organizations post,
to share their own content, or to get more information on something they heard either on social
media or in the news.

But as with Facebook, the reasons people look at Twitter and the ways they say they actually
use it are also different. When asked about action rather than motivation, news becomes far
more important.

About half (49 percent) of these Twitter-using Millennials say they regularly read or watch news
stories or headlines posted there, and one-third regularly re-tweet news stories, headlines, or
links posted by others on Twitter. Fewer regularly compose their own tweets about something
news related (26 percent) or tweet news stories, headlines, or links from other websites (23
percent). Just 22 percent of those who use Twitter say they do not use it for any of these news
engagement activities.

3. Millennials say social media exposes them to different opinions and views.

One concept that some critics have wondered about in the age of almost complete consumer
choice is whether people are insulated from opinions and ideas that are different than their own.
This has been called the “filter bubble,” among other names, and there is a question about
whether younger adults, who grew up with these choices rather than the agenda-setting of more
traditional media are more prone to this risk.

In all, 70 percent of Millennials say that their social media feeds are composed of a relatively
even mix of similar and different opinions to their own. Just 12 percent say the opinions they
see in social media are mostly similar to their own. A slightly larger number, 16 percent, say,
interestingly, that the opinions and viewpoints they see are mostly different than their own.

Those who describe themselves as less active seekers of news are even more likely to say
they encounter diverse opinions and viewpoints in social media. Fully 73 percent of those
Millennials who say they mostly bump into news and information throughout their day say the
opinions in their feeds are an even mix of viewpoints, compared with 65 percent of those who
call themselves active news seekers. Bumping into news, in other words, may widen the
perspectives one is exposed to, not narrow them.

Of those who say they see either a mix or mostly dissimilar opinions to their own in their social
media feeds, 26 percent say they always or often investigate these different opinions. About
half, 47 percent say they do sometimes. Thus, nearly three-quarters of these Millennials (73
percent) say they investigate opinions different than their own in social media at least some of
the time.

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 Only a minority, 26 percent, say they rarely or never click on or investigate opinions in their
social media feeds that are different from their own.

In other words, the study suggests a wide exposure to different points of view in social media,
and a sizable consciousness of taking the next step and investigating those views.

We heard the same awareness in our qualitative interviews, where we were able to press
people to see if these responses are simply answers to a survey or are evident in the way
people voluntarily describe their behavior.

“[Social media] creates such good dialogue because there are so many places you can get
ideas,” said Lauren, age 23 in Chicago. “You don’t know where your friend or your parent is
getting their news from. So, you can openly have a dialogue, and you have just totally different
views on the same event. I think, overall, it’s so cool that it opens up that dialogue.”

4. Millennials report changing their social media behavior over time

Another trend about the lives of Millennials in social media is that their behavior there has
changed over time. Whether this is because they have gotten older, their attitude toward social
networks has changed, or they think social media itself has changed is harder to know. We
heard in our qualitative interviews examples of all three of those factors.

Whatever the reason, fully 86 percent say they have changed how they use social media in
some way compared to the past.

While in general this generation is not highly concerned about privacy (as noted above), the
most frequently cited change in social media behavior is paying more attention to and actively
controlling their privacy settings than they once did. This was true of over half (52 percent) of
all respondents. That was the only change cited by a majority.

The second-biggest change had to do with removing content. Fully 37 percent say they are
now more likely to remove information or photos of themselves that are embarrassing or
immature.

And those who share content on Facebook or Twitter are more likely than those who do not
share content to monitor their privacy settings (60 percent vs. 46 percent) as well as remove
information or photos that could be embarrassing (47 percent vs. 30 percent).

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 The composition of some Millennials’ networks is also changing. Thirty-six percent say they
have tailored the way they use social media, with different platforms having different purposes.

There is also some but not overwhelming evidence of what might be called social fatigue. In
all, 26 percent of Millennials say they have stopped using some of their social networks
altogether.

At the same time, however, another notion about the web — that it widens one’s network of
people in an ever-expanding manner, is also not borne out in the data. In all, only about 1 in 5
Millennials say they now connect with a broader range of people (23 percent) than they once
did. Similarly, only about 1 in 5 says they use social networks for professional reasons more
frequently (21 percent) than they used to.

Supplementary Resources:
Zachos, E. (2019, August 8). Technology is changing the Millennial brain. PublicSource | News for a
Better Pittsburgh. https://www.publicsource.org/technology-is-changing-the-millennial-brain/

Mery, K. (2019, October 3). Millennials in the Workforce: How Technology Shaped Them (and What to
Do About It). Fond. https://www.fond.co/blog/millennials-in-the-workforce/

REFERENCES:
Watters, Ashley (2020, February 25). 10 Emerging Trends in Information Technology for 2020.
Retrieved from https://www.comptia.org/blog/10-emerging-trends-in-information-technology-
for-2020

American Press Institute (2015, March 16). How Millennials use and control social media. Retrieved
from https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-social-
media/

Devaney, Sharon A., PhD (2015, October). Understanding the Millennial Generation. Society of
Financial Services Professionals, 11-14.
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/47184865/understanding_the__Millennial_generatio
n.pdf?1468324075=&response-content-
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7lozuggfwLwClilvN6SjQ9fCZQYsXyJ7ft5PSgfBUjfn5HFpVYHBLmm7tvQYSVR8j6tCW6E
mBz4w07NshCEc3mqfXhx2gWtC88IvaWVhLeyKbzH8gvdEyeYyjk6wLH9FqegX~0UdQs
RcmUXLNQbWveaxPi0L8lhp1cC0JRHmQ6xSZfjh9IymW17Gfmek21NSYAiwHRyTxuWv
s~4HO88rlg2V7~OrqrCeV783RptqrFtW2OZO-
EO6IeTtbiPDwIk0iuTBaSY2jA6O9Pt5o~ipzgWaZZxZMWZtE3D5Yl3obhMLK6ZxeD5DUN
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Bialik and Fry (2019, February 14). Millennial Life: How young adulthood today compares with prior
generation. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/millennial-life-how-young-
adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-

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 generations/#:~:text=Among%20Millennials%2C%20around%20four%2Din,they%20were%20
the%20same%20age.&text=Millennial%20men%20are%20also%20better%20educated%20t
han%20their%20predecessors.

Gibson and Sodeman. Millennials and Technology: Addressing the Communication Gap in Education
and Practice.
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/37865493/Gibson_Sodeman_Winter2014_ODJ.pdf?143
3857513=&response-content-
disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DMillennials_and_Technology_Addressing_th.pdf&Expires
=1601508150&Signature=IgBudIOMPQifE6Fy9PyfEccF6Pa3KyCnGYma5WZDtFyaZ0RuFo
Mj1j6rEH6Iljsw0pti9ER6DNUrm7kmEtXvwgHmr18Ay2qxCRgXqmvIBzR0n2471hTPZaHNZ38
Or9S5eFu7tTtr4ajfETs~opp-IfviC7By9Ht~yyHrB5KUa-eX~yZotV~oVBRTDTaDvE-
CXmKSxNVehxg4nINDTbJS9aKiYbOa4b7iIgcwIPmLNmVp3gNJec3FFTM-GT-
0XhZQSa~NH4ElwsthSS6akLXmGGq89v3G95rnTBCzg5qM1LRAkPWHYPDDb5AFlasDrpp7
atHh0cUfejuYN8PbuqF0vw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

_________________________________End of Chapter 2__________________________________

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