Mobile first. Millennials.
The millennial generation are those born after 1980 and the role they play in our digital society is pivotal and exploding.
They crave a different world: Built around freedom, choice, agility and trust. This differs hugely from the previous generation (X) who chased stability, career, money and competition.
As the millennial generation imposes an ever greater influence on our world, so the digital world has to adapt to their needs. For those who are responsible for these services (typically Gen X’ers) this offers huge challenges and even bigger opportunities.
Millennials were born, and live, with a mobile device in their hand, they have no concept of what life was like before we were always connected. The very fact that “mobile-first” took most of the digital world by surprise is no surprise – the millennial generation simply stopped using old devices and “made do” with mobile. It almost killed Microsoft and made Apple.
Some argue that millennials still do use laptops and desktops, but that is more a function of societal compliance. Schools and workplaces are still drenched in 1980’s, Microsoft-type, technology that requires antiquated windows, printers and email systems. The growth of BYOD, adoption of tablet technology in the workplace and schools plus BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) will consign the old computing devices back into the hands of technologists, specialists and hobbyists.
I, for one, welcome our new Millennial overlords (sic) and as we move into a new digital universe we’ll all benefit and embrace the always-connected lifestyle – despite the challenges of privacy, cyber-attacks, hacking, identity theft and fear-mongering luddites who miss the old world of the telephone, business cards, brochures and mass marketing.
See you on the other side.
