Internet: The key factor In the Millenials

“Millennial” is a term used in reference to a person born within 1977-1998 , which is today’s youth. A large part of them live in an electronic-based world where iPods, laptops, and cell phones have become essential tools in their everyday life. Everything in this generation is germane to communicate, and the Internet is the best tool for that. Having these electronic devices and Internet means having larger sources of information. If that is so, is it possible that the internet could be a decisive factor in today’s youth behavior?.


The term “Millennial” was created by William Strauss and Neil Howe and it emerge as a title to named all the people born within 1977-1988. These authors have been studying the American generations since 1584. Their publications have become matters for debate, opinion and discussion. Richard Sweeney, university librarian at New Jersey Institute of Technology stands “Change your teaching style. Make blogs, iPods, and video games part of your pedagogy. And learn to accept divided attention spans. A new generation of students has arrived --and sorry, but they might not want to hear you lecture for an hour“ .


The Internet is the key factor in this behavior, granting access to all kind of information in small time increases the expectation in the quality of knowledge. According to the PEW Internet and American Life Project over 17 million American teenagers (12 to 17 years) use the Internet for communication purpose (instant messaging, emails, music, etc.) That means that teenagers need to stay in contact and communicate with each other, because they have all this information accessible at all time, their homework and research can be completed easily in no time, which makes them less interested in their classes; they can do their homework and research while listening music and talking with their friends.


It is also important to mention that the Internet has lots of dangers; getting tough information earlier (such as drugs, tattoos, chemical reactions etc.) can act as a detriment to the normal development of a child. Also the new social-networks (like facebook, myspace etc.) put in danger the privacy of users by allowing thirds to keep in touch with them, this can end in sexual harassment, hounding or stalkers.


It is true that the Internet is a wide opened window that everyone can look through, but you have to be really careful on what to focus because you can find harmful things in that view. The sight through this window is unique from person to person, and it helps growing teenagers on finding their answers for their questions. By receiving this information in multiple ways, the internet change the way that teenagers grow, it shapes their thoughts by clearing their concerns, or damage them by giving wrong or harmful information. Either way, the internet is the most valuable tool for the generation of millennials.

Fernando Blohm