The Social Interaction Characteristics of Millennials Compared to Baby Boomers

Social Interaction among Millennials and Baby Boomers

Introduction

When it comes to social interaction differences among Millennials and Baby Boomers there is much to be said. Millennials are digital natives and have grown up with social media. Boomers have come to the technology late but have embraced it to some extent, though not quite to the same level as Millennials. In the workplace, among family and friends, and in terms of digital communication, Millennials and Baby Boomeers interact socially in ways that are similar and different and this paper will discuss and describe those ways.

Workplace

One of the main points to remember with regard to Boomers is that they grew up with face to face interaction and they value being able to communicate in a face to face manner (Venter, 2017). Millennials are much more willing to engage in virtual communication or to work in virtue workplaces (Ngotngamwong, 2019). However, there is an important difference between Millennials and Boomers in the workplace and it relates to organizational commitment: Boomers are more likely to value commitment, while Millennials are more likely to change jobs multiple times in order to work their way up the corporate ladder or just to find a job that they match up well with (Ngotngamwong, 2019). Boomers tend to have an unfavorable view of Millennials, whom they view as “irresponsible, unreliable, stubborn, impatient, overly confident, frequently using their phones, and not listening to their superiors” (Ngotngamwong, 2019, p. 62). Millennials do not view themselves in this manner, however, and feel that they are lively and valuable to whatever company that employs them. They like to interact in a meaningful way and want to have a positive impact on the development of the company (Ngotngamwong, 2019). Boomers, meanwhile, are more likely to embrace the status quo and to value stability. They do not like to take risks or try to push the company in new directions in the way that Millennials try to do. This difference in how the two generations approach the workplace can create social tension and it is a challenge for managers in terms of how to manage these two generations (Stewart, Oliver, Cravens & Oishi, 2017).

Boomers believe that Millennials act like they are entitled, while Millennials believe that Boomers do not want to give up their positions or jobs to the younger generation (Ngotngamwong, 2019). These beliefs create conflict in the workplace and make it difficult for the two groups to overcome the generation gap. Managers have to find ways to help the two groups learn to appreciate one another (Stewart et al., 2017). In the age of coronavirus, there are ample opportunities for these two groups to come together. With more employees working virtually from home, there is a need for Zoom meetings, where face to face virtual meetings take place over the Internet. The merger of technology with face to face communication methods is a way for that difference between the two to be overcome.

Family/Peer

Boomers have a higher marriage rate than do Millennials, who are less likely to want to get married and start a family, though the latter group is not averse to caring for family members (Accius & Yeh, 2016). The problem is that Millennials have grown up in an age where divorce is much more common than it was when Boomers were coming of age. When Boomers were growing up, getting married and starting a family was still the norm. Today, co-habitation, single-parent homes, and childless couples are much more common. Millennials, therefore, do not have the same orientation towards family or towards having a family that their grandparents had. To make up for a lack of familial commitment, Millennials are more likely than Boomers to appeal to friends and peers for support (Licite, Janmere & Auzina, 2018). This is particularly true in the area of study: Millennials rely on peers for help with learning, planning, and making it through college courses (Licite et al., 2018). Peers help Millennials deal with stress in the learning environment, much more than family (Bland, Melton, Welle & Bigham, 2012). The idea that Boomers relied more upon family for assistance in making their way in the world is not one that registers deeply with Millennials. Millennials do not think of family in the same way that Boomers do. The reason this is so is mainly to be found in the cultural changes that have been wrought in the latter half of the 20th and first part of the 21st century. Cultural emphasis is placed on the satisfying of the self rather than on the giving of the self to family.

However, for Millennials who do have families and do want to spend time with family, the nature of that interaction is different from the interaction with families by Boomers. Boomers tend to be respectful of the way in which space and time and granted. They do not desire instant contact with family members at all times; but Millennials do, and they prefer to have that constant contact by way of social media and cell phones (Venter, 2017). Boomers on the other hand believe it is important to have family time that is face to face, time that is spent without digital devices. For Millennials to be without digital devices is like asking them to be cut off from family and friends (Venter, 2017). This is the reason managers try to bring more digital connectivity options into the workplace: they realize the need to satisfy the desire for digital communications among Millennials (Bennett et al., 2010). Social networking is far more important to Millennials than it is to Boomers (Licite et al., 2018). Family, when it is available, tends to be of equal importance to both Boomers and Millennials, but the manner in which members of each generation turn to family for engagement is very different, as Boomers desire face to face time without distractions, and Millennials will interact with family in more of a constant stream of touch-base communications over digital media, so that distractions are accepted as part of life and not something that necessarily have to be prevented during family time.

Digital Communication/Digital Divide

Millennials prefer to communicate digitally; Boomers have become accustomed to the reality of digital communication, but in most cases they still prefer having face to face interactions with others (Venter, 2017). This is not to suggest that Millennials need digital communication in all cases; on the contrary, they show their ability to engage with others without it in workplace meetings by being lively, proactive, engaged, and contributing to discussion (Ngotngamwong, 2019). The main driver for communication on digital platforms for Millennials, however, is that their friends are on them; they have grown up with these devices; they recognize the ease that these devices allows people in terms of communicating with others, and they recognize how simple these devices make living in the modern era. For Boomers these devices make living in the digital world more complicated: they are used to the older ways of life, when people went to stores to shop, to interact with professionals and experts in the field, and to socialize with others (Bennett et al., 2010).

There is a digital divide between the two generations in terms of what types of digital communications are being used (Lee et al., 2015). However, the divide is more cultural than anything (Allen et al., 2015). The digital divide in its common sense refers to the gap between developed nations where digital communications are norms and undeveloped nations where digital communications are deemed a luxury if at all present. The fact that Lee et al. (2015) should discuss a digital divide that focuses on types of digital platforms suggests the extent to which digital communications have been normalized the world over. Still, for Boomers, the lack of interest in digital communications in some parts of their life, as in family time, indicates that the cultural gap is at work here. Boomers are not interested in having constant, digitalized contact with others 24/7; Millennials view such contact as part of life (Stewart et al., 2017). Millennials want to use digital technology in nearly every aspect of their lives. For them, all things can be conducted digitally. For Boomers, there is a sense that digital technology has changed much of the world and much of their approach to the world. They do not hate all social media and are, to some extent, immersed in legacy social media like Facebook—but the younger generation is more up to date and current on new social media platforms like Tik Tok. The younger generation is interested in becoming social media influencers, as they see influence being wielded by social media stars and social media is like the new Hollywood for them (Ngotngamwong, 2019). The old Hollywood for the Boomers was the place in L.A. and getting recognized in Hollywood was the ultimate in fame. They would never associate stardom with being a social media celebrity, so there is that difference, too.

Millennials and Boomers differ on the digital divide and the utility of digital communications. The main reason for this is that Millennials have been brought up in the digital age; Boomers have had to adapt to this age, particularly in work and if they have young children or grandchildren (Bennett et al., 2010). Boomers see Millennials as dependent upon technology and Boomers think that their own social skills are superior to those of Millennials, since Millennials lack the skills required for interacting face to face, reading a person’s body language, and using social and emotional intelligence (Allen et al., 2015). Millennials believe they are mischaracterized by Boomers and feel that Boomers have an ingrained prejudice against digital technology since they did not invent it or ask for it (Ngotngamwong, 2019).