Today’s millennials despite the desire to be individually different and unique, have found a way to connect and share in one another’s world.
Reports show that millennials generally demonstrate empathy for the less privileged in the society including refugees and are mostly averse to gender discrimination.
This could explain why the social media and the internet are today awash with giveaways and gofundme initiatives, to assist many believed to be in need, although some giveaways may be regarded as nothing but vain clout chasing.
Young social media users seek to crowdfund for rent or food, burdensome expenses such as medical bills, surgery, school fees, business startup capital or even a couple bucks for a frivolous treat.
The willingness of young people to relieve others from immediate financial stress could be attributed to the belief that being left behind could lead to depression and likely suicide.
It is therefore not uncommon these days to find social media users sending personal account details under threads of people, mainly young superstars in the entertainment sector, who they believe is in position to better their lot. More often than not, these idols do actually come through for them, some other times a random stranger may pick the tab, or even rally others to crowdfund for the needy.
Closing the Gender Gap
The World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Survey, an assessment of nearly 25,000 people aged 35 and under, underlines a growing desire by millennials to deliberately and progressively close the gender gap.
As gender pay gaps persist and racial wealth gaps widen, there is a broader understanding of the toll that being female, transgender, black or brown has on one’s finances.
That perspective comes through in appeals for money. On International Women’s Day, for example, some Twitter users urged men to try to help level the playing field through Venmo.
For millennial respondents in the most recent edition of the Global Shapers Survey, identity is not about geography, religion, or ethnicity. Instead, most respondents (40.8%) simply saw themselves as “human”; they feel that existing together in the same world, and sharing concerns and desires, serves as more of a unifying force than any easy label.
As a group, they are generally concerned about the well-being of others. When asked what would make them feel freer within their respective societies, more than half chose the reply “equal access to opportunities for all.”
More than half of respondents said they strongly believe same-sex couples should be able to legally marry, though many young people from the Middle East and North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa strongly disagreed with this idea. One important factor behind the views expressed in the survey was the origin of the respondent.
Many of those hailing from countries that score low on the Human Development Index (a measure of well-being based on life expectancy, education, and other factors) do not believe same-sex couples should be able to marry legally, for example, while 77% of respondents from very high HDI-ranked countries strongly believed they should be able to marry legally.
Millennials are mostly confident the gender gap will be reduced during their professional lifetime (38.9% “somewhat” agreed with this in the survey, and 25.1% “strongly” agreed). When asked to complete the statement “I would welcome refugees in…,” more than one quarter of survey respondents answered, “my home.”
The empathy of young people reminds us all that refugees are human beings in need. Only 7.4% of respondents said they would not welcome refugees in their country, and on a regional basis, young people from North America exhibited an extraordinary degree of openness, with more than 80% indicating they would be comfortable welcoming refugees in their neighbourhood.
In terms of staying in touch, nearly 40% of survey respondents said texting or messaging was preferred, though voice calls were the first choice in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and social networks were preferred in the Middle East and North Africa. Responses were overwhelming to a question about whether young people, in general, think that the news presented on social media is trustworthy; only 1.3% “strongly” agreed with that idea, while about 22% “somewhat” agreed.
