How Millennials Didn't Live Up to Expectations in 2016... In a Good Way

We’ve all read blogs, seen news stories, and heard comments about how Millennials are changing the world; sometimes for the better but usually it’s the opposite. eMarketer has compiled a list of six things that weren’t true of Millennials in 2016; a list that provides some light on the typically negative viewpoint of these young adults.

Millennials will never become homeowners

False- according to a Navient survey in May, 71% of Millennials aged 31 to 35 own their home and most of these homeowners living in the suburbs.

Millennials barely watch any traditional TV

It’s true that Millennials watch less traditional TV, but they haven’t cut out “the tube” all together. eMarketer estimates that nine in 10 Millennials watch non-digital TV at least once a month in 2016.

Millennials have stopped listening to traditional radio

Not the case! Yes, with options like Pandora and Spotify, traditional radio usage has declined but it is not extinct. The trend is similar with that of television; there are more convenient options that Millennials are taking advantage of, but they’re not completely leaving traditional methods in the dust. In fact, younger Millennials (18-24) average 10 hours and 24 minutes per week with AM/FM radio. That number jumps to 11 hours and 20 minutes when talking about Millennials aged 25-34.

Millennials are moving their social presence from Facebook

With the addition of new social sites, the options are much broader, but Millennials are still actively on Facebook. Buzz Marketing Group asked Millennials to list their daily activities and 85% of respondents reported that one daily activity was posting or reading posts on Facebook. According to Roth Capital Partners, Facebook is the most frequently used social network by millennial mothers.

Millennials always ignore marketing emails

Nope! Millennials might frequently ignore said emails, but always is a bit drastic. A survey by Fluent shows that 12% of 18 to 29 year olds find marketing emails to always be useful. Averagely, 30% said marketing emails are sometimes useful.

Millennials have no intentions of getting married

That is just not true.  Today’s young adults are getting married later in life than their parents and grandparents did, however that doesn’t mean they won’t marry at all. Census Bureau data for 2016 shows that 62.2% of 25-29 year olds have never married, 38.6% of 30-34 year olds have never married, and only 24.1% of 35-39 year olds have never married.

Millennials might be different than the generations they follow, but they don’t seem to be living up to all the negative expectations. As for marketers, there are still tons of ways to reach these young adults from traditional TV to internet streaming radio, social media to wedding magazines, even real estate flyers and e-newsletters.