Millennial Generation

Last Updated: Mar. 18, 2016

The Millennial Generation (Hero, born 1982–2004) first arrived amid “Babies on Board” signs, when abortion and divorce rates ebbed, the popular culture recast babies as special, and hands-off parental styles were replaced by Lamaze and attachment-parenting obsessiveness. Child abuse and child safety became hot topics, while books teaching virtues, values, and team-playing citizenship became best-sellers. As Millennials began reaching their teens in the late 1990s, youth volunteering and community service surged—while teen rates of drinking, smoking, and violent crime declined steeply. As they began entering the workforce in the early 2000s, cutting-edge employers implemented safety, feedback, mentorship, and career advancement programs in order to retain their best and brightest. Today, even as they live with or near their parents, first-wave Millennials maintain high hopes for their future in the face of record-high youth unemployment. (AMERICAN: Mark Zuckerberg, LeBron James, Miranda Cosgrove, Michelle Wie, Miley Cyrus, Christopher Paolini; FOREIGN: Prince William, Justin Bieber)

In This Section

Downloads