WASHINGTON—Credit unions can’t get enough of talking about Millennials, but one group has had its fill: Millennials themselves.
New research shows that despite becoming the largest generation in U.S. history, “this age cohort do not identify with the term ‘Millennial’,” according to research released by the Pew Research Trusts.
Indeed, Pew reported that just 40% of adults ages 18 to 34 consider themselves part of the “Millennial generation,” while another 33% – mostly older Millennials – consider themselves part of the next older cohort, Generation X.
Pew said it found that generational identity is strongest among the Boomers, with 79% of those 51 to 69 consider themselves part of the “Baby-Boom generation.” Among those 35 to 50 (the age range for Gen X), 58% consider themselves part of “Generation X.”
The oldest cohort of Americans is by far the least likely to embrace a generational label. Just 18% of those ages 70 to 87 (the age range of the Silent Generation) actually see themselves as part of the “Silent Generation.” Far more Silents consider themselves part of adjoining generations, either Boomers (34%) or the Greatest Generation (also 34%).
The national survey by the Pew Research Center was conducted March 10-April 6 with 3,147 adults who are part of a nationally representative sample. Respondents were given five commonly used terms for generations, including the “Greatest Generation,” and asked whether they considered themselves part of these generations.
My Gen, Gen, Gen, Generation
Meanwhile, the Pew Research survey also asked if a number of descriptions applied to the people of their generation. Among the findings:
- Silents are far more likely than people in younger age cohorts to view their own generation in a positive light. Large majorities of Silents say the people of their generation are hard-working (83%), responsible (78%), patriotic (73%), self-reliant (65%), moral (64%), willing to sacrifice (61%) and compassionate (60%).
- Boomers also tend to have favorable impressions of their generation, though in most cases they are not as positive as Silents.
- By contrast, Gen Xers and Millennials are far more skeptical in assessing the strengths of their generations. And Millennials, in particular, stand out in their willingness to ascribe negative stereotypes to their own generation: 59% say the term “self-absorbed” describes their generation, compared with 30% among Gen Xers, 20% of Boomers and just 7% of Silents.
- On several measures – including hard work, responsibility, willingness to sacrifice, and self-reliance – Pew said the share in each generation expressing positive views declines step-wise across age cohorts, from the oldest to the youngest. For example, 83% of Silents describe the people of their generation as hard-working, as do (77%) of Boomers. A narrow majority of Gen Xers (54%) say people of their generation are hard-working, while 36% of Millennials say that phrase describes people in their cohort.
- There is only one description – “idealistic” – on which a generation other than the Silents views itself most positively in the Pew research: Somewhat more Millennials (39%) than Gen Xers (28%), Boomers (31%) or Silents (26%) describe their generation as idealistic.
“Generational names are largely the creations of social scientists and market researchers,” noted Pew research in its analysis. “The age boundaries of these widely used labels are somewhat variable and subjective, so perhaps it is not surprising that many Americans do not identify with ‘their’ generation.”
Now Sure About Generation
Pew said that while 40% of those in this cohort consider themselves Millennials, as many as 33% also say they belong to Gen X. Among older Millennials (ages 27 to 34), 43% consider themselves Gen Xers, while 35% identify as Millennials. Yet even among younger Millennials (ages 18 to 26), fewer than half (45%) consider themselves part of this generation.
Most adults (58%) born between 1965 and 1980, the birth years of Gen X, identify with “their” generation. Notably, relatively few Gen Xers (just 4%) identify as Millennials, but 15% consider themselves Boomers. Among younger Gen Xers (ages 35 t0 42), 68% identify with Gen X; among older Gen Xers, fewer (48%) see themselves as part of this generation, while 24% identify as Boomers.