Ideas trump age, say 300 top Silicon Valley influencers debating the Millennial Survey

By , 24 June 2013 at 15:38
Ideas trump age, say 300 top Silicon Valley influencers debating the Millennial Survey
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Ideas trump age, say 300 top Silicon Valley influencers debating the Millennial Survey

By , 24 June 2013 at 15:38

24 June 2013: Hot on the heels of Telefónica’s release of the largest ever global study into the attitudes of the Millennial Generation, 300 of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest gathered at Mobile Monday recently to hear – and debate – the report highlights.

On the panel were Jay Leveton from Penn Schoen Berland, who oversaw the research, Sophie-Charlotte Moatti, mobile product manager at Facebook, Gina Tirado Strayer, VP Community at Lyft, Telefónica Ventures’ Jack Leeney, Jude Gomile, co-founder of Heyzap, Kevin Fishner, business intelligence at Kiip, and moderator Suse Barnes of Susby Internet Strategy.

The event began with a keynote from Leveton, outlining responses from the 12,171 participant-strong survey, in which 18-30 year olds reported their feelings and opinions on diverse topics such as technology, job aspirations, economic confidence, political concerns, civic engagement, leadership and beyond.

With many of the panellists and audience-members being born in the Millennials bracket, and working in companies either founded by, or mostly consisting of, Millennials, there was widespread recognition of the impact of this generation upon technology companies in particular.

A few areas of the findings captured the attention of the room, in particular:

  • There appears to be a ‘Technology Gender Gap’ – men are more likely to see themselves on the cutting edge of technology that women.
  • Millennials believe that technology is knowledge, and knowledge is power – they believe technology has widened the gap between the rich and poor.
  • 10% of the surveyed group were classified as ‘Millennial leaders’ – they see themselves on the cutting edge of technology, are optimistic of the future and believe in their own ability to make a difference.
  • Millennials from developing countries such as India and China were far more likely to believe the best days of their country lay ahead – at a far higher rate than those from established countries such as the US and Europe.
  • 39% of Millennials are very concerned about not having enough money to retire – despite many of them having around 60 years of work life ahead of them, already there is significant concern for their own economic security.

In Silicon Valley, where age is less relevant than experience and ideas, the concept of a Millennial Generation takes an interesting twist. In a place where some of the most famous and well-respected figures are in their 20’s, the Mobile Monday Truth About Millennials event was a great opportunity to both look inwards, as well as contemplate the lives and attitudes of peers all around the world.

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