NEWSWIRE: 10/23/17
- British Xer Tiffanie Darke and Millennial Nellie Eden recently swapped lives. The experience was revelatory for both sides: Eden marveled at Darke’s jam-packed schedule (“How does she manage to get out of the house on time with three children?”), while Darke experienced the existential disappointment of Tinder (“After 20 minutes of window shopping, the whole thing already feels hopeless”). (Vogue)
- NH: The 2003 version of Disney's Freaky Friday featured a mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) exchanging bodies with her daughter (Lindsay Lohan). Here we can read about a real-life role swap between a celebrity London fashion editor (Xer, 44) and a talented rising Millennial writer (Millennial, 26). Both wanted to know whether how they see life differently was due mostly to the shift in age or the shift in generation. Among the insights: To be young today--versus being young in the 1990s--means being more aware of personal risks, more focused on long-term outcomes, and less optimistic about eventually outearning older people.
- AT&T’s price recently dropped 6.1% in a single day amid news that it will lose 390,000 pay-TV subscribers in Q3 2017. With 2017 poised to become the worst year on record for pay-TV subscriber losses, AT&T and its peers are struggling to put on a brave face for investors. (Bloomberg Business)
- NH: We've been warning investors about the inexorable "cord-cutting" tide, impelled forward by generational aging. See, for example, a piece we did last year: "Is the Cable Industry on Its Deathbed?" To stop the bleeding, companies in this industry have to shift their expectations and business model--in a hurry.
- More than one-third of 18- to 23-year-olds in the U.K. expect to be promoted within six months of starting their first job. Yes, Millennials do often come across as impatient and entitled, but often all they really want from employers is some sign that they are valued and have a long-term future if they stick around. (Powwownow)
- A New York Times piece warns marketers not to forget about Boomers. Indeed, Boomers represent a massive consumer base with large amounts of discretionary income—and, in the words of marketing executive Robert Passikoff, “While the Millennials are sharing stuff, Boomers are buying stuff.” (The New York Times)
- NH: Boomers not only remain vast in number and still outearn Millennials by a long shot (even allowing for encroaching retirement and mortality), but they absolutely tower over today's young adults in balance-sheet wealth: Total Boomer household net worth equaled $42 trillion in 2016 versus a measly $2 trillion for Millennials. So why do advertisers spend so much more on the youngish "golden demo" than on Boomers? The usual answer is that (a) seniors consume a lot more old media, making them much cheaper to reach; (b) young adults are habitual brand-switchers, so ad spending is just a cost of doing business with them; and (c) targeting young adults is a way to invest in your brand's future. My take: (a) and (b) are becoming steadily less true due to generational change. And (c) is implausible given how few CEOs can raise their eyes beyond next quarter's earnings statement. The hidden assumption behind all these arguements is that targeting seniors and youth is an either-or choice. Yet as the NYT piece rightly points out, this too is no longer true. (See: "Pitching to Boomers by Poking Fun at Millennials.")
- California is preparing new rules that would allow autonomous vehicles to be tested without a person in the driver’s seat. Although self-driving cars still have a long way to go, tech and automotive companies alike are confident that fully autonomous vehicles will hit the streets sooner rather than later. (Quartz)
- NH: This will be a long, staged process. (See: "Driverless Cars: Unsafe at Any Speed?") Consider long-haul driving on a pristine Arizona freeway with a self-drive option: Sure, already here. Then consider pick-up and delivery in New York City during a snowstorm with no steering wheel: Not on anyone's LiDAR screen anytime soon.
- More than half of Millennial women (52%) say that men have it easier in America these days, the highest share of any generation. This may be because Millennials are most likely be Democratic-leaners and to be college educated (since both groups are most likely to say "easier")—though it may also be because young women are re-entering the workforce so much more rapidly than young men. (Pew Research Center)
- NH: There's a big and obvious partisan gap on whether recent changes in gender roles have been good or bad for the "ability of women or men to lead satisfying lives." But there's little partisan gap on how they have impacted men and women at work. A clear majority of both Democrat-leaners (57%) and Republican-leaners (53%) agree they "have made it easier for women to be successful at work." Likewise, very few in either camp (27% and 23%, respectively) agree that they "have made it easier for men to be successful at work."
- TV critic Hank Stuever identifies two TV shows (Loudermilk and Better Things) that perfectly encapsulate Gen-X grouchiness. From grunge-loving teens to middle-aged grumps, Xers can’t help but be rebels without a cause in pop culture. (The Washington Post)
- NH: Hilarious article for TV pop-culture mavens. One of the best lines: “'Loudermilk' remains resolutely focused on its title character’s permanent condition, which is resonant of an old Nirvana track: I hate myself and want to die. Loudermilk is old enough to have improved on the sentiment. He hates himself (and plenty others), but living sure beats the alternative."
- Psychology professor Clay Routledge says that Millennials are “losing faith in freedom” because of overprotective parenting. While Millennials hardly represent the death of democracy, Routledge correctly notes that Boomer and Xer parents sheltered their Millennial kids from every possible stressor growing up—which has since manifested in a desire for protection and order. (The New York Times)
- NH: This is a fascinating essay that focuses on a little-noticed side of the Millennial Generation in politics. The news is not so much their tilt to the left or the right, but rather their tilt to authority and rules versus individualism and self-discovery. (See: "Are Millennials Giving Up on Democracy?")
- New research shows that men made up 13% of the nursing field in 2015, up from just 2% in 1960. The decades-long growth of female-dominated pink-collar fields at the expense of male-dominated blue-collar fields has forced many men to find work as nurses, teachers, and other high-EQ professionals. (The Wall Street Journal)
- NH: During the century following the Civil War, men steadily declined as a share of all nurses until they all but disappeared from the profession circa 1970 (when there were few other professions open to women). Since then, men have been returning to nursing. The movement started with Boomer men and even more, in recent years, with Xer men who typically transitioned into nursing in their 30s and 40s. Clearly, Xer men are responding to market signals: Nursing is a perma-growth industry with virtually guaranteed employment--and, as cost-cutting pressure in health care grows, RNs are gaining in pay and prestige by taking over a growing number of medical tasks from doctors. Millennial males will no doubt follow suit. (See: "The Spread of the Pink-Collar Economy.")
- If Millennial parents keep pace with their current saving habits, they could retire with $1 million more than Boomer parents and $400,000 more than Xer parents. Early in their careers, Millennial parents are already planning ahead and out-saving older parents. (Nerd Wallet)
DID YOU KNOW?
Homeownership for Dummies. We identified home remodeling as a nascent growth area four years ago. (See: “The Home Remodeling Boom.”) Now, as more Millennials are buying homes, home improvement retailers are showing these young DIY homeowners the ropes with an array of classes, tutorials, and how-to tips. Home Depot uses its stores as de facto classrooms, with in-person workshops centered on everything from hanging a ceiling fan to correctly using a tape measure. Last year, lawnmower engine maker Briggs & Stratton built a professional studio inside its headquarters that will churn out high-quality how-to videos. Lawn-care company Scotts offers lessons for young homeowners that include even the most basic tips—such as making sure plants get enough sunlight. Are such rudimentary tutorials insulting? Not according to Scotts’ Jim King: “[Millennials] grew up playing soccer, having dance recitals, and playing an Xbox… They probably didn’t spend as much time helping Mom and Dad out in the yard as their predecessors.”
