Understanding Today’s College Student
by Tad Lichtenauer • June 2007 • 2 Comments •
The experts refer to this generation as social, skeptical, talented, stressed, giving, global, inexperienced, multicultural, influential, and team/goal-oriented.
Technology’s Influence
Millennials represent one of the largest generations in U.S. history, surpassing 80 million.
They are arriving on college campuses having been consumers of technology in ways that previous generations barely understand, and the challenges that these students present are unique.
In their 2007 book “Connecting to the Net.Generation: What higher education professionals need to know about today’s college students,” Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa found that in a survey of 7,705 college students:
- 97% own a computer
- 94% own a cell phone
- 56% own an MP3 player
- 76% use instant messaging (IM)
- 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week
- 34% use websites as their primary source of news
- 28% own a blog, and 44% read blogs
- 49% download music using peer-to-peer file sharing
- 69% of students have a Facebook account
Millennials will be on college campuses for many years to come so understanding how they use technology and how it influences their values is an important step to understanding how to communicate effectively with them.
These young adults are invading college campuses with higher expectations than any generation before them.
They are so well connected that if something doesn’t meet their expectations, they can click a mouse or punch a cell phone button and instantly inform their friends.
They are Millennials. Born between 1980 and 2000, this generation is as large or larger than the Baby Boomers generation.
Primary Characteristics
According to experts , who have written extensively about Millennials, this generation of students is predicted to be drastically different from its predecessors.
Howe and Strauss say for this generation their parents are their heroes and also their primary influence on values and views.
However, the role of these “helicopter parents” often leaves the Millennials inexperienced, even though many grew up as latch-key kids and spent a significant amount of time home alone.
Millennials come from small, close families, and even though they have a high self-esteem, they are known for being poor at scheduling and lean heavily on older adults for help while in college.
They usually choose a college close to home and they are very interested in financial success and material possessions. Many have worked in high school and also will work while going to college.
Also, under-aged drinking and illegal drug use remain a dangerous influence on this generation but the experts say overall rates of “partying” have been falling since the mid-1980s.
Millennials are categorized as not being terribly interested in politics but their interest level is on the rise. They tend to be skeptical, even cynical about institutions, including media, and especially advertising.
They are very multicultural, and globally aware, but the experts say they are not very knowledgeable. They also are pessimistic about direction of the world, especially the environment.
Millennials are known for their volunteer work and for their interest in participating in club activities. They prefer internet to telephone for interpersonal communication, even socialization. They are very multi-task oriented, which sometimes can be mistaken for rudeness.
Most Millennials think it’s cool to be smart but are intellectually disengaged. They accept individuals in authority roles but they have a high level of stress and sometimes have short attention spans.
This generation is not known for supporting organized religion, but do have an increased sense of morality and honesty.
Most Millennials tend to gravitate towards group activities, seeking family-like support and structure, and because they are aware of importance of social skills.
Shaped by Their Times
Born from 1980 through 2000, the most influential years for this generation as a whole are the 1990s and the 2000s.
They’re the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital media, and also the first generation to grow up during and after the terrible events of 9/11, Columbine High School, and now Virginia Tech University.
Just as all generations are programmed from the moment of birth, the Millennials began a series of programming experiences when they were infants. These experiences created the filters through which they see the world.
According to expert Claire Raines’ 2002 book Connecting Generations: The Sourcebook there are eight key trends have had a profound effect on the Millennials personality:
- Focus on children and family
- Scheduled, structured lives
- Multiculturalism
- Terrorism
- Heroism
- Patriotism
- Parent advocacy
- Globalism
Growing up, Millennials were bombarded with a unique set of consistent and compelling messages, many of them so embedded in the culture that adults, let alone children, were barely even aware of them.
The school system reinforced a distinct set of values. Parenting patterns molded the perspective of this new generation.
Raines goes on to write in her book that all of this led to the following messages having a profound effect on the generation as a whole:
- Be smart, you are special
- Leave no one behind
- Connect 24/7
- Achieve now!
- Serve your community
This repetitive messaging translates into a generation with a different school and work ethic than any other.
Lambda Chi’s Opportunity
The Millennial generation is and will make a significant impact on colleges and universities, in the community, and in any organization they join for years to come.
Chapter members and alumni need to understand the Millennials to best recruit, develop, and mentor them. Many of the ideals that Lambda Chi Alpha offers to its members are an excellent match for this generation.
As mentioned earlier, this generation of young men will often seek out advice and direction from older adults.These smart, young men also want to have fun and they want to be respected and challenged, and to join a fraternity that offers them the greatest benefits.
The Millennials are very interested in being a part of a group or a team and they want to make a difference in the community and the world in which they live.
They have positive attitudes, good manners, and they have a high degree of respect for themselves and others compared to previous generations. Once recruited to join our Fraternity they should be very helpful at attracting similar upstanding young men.
In a well-run recruitment program, Lambda Chi Alpha’s ideals need to be introduced and explained to potential members and reinforced throughout all key aspects of Fraternity life.
Incoming students who can understand and relate to the values of our Fraternity will be more apt to join, and more likely to become positive contributors.
Chapters that implement this thinking will have an advantage over other fraternities because our program inherently brings with it the concepts, ideals, and mechanisms that appeal to and benefit this new generation of students.
Important Role of Alumni
They have a strong belief in family and a respect for authority figures. Lambda Chi Alpha must continue to do its part to encourage alumni to help develop, counsel, and mentor our undergraduate chapter members.
Millennials desire feedback regarding their personal development and want someone who will guide them and teach them about different aspects of the Fraternity and life in general.
With a strong family background, Millennials have a clearer sense of their own values and will be coming to college with a better understanding of what they are looking for from organizations, colleagues, and friends.
Alumni must continue to make themselves available whenever and wherever possible to offer assistance and guidance to this very important generation of brothers.
David L. Woods Says:
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:52 amThis article brought forth a thought that seems to have evaded me for 74 years. I have five daughters. So I never thought of them as a fraternal legacy. In fact only three of them attended college, although they picked up five degrees among them.
Looking ahead, i wonder if any fraternity has worked out some sort of mutual agreement with a sorority. Too late for my offspring, but the idea seems no more far-fetched than a lot of fraternal reforms that have come along since my affiliation in 1949 at ZNZ (San Jose State — gone since the 60s, although today perhaps the largest & most fully integrated college in the US.
John W. Jackson Says:
June 2nd, 2007 at 7:49 pmSadly at the two campuses I dealt with as an alumni I did not see the strong moral fiber and attitude of “community before self.” I am glad, and somewhat surprised, to hear that this is not the case nationwide. Today’s students have high aspirations and expectations; however, in my humbling experience, most appear unwilling to make the personal sacrifices required to achieve either. Instead there is a strong focus on “what’s in it for me?” and “why should I do extra?”
Again, I hope that these observations are isolated to the few small groups I interacted with, but if not, I fear for the future of our fraternity…and our nation.