Last week I attended the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual meeting in Chicago. One of the most interesting sessions I attended, sponsored by the Standing Committee on Teaching, was a panel discussion called "Teaching in an Age of Entitlement." We didn't have wireless but I took notes, and here there are (pretty much unedited, so they're long and probably full of typos):
Speaker: Gigi Carroll SVP and Creative Strategist at Draftfcb in Chicago (industry perspective). Presented results of “Choice Generation: A Closer Look at Millennials,” 4-yr. study on millennials
Largest population we have ever seen (bigger than boomers), currently 83 million Americans. Power to change everything including mktg b/c of the way they receive and demand information.
Traits: optimistic, indulged, empowered, egocentric, educated, entitled, ambitious. Her agency calls them the “choice generation” b/c they’ve been given every choice imaginable, so they demand choice, personalization, world on their terms
Children of boomers, born between 1977 and 1996. Highly protected and the most empowered -- power and no responsibility. They are the "Most":
- Most loved and desired -- parents so wanted them; best friends with parents, name their parents as top role model, family is most important thing
- Most included -- involved in family decisions, food car vacations – influence 88% of household decisions
- Most protected -- car seats, bike helmets, knee pads. Everybody plays -- don’t keep score of games, parents negotiating everything from pre-school to college to employment opportunities so adolescence extends into the 20s
- KIPPERS -- kids in parents’ pockets eroding retirement savings
- 55% move home after college
- 26% of those age 26 live at home
- 73% of 18-25 y-o have received financial assistance from their parents in past yr
- Most diverse
- 88% of parents white but only 55% of millennials refer to themselves as white; even gender differences less pronounced (girls like sports, boys interested in fashion and grooming)
- Very tolerant of gay marriage, interracial relationships
- Most indulged -- “prematurely affluent” Poised to become the next great luxury consumers, 77% feel they can rely on friends and family to help them financially; more likely to borrow large sums of money
- Most immediate -- always on the lookout for the newest thing and want it now; fickle. Conspicuous consumers, they have high expectations and spending power. Last year teen spending alone $179 billion
- Most social -- grew up on playdates. 20% have at least 25 friends in their social network. Ongoing need for feedback and relationship maintenance. Travel and communicate in packs; therefore influential.
- Most connected: never known life w/o computer. 97% of college students own, 75% have FB account. Using 3-5 pieces of equipment at the same time.
- Most confident: boast aboutthier generation’s power and potential. Waiting to get married b/c things to do before that. Believe they will inherit and make the world a better place.
- Most entrepreunerial: high performance and high maintenance. 75% of 18-29 y-o’s say they want to start their own business. Leery of corporate America, less likely to responde to command and control. Digital natives, adaptable
- The most about we. Altruism is part of their vernacular. 51% do volunteer work. More attention to politics (partly Obama, but also getting old enough to participate)
- Most influenced by global culturalization: clothing, food, music. Socially conscious about the environment, animal rights, sustainability
- Most me!Egocentric -- aware of healthy living organics, personal care category is exploding
- Anything that lets me express myself is exploding. UGC, AI, fashion influencers
- Students therefore want: more choices, experiences, customization, power and participation
Speaker: Fred Blevens, Florida International University – administrator’s perspective
Biggest bunch to arrive to college will be in 2010
Dorm—kids want TV, computer, games in their room etc. How to administer to students who have these expectations?
Educators and administrators are not racially mixed. In other ways not like them. 1 in 5 will end up self-employed. 1 in 5 women will remain childless. They want to be free agents. There no reason for them to be loyal. But the eductors/admin all have the reverse values.
Suggestions/questions:
- Do we focus hiring on seasoned people in traditional news/ad-PR industries?
- How do we move admin closer to these people?
- What do you do to the curriculum? Not what the industry wants but what the students want?
Speaker: Cyndi Frisby, Missouri – teacher’s perspective
Things students do: ask prof for lecture notes after skipping class; suggest they pay for class, can therefore come and go as they please
Reasons:
- Media -- WSJ blames Mr. Rogers “You’re special” instead of “you should work hard”
Changing role of parent/authority on TV -- disrespect for authority figures
- Parenting -- narcissism and entitlement have increased; kids’ disrespect is allowed or excused because they’re just children. Use titles not first names for parents.
- Influence of technology
E-mail made profs more approachable, but also too accessible. Expectation to be available around the clock. Often too informal or incredibly disrespectful. Challenge for prof is finding balance. Barrage of e-mail; e-mail affects student evals of prof accessibility. Create rules and policies for e-mail use – what they can expect; consequences also given for violation of the rules.
Your perception of your effort does not justify a grade.
Consumer mentality – she tells students it’s not a democracy; also they are not customers even if they are paying tuition, and I am not THEIR employee. But both have obligations to each other.
Concludes that students appreciate the rules and guidelines being given upfront -- also gives list of what they can expect from her. Argues that interest in American Idol shows they want honest feedback not everybody’s a winner.
Teachers need to be respected rather than liked.
Speaker: Paula Thornton, undergraduate student from Northwestern University
Colleges boast about profs, unmatched amenities etc. so students have a reason for their expectations. In other words, university marketing contributes to students feeling like consumers. Also, the costs are exorbitant to attend, so the expectations are high.
Admits that online evals are often based on grades they don’t like.
Has found that more rigid class structure means more complaining. Personal freedom and their own choices integrated with specific structure is what they like best (i.e., assignment to write a particular kind of story, but their own choice of topic, interview, etc.).
*****
There was a lot of laughter during this session as we talked about the things these crazy kids do. But the Q&A stirred up other ways of looking at millennials -- how can we play to their strengths? What can we learn from them? And in what ways are we responsible for their attitudes and behaviors?
Addition, 9/25: AEJMC has posted slides and other materials from the session.
