This past week, I had the opportunity to attend The Millennials, a conference focused on the life and times of the digital generation. You would think, being part of the Millennial generation, I would be aware of what I was being labeled, but to be honest, I had never heard of the term before the conference. I was quickly informed that the Millennial Generation referred to the people born between 1980-2000. Also known as the Internet generation, the Nintendo generation, Generation Y, and a plethora of other names, we are the group that are known to be “sociable, optimistic, talented, well-educated, collaborative, open-minded, influential, and achievement-oriented” (according to Managing Millennials by Claire Raines, 2002). Wow, that’s quite a lot of pressure if you ask me!

I arrived at the UCLA campus and opened the doors to find an intimidating large room full of individuals, eager to pick the brains of the Millennials - how they think, what technology they use, what’s “cool”, and why MySpace and YouTube are the hottest thing for our age group. They were typing away on their laptops, taking notes, posting questions on a forum for the room to see, while also texting away on their phones. I saw the stage where I would be sitting and felt my heart jump down to my stomach, but was relieved to meet the other individuals (ranging from ages 18-27) who would be sitting with me during our Q&A session.

L to R:

Katherine Tan, age 18 - grew up in poverty and has seen the effects of poverty on society. Currently a flight attendant and goes to school through an online correspondence program.
Abbi Fletcher, age 19 - grew up in Wichita, Kansas and is majoring in acting at Santa Monica College.

Masahji Stewart, Co Founder/Chief Architect, Synctree. Holds a BS in Computer Science from Loyola Marymount University and is responsible for the Synctree’s technology infrastructure.
Tom Garrett, President & Founder, Fusic Media & Be The Change Campaign. Garrett’s resume consists of numerous trips around the world and a Political Science degree from UCLA.

Matt Wiggins, Co-Creator, The Young Americans Project, a recently completed feature length documentary that offers a window into the lifestyles and thoughts of young people around America.
Emily aka “Seppuku”, Frag Doll, Dr. Mario master and founder of her high school Star Wars Club

As I left the conference and headed back home to the Bay Area, I thought about growing up and all the things I used to not care about, but now cannot live without. I thought about today’s digital world and how the next generation of kids won’t even remember what it was like to not have the internet. In a way, I’m really glad I got to see those things evolve - cell phones when they were larger than your head, Prodigy, dial-up, the evolution of the internet, computers when 133MHz was the fastest thing ever, and learning Turtle in school on the Apple IIe. It’s really amazing if you think about all the things we’ve seen in our generation and almost intimidating, but exciting to see what the next generation will bring.

I’m sure I was saying something really profound here -