The Fundamental Needs of a Millennial

I often ask myself “What are the fundamental needs of a millennial? What are the needs that we have that are unique to us, to where we are in life as a population?” If you are trying to mobilize a population and give them a distinct voice, I think you would have to base your efforts around what is fundamentally unique to them. Kind of like a Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but specific for the 12-32 population. That’s what the AARP mostly does for the retired population and people 50 and older. They focus on health care and prescription drugs, social security, insurance, and financial planning. Those are the main issues for that population due to where they are in life.

I have come up with three main fundamental needs that are unique to where we are in life as Millennials:

1. Becoming individually self-sufficient
2. Making friends and starting our own family
3. Being a civically engaged citizen who gives back to our world.

These three areas are the bottom line for all the other issues we care about. They are the end product. They should be the foundation of what mobilizes our population.

Being individually self-sufficient is a major goal of our population. That’s why groups out there are fighting for issues like higher education access, lowering of debt, increased job opportunity, and affordable healthcare. It all leads back to economic self sufficiently. Reaching that point of economic freedom is huge a milestone for people in our generation.

Making friends and starting our own family is another major goal for our population. When we are young, having meaningful friendships is a vital part of life. But as we get older, meeting a special someone and getting ready for family life (however you define that), is something almost everyone eventually wants. That’s why social networking groups and online dating sites are so popular with our population. They help fill that need.

The third major need is being a civically engaged citizen who gives back to our world. We all want to discover our own political voice and stay informed on the issues that are affecting our community. We all want to have our say in what goes on in our government, at every level. We all want to play a part in creating the solutions that will makes peoples lives better.

I believe these three needs are what drive the millennial population. They are the end product. Any mobilization effort would be greatly improved if it recognized how their specific cause or program tied into these overarching needs.

In my next article, I will talk about the Six Fundamental Needs of a College Student, and how my organization, Student Advocacy Network, was created to define and address those needs. Access to higher education is a major contributor to fulfilling all three needs of a millennial: becoming individually self-sufficient, making friends and starting our own family, and being a civically engaged citizen who gives back to our world.