Pew Millenial Study -- They are not Generation X

The Pew Research Center recently made public their study on Millennials. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1501/millennials-new-survey-generational-personality-upbeat-open-new-ideas-technology-bound (scroll to end of web page for link to entire report).

I have only had a chance to read the executive summary. Reading those pages, however, reminded me that the generation that grew up with computers, internet, cell phones, social media, etc are now in their 20s. The first plugged in generation is now in the job market, forming families, bringing their own children to museums, looking for ways to remain connected in a post-college community or forming connections in a new community. And that the children now coming to museums are actually the second "plugged in" generation. The expectations and needs of these visitors, and how these visitors value museums, has been addressed by museum colleagues for years -- notably (to me) Nancy Proctor at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Victoria Portway at the National Air and Space Museum, Kate Haley Goldman at the Institute for Learning Innovation, and Nina Simon of the blog (and articles, lectures, etc) Museum 2.0. These colleagues have been at the forefront of understanding technologically based social engagement in/including museums. I am grateful to be able to linger on the edge of their discussions and experiments.

For more information about the Report, the following is from the Report Introduction:

"This report represents the Pew Research Center’s most ambitious examination to date of America's newest generation, the Millennials, many of whom have now crossed into adulthood. We began looking at this age group in 2006 in a comprehensive survey we conducted in association with the PBS documentary series, “Generation Next.” Our new report greatly expands on that seminal work. In the pages that follow we set out to compare the values, attitudes and behaviors of Millennials with those of today’s older adults. And to the extent that we can, we also compare them with older adults back when they were the age that Millennials are now."