Are you a millennial? UNC students disassociate with the term

Millennials might comprise the majority of the American workforce, but they can’t seem to agree on their own name.

On Sept. 3, the Pew Research Center released data from a survey conducted in the spring asking Americans to group themselves into one of five generational cohorts: the greatest generation, the silent generation, the baby boomers, Generation X or the millennial generation.

The research highlighted a stark difference in generational identity.

While 79 percent of those who fell in the baby boomer age range of 51 to 69 identified with that generational moniker, only 40 percent of millennials identified with the term.

UNC students reflected that disparity.

Junior Bronwyn Fadem, 21, said she understands the term’s technical application, but she doesn’t call herself a millennial.

“It seems like an extraneous label, I think,” Fadem said. “I don’t think I personally refer to myself as a millennial, but in the common sense of the term, I think I would fall into that category.”

Freshman Parker Moss, 18, said he doesn’t identify as a millennial, either.

“When I hear the word, I think of new technology and progressive thinking,” Moss said. “But I don’t really think of the distinction.”

Modern college students are at the tail end of the millennial generation.

In fact, some millennials have already noticed a distinction between their peers and those who are biting at their heels — Generation Z.

Sophomore Carson Ellerby, 19, said he identifies as a millennial and thinks the change in technology and culture has created a divide between those born just years apart.

“We were the people who went through flip phones and everything, whereas the generation below us was born into smartphone technology, mass social media and reality TV. We were kind of the pioneers for these things they grew up knowing.”

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