At any given point in time, the youth of that period have been the flagbearers of transformation, change makers of their times. Change is constant, but the drivers of this change have historically been the youth of their times.
Today, we live in a world with a massive youth population and that has led to a constant influx of the new generation in the workforce. In the last decade or so, the world has witnessed an entrepreneurship boom, and a new order has been initiated. Work culture has changed drastically, traditional 9-5 losing its charm. The conversation around mental health has become more prominent. People are more focused on striking a balance between professional and personal. A cult of digital nomads has congregated, creating new avenues of revenue streams.
The youth today are unleashing their creativity like never seen before and creating economic opportunities around the world. With large marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy and many of its localized peers, e-commerce is the new best friend for the generation that loves to create and monetize their creations through these online marketplaces. We have seen the introduction of digital currencies such as bitcoins and the NFTs.
The younger generation beat to their own drum and create their own music and the newness can be seen in almost every aspect of life. Movies have changed, the way we consume content has changed, and more climate-action and environmentally-conscious people are part of this generation than any other.
The absolute zest for change, sustainable living and striking a balance may have been the cause of the drastic economic uncertainty that the millennial generation has witnessed in its developmental years. This is the generation that witnessed the 2008 global recession just as it stepped into the workforce, which was followed by global pay cuts and job cuts, and massive inflations across the globe. Just as they were getting used to this uncertainty, Covid 19 gripped the world only to further shrink the economy and once again, change the way we lived.
Natural calamities and disasters, terrorist attacks, a global pandemic, and a complete market collapse have been defining factors for millennials and Gen Z. and largely, the voices have been dismissed or unheard, passing them off as too young and inexperienced to know better. But if history teaches us anything, when backed into a corner, humans augment creative solutions to unseen challenges and overcome the barriers that stop them from achieving their potential. Like the old adage – Where there is a will, there is a way and where is a wall, the youth are there to take it down making them the real driving engine of the global economy.
