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Many might think of millennials as self-obsessed and narcissistic, but 90% of young South Africans have a heart and feel it is their personal responsibility to help the disadvantaged and poor folks, a new study shows.
This has debunked the idea that millennials are some kind of alien species with unprecedented wants or needs.
Braamfontein-based advertising agency Space released its 2017/18 Youth Opinion Survey on Thursday.
It proved some ideas about millennials are true, such as being truly obsessed with their phones, but it also challenged other stereotypes.
The survey showed that millennials are generally in support of the #FeesMustFall movement.
At least 50% of participants said they support the movement fully, 42% said they support the cause but not the method and 8% said they did not support the movement.
When separated by race, 58% of black respondents said they support the movement fully, followed by 50% of Indians, 30% of whites and 26% of coloureds.
While millennials seem to believe in gender equality, feminism is still a dirty word.
At least 44% said they agree with gender equality but did not want to be called a feminist, 34% said they would call themselves a feminist and 22% said they wouldn’t call themselves a feminist.
The survey is regarded as an invaluable tool for brands to understand the millennial market a bit better and provides insights into not only how this particular generation spends, but what they think the world’s biggest issues are, how they feel about the economy and even what the best age is to marry.
“This report by no stretch of the imagination claims to have found the holy grail of what appeals to millennials; it does, however, provide a glimpse into the reality of millennial life in South Africa,” the report said.
The quantitative research survey consisted of 500 respondents between the ages of 18 and 35 across South Africa.
The sample had 56% female and 44% male respondents. The racial composition of the respondents was 73% black, 15% white and 6% coloured.
Television presenter Jeremy Maggs hosted a panel discussion at the launch, picking the minds of industry leaders, including marketing agency Tilt co-founder Arye Kellman, communication strategist and researcher Shaun Frazao, 5FM station manager Justine Cullinan, and strategist and entrepreneur Gugu Nkabinde.
“Millennials don’t want to be studied as a group because they’re individuals,” Frazao said.
“Millennials are just as complicated as any other generation,” said Cullinan.
Surprisingly, the survey shows that religion is on the rise with 93% of respondents saying they believe in a God or a universal spirit.
At least 62% of young South Africans say they have become more religious in the past 10 years.
Millennials are an ethical bunch too, with 90% saying they are more likely to buy from a brand that supports a good social cause than one that did not.
Most political parties would be shocked to find that millennials are no longer loyal to any party.
As far as politics is concerned 50% of the country’s youth say they are not loyal to a political party.
Instead, they want to vote based on policies.
At least 35% said they are still loyal to a political party and 15% said they are sometimes loyal.
But millennials are also becoming more apathetic at the polls following US and European trends with 48% saying they voted in the previous election, 36% saying they didn’t vote and 16% saying they couldn’t access a voting station.
With regard to technology and social media space, 74% of millennials admit it has made their work and social life balance easier; 15% say it has no effect and 11% found their lives more difficult because of technology.
Social media users are expected to reach the 3 billion mark globally by 2020.
There has been an unprecedented rise in the amount of time young South Africans spend on social-media networks – accompanying the global rise in user numbers.
Half of millennials surveyed said they have never gone more than five hours without checking social media; 85% of them admitted to sleeping with their cellphones next to their beds.
To access an executive summary of the report, go to youth.space.tm
