Disadvantages Of Millennials

Millennials, also known as Generation Y, typically refer to the population born from 1980 to 1994 (some say 2000), almost all of whom have come into adulthood by today. Not only do millennials consist of more than 25% (75 million) of the U.S. population (Berger, 2016, p.103), they also possess the tremendous annual purchasing power of $200 billion (Solomon, 2015, par.3). As millennials dominate the whole consumer population of the U.S., they have become the targets and chief subjects of analysis by marketers. Although some might argue that the characteristics of millennials are the general features exhibited by young people, most scholars have agreed on the existence of cohort effects of millennials. Schawbel (2015) argued that they seem not

According to Raice (2012), customers spend between 3.5 and 6 hours daily on Google, YouTube or Facebook, with Facebook having the most time spent at 6 hours average for the user (par.4). Reacting to this astonishing time commitment, brands have invested heavily on Facebook advertising, trying to make their content seen and engaged by users. Advertising spending on Facebook has risen from 1.87 billion to 3.15 billion in merely one year in 2010 (Advertising Age Staff, 2012). In his work, Eisenberg (2009) points out that surveys show that millennials spend more time online than they do with radio, television, and print, which helps explain why advertisers are so interested in online advertising and why the money advertisers spend for online advertising has been growing so substantially (p.103). Instead of banner ads, Facebook advertisements either appear on the side column of users’ news feed or in between two posts and usually include images of the merchandizes and purchase links. Nowadays, more and more Facebook advertisements are strategically matched with the users’ search history on Google or online shopping sites by algorithm, in order to maximize click-through rate (CTR). Besides, more and more businesses are allocating large budgets on the establishments and operations of brands Facebook pages, where users are able to stay up-to-date of discounts, new arrivals, events information and et cetera. As Jones et al. (2009) found, Millennials and younger generations carry the internet with them and feel at a loss if not tuned in to what is happening with friends, celebrities, or favorite retailers (par.7). Facebook is able to influence users’ purchase decisions by utilizing their social network – showing them which friends liked certain brands and what brands influencers and celebrities are currently