Abstract
This chapter presents aspects of the identity and social skills that many members of the Post-Millennial cohort are likely to possess as they enter the full-time workforce. While our assessments are speculative and we recognize individual differences, we have identified certain areas of continuity and, more critically, key differences between many of the Millennials currently in the workforce and the digital Post-Millennials who will follow them. The chapter draws on the concept of social construction to argue that the digital environment will serve as a powerful mediator of how today’s youth will come to understand their world and how they will develop generally shared views, definitions, ideas and meanings. In this context, analyses consider the potential impacts of: parenting; social media; diversity and attitudes towards migration and multiculturalism; collaboration and teamwork; global citizenship and civic engagement as well as the dark side of social media: trolls, cyberbullying and sextortion. We foresee the Post-Millennials having the potential to enter the workforce better equipped to make sense of, and succeed in, their careers than their Millennial elders. This extends to how they will fit into organizations with the conclusion that employers will need to consider the consequences of the current approach of ensuring new hires adapt to the organizational culture.
People resist a census but give them a profile page and they’ll spend all day telling you who they are.
—Max Barry, Lexicon
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Notes
- 1.
Noting that there are vast literatures in philosophy, anthropology and theology on this subject, this section is informed by the works that followed from Berger and Luckman’s (1969) sociological perspectives presented in The Social Construction of Reality.
- 2.
- 3.
We recognize parental concerns in this area, however, there is a recognition that more children are encountering a wide range of information at an earlier age. Examples of recent media coverage, include Canada: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/polarized-debates-over-ontario-sex-education-curriculum-continue/article24915342/, the US: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f365ce6b31104450bd821ff502824717/omaha-and-much-us-debate-over-sex-education-rages, and the UK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11434500/Who-should-deliver-sex-education.html.
- 4.
The comScore survey “How Old Is Too Young?” is accessible at: https://www.microsoft.com/about/philanthropies/youthspark/youthsparkhub/programs/onlinesafety/resources/.
- 5.
For a recent extension of this phenomenon, see Elwood Watson’s article “Overbearing, Snowplough Parents Have Replaced Helicopter Parents” accessible at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elwood-d-watson/overbearing-snowplough-pa_b_5720354.html.
- 6.
See Chua (2011) and associated media coverage regarding what are seen as over-controlling parents who place strong pressures on their children to succeed. In Japanese culture, referred to as Kyoiku mama.
- 7.
See Lenore Skenazy’s (2009) Free-Range Kids and the related media coverage of this parenting style.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
- 11.
For a recent discussion of how Millennials view their online reputation, see: https://www.reputationmanagement.com/blog/2016/1/22/do-millennials-care-about-their-reputation.
- 12.
We acknowledge that teens, in particular, will continue to engage in degrees of socially inappropriate or risky behaviours including sexting however that they will be developing greater self-awareness hence self-control over time.
- 13.
See the Adecco 2015 Way to Work Survey accessible at:
- 14.
The poll results are accessible at: https://fusiondotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/fusion-poll-gender-spectrum.pdf.
- 15.
The news release for this poll is accessible at: https://www.jwtintelligence.com/2016/03/gen-z-goes-beyond-gender-binaries-in-new-innovation-group-data/.
- 16.
See the Institute for Public Relations Dec 2016 report accessible at: http://www.instituteforpr.org/millennialswork-perspectives-diversity-inclusion/.
- 17.
See the SPLC Spring 2016 Intelligence Report accessible at: https://www.splcenter.org/news/2016/02/17/splcs-intelligence-report-amid-year-lethal-violence-extremist-groups-expanded-ranks-2015.
- 18.
Noting that attitudes across Europe regarding immigration continue to shift, this 2011 report indicated that attitudes in the UK were the most negative when compared to France, Germany, Italy, Spain or the US. See, Blinder (2012).
- 19.
- 20.
- 21.
His 9 Dec 2015 OpEd in the Globe and Mail titled: “Why Canada, U.S., diverge on Syrian refugees” is accessible at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/distinct-societies-why-canada-us-diverge-on-syrian-refugees/article27652245/.
- 22.
See the report at: https://acs-aec.ca/en/.
- 23.
To paraphrase from the original attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. “Your right to swing your cultural fist ends where my cultural nose begins”: live your life as you wish but don’t impose your values on me.
- 24.
As stated earlier, in part of her analyses, Agati (2011) demonstrated that the events of 9/11 had differing impacts depending on how closely these affected the lives of the participants.
- 25.
We acknowledge that the curriculum updates of the late 80s through 1990s were more extensive than we have summarized; see Anderson and Jaafar (2003) for a comprehensive presentation in the Ontario school system.
- 26.
For illustrations in the mass media, see Kathryn Blaze Carlson “No winners: Children still keeping score despite move to end sports competition” National Post 22 September 2012 and Sarah Boesveld “Many parents see competitive activities as not just important, but essential for their children’s success” National Post, 16 August 2013.
- 27.
The poll conducted by the Associated Press- NORC at the University of Chicago is accessible at: http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/american-teens-are-politically-engaged-but-pessimistic-about-countrys-direction.aspx.
- 28.
As an illustration, see Paecher (2013) for an examination of on collaborative online constructions of identity amongst young women.
- 29.
Amongst our research team, John Verdon argues that both social and technological changes will lead to the end of privacy as we have known it for over 500 years; others were not swayed and especially did not see this happening in the next decade or so thus we have assumed that anonymity will remain for the near future.
- 30.
In the US, see the Carla Jamerson case, in Canada: Rehtaeh Parsons, in the UK: Brodie Panlock.
- 31.
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Okros, A. (2020). Identity and Social Skills. In: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Post-Millennials in the Future Workplace. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25726-2_5
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