Bulletin No. 1, 2019

Earlier this year, the Pew Research Center, an American polling organization and think tank, defined the millennial generation as those born between 1981 and 1996 by making reference to the political, economic and social situation in the US. The definition covers the period in which the young grew up and entered school and then the workforce. According to this definition, the millennials in Hong Kong should be aged between 23 and 38 and number 1.69 million, comprising the second largest age group after the baby boomers. These millennials are in their prime. What they take interest in, think about and value will significantly impact contemporary political, economic, social, technological and cultural trends. Prof. To Siu-ming of the Department of Social Work thought the Pew definition of millennials could apply to Hong Kong: ‘As an international metropolis, Hong Kong has a lot in common with the West, especially in economic terms. We are as much impacted by globalization and similar economic cycles as the West. The millennials in Hong Kong and elsewhere share a lot in common, and there are benefits in adopting the Pew definition.’ But he also pointed out that Hong Kong’s tie to China, a country that has developed differently from western societies, means that caution should be exercised in adopting the definition. Professor To continued: ‘Generation theory looks at how the social, political, economic and cultural contexts of the times influence the way of thinking, value system, attitude and behaviour of the generation. We should therefore try to understand how our millennials think and act in the specific context of Hong Kong. This may be more important than fitting the young to the definition or vice versa.’ Ms. Irene Ng , Director of the I . CARE Centre for Whole-person Development, generally agrees with such definition. She saw the benefits in applying the definition in terms of resource planning, policy- making and the solving of social problems. But she also cautioned that since real people are the subject here, attention must be paid to the uniqueness of each individual as well as the social or cultural context in which the individual is found. She said, ‘The young people who grew up in Hong Kong were not directly affected by world events such as the 911 terrorist attack. But they would have seen up close the effects of other events or trends such as the 2008 financial tsunami, Industry 3.0 or even the handover to China and the increasingly frequent contact between Hong Kong and China.’ Dr. Vivian Chan of the Independent Learning Centre pointed out, however, that given the rapid development of social media technology one is at risk of overstating the similarities at the expense of the differences in grouping together youngsters who differ by over 10 years in age. She said, ‘This is a generation which is inextricably bound up with the internet. Habits, viewpoints and values change every few years. While the Pew definition may facilitate analysis of the similarities, we must not lose sight of the differences.’ The internet appeared on the scene in 1990. By 1998, the computer had conquered homes and offices alike and became an indispensable facet of our life and work. The internet has shrunk both space and time and opened up a spontaneous and borderless world of information to the millennial generation. Knowledge has never been so readily available. Friends have never been so easily connected. The stage was set for the millennials to show their calibre. The Golden Jubilee. The Millennials. 05