Millennials, born between 1982 and 2003, are often looked down on by older generations for their continuously changing trends and obsession with smart phones. Millennials, however, are actually essential for the future economy.

The Brookings Institution predicts that “millennials will make up as much as 75% of the U.S. workforce by 2025” and that “millennials account for more than $1 trillion in U.S. consumer spending.”

Millennials are often associated with an obsession with smartphones and social media. Technology is an increasingly important innovation in modern society, for the simple reason that it makes human life easier. People tend to use what is convenient for them.

For example, it’s convenient for someone in a small town like Carlisle to own a car, as they have to drive everywhere. Those who live in cities like New York City don’t need their own car with all the public transportation.

Streetsblog is an organization dedicated to improving transportation in large cities, as stated by their motto: “Informing the movement to improve walking, biking and transit.” The organization finds that “among all NYC households, 46 percent own cars, according to Census data gathered between 2005 and 2009.” Less than half of the city’s population own their own vehicles.

The U.S. Census Bureau found that in 2015, 95% of Carlisle, PA households had at least one car. They found that “The largest share of households in Carlisle, PA have 2 cars.” People in Carlisle have cars because they need them, even though it may seem unnecessary to those in New York.

Smartphones make life easy and convenient for millennials. It is also convenient to live at home during college, or until the young adult feels financially stable enough to live on their own. Pew Research Center reported that “as of 2016, 15% of 25- to 35-year-old Millennials were living in their parents’ home. This is 5 percentage points higher than the share of Generation Xers who lived in their parents’ home in 2000 when they were the same age (10%).” Generation X is a term used to describe the generation after the baby boomers and before millennials.

While it is true that more young adults are living with their parent for longer, it is doesn’t mean that they don’t have jobs. Pew Research Center also found that “as of the first quarter of 2016, only 5.1% of older young adults were unemployed, down from 10.1% in the first quarter of 2010.”

Millennials’ lifestyles may differ from their parents, but every generation turns out different from the last. Society needs these changes to evolve and create a better country with newer, better technology and innovations.

Disclaimer: Articles designated as “Editorial” represent the views and opinions of the author, not the 2016-2017 Periscope staff, CHS Administration, or the CHS student body.