The digital paradigm has burst into all sectors in a transversal way. It is true that, in detail, we could appreciate logical peculiarities in each sector or field of action, but in the end, the conclusion would be that the digital environment has transformed society. A society with different generations, some of which are entirely digital.
But, in the face of this transformation, a problem of concept emerges. We talk about the now famous and hackneyed millennials, or even consumer generations that are still outside the labour market, as if they were strange beings with Martian needs. When we talk about these generations' quest for efficiency, impatience, self-management, demand, and other key traits in their daily behaviour, we always qualify these consumer generations by segmenting them and differentiating them from the rest.
And yes, it is one of the basic principles of any strategy, regardless of whether it is digital or offline, whether it is related to communication or any other field, segmentation is the key. It is true that age is one of the main segmentation factors used -if not the main one-, simply because it has proven effectiveness. Directing communication towards very specific age niches ensures a successful impact if we take into account a similar character, tastes and interests (or vital concerns if we want to call them that). However, we have reached a psychotic point of no return in which millennials, centennials or néquénnials have begun to be questioned. And rightly so.
An accurate questioning if we detail the main problem. Brands have understood the digital needs of these generations, forgetting that digital transformation is an evolution that society as a whole has undergone. It is necessary to segment communication impacts, but let's not pigeonhole these generations by blaming them for characteristics that define the vast majority of society. We have all experienced this transformation, regardless of age.
The growth of impatience is a generalised characteristic nowadays if we take into account that digitalisation has reduced times in many areas. Communication is obviously one of them. The immediacy of information has gone from popularisation to standardisation, and from standardisation to dogma. Communication impacts and stimuli are constant and unavoidable. Not only in the digital sphere, but also offline. Both channels are intertwined while maintaining defining features. But digital communication should not target millennials as a generation with superlative characteristics. In fact, many of the labels they try to assign to this generation deal with aspects common to the rest of society and, as a result, there is an even greater lack of knowledge about what their peculiarities really are.
But we will talk about its characteristics, about the dystopia towards which we are heading (championed by the popular and excellent series 'Black Mirror'), and about how, with more powerful dissemination tools, we are more erratic, in successive posts.
Álvaro Ramos