Coming of Age Through Culture

Coming of Age Through Culture

The Playbook – By Sport-Travel.com

Coming of Age Through Culture

[x_text]Much has been said about the future generations and the Millennials that are set to change the way we live and do business around the globe. As society begins to align with the views of this information hungry generation, the shift towards instant gratification will continue to rule the day; It may even intensify. As a millennial myself I see friends who have whole heartily adopted the mentality and have traveled the world while others have put their head down and entered the work force. Many of those have began their career in one position and jumped ship quickly into a more beneficial position. An article published by Forbes notes that the average millennial expects to stay in their position for 4.4 years. The article goes on to note the benefits to the demographic (or “job hoppers” as they are referred to) and how business should adapt to benefit their own organization.

The article touches on a very important element of this topic. It notes many of these job hoppers are looking for progression in their careers and are not simply losing interest in their current position, a belief shared by many baby boomers. Furthermore it states that today’s workforce is actually more interested in finding happiness and fulfillment in their job than previous generations.

The irony of this stalemate in philosophy has shifted into the travel patterns of young adults. Traditional methodology says work hard, save money, and enjoy the spoils later in life. The millennial generation has flipped this pattern on its head. The new pattern is finish high school, attend a post-secondary institution, see the world, and get a job in no specific order. What changed?

Is it the rising cost of living reducing how much families travel? Is this pushing young adults to see the world on government loans instead of saving the old fashion way? Or is it just as simple as coming of age through culture?

The value of culture is so easily lost in an age where Google formulas dictate your search results. Popular destinations are not easily unseeded as they continue to draw on their rich history and/or beauty. However, traveling before settling into a career has become a wide spread phenomena. Mainly a result of strict employee policies, a scarce job pool, and profit shaving moves across all industry. As a result the young adults of today enter the work force later which leads to a reduced family size to go with the high cost of living in major metropolitan cities around the world.

What if these ‘job hoppers’ traveled before they ever took on post-secondary school loans and dive deeper into debt? What if they saved up during a time where the majority of their costs were covered by their parents? What if there was a way to travel with some of their closest friends many of which they may lose touch with?

Well there is. Cultural, Educational, and Team travel has existed for decades in the school system. High Schools routinely send groups to different areas of the world to experience culture and a taste of the life changing experiences that the rest of the world has to offer. These are the experiences sought after by Millennials from around the globe. Few are lucky enough to travel for work and even fewer are lucky enough to enjoy and experience everything their work travel has to offer. Would the an infusion of culture during their highly influential teenage years deter future generations from postponing life in search of instant gratification or will it simply intensify the desire to see the world.

There is no question that the millennial generation is full of beautiful minds but where will they land and how will their forward thinking aspirations and ideas shape the future of business and the society it services. Only time will tell but with great certainty we can say a jolt of culture might push our youth to resist the technological commonplace that has overtook coming generations.[/x_text]

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