Busting Myths About Young People

At DoSomething Strategic and DoSomething.org, we’re often asked by companies and organizations for the secret to engaging young people or the magic bullet to getting Millennials to take notice.

The answer is always the same: Get to know them.

The misperceptions & myths around young people are vast and wide.

In that spirit, our CEO, Aria Finger, took to the stage on September 18 at the Social Good Summit — an annual conference during the United Nation General Assembly Week in New York City focusing on how technology impacts social good initiatives — to provide important learnings from DoSomething.org’s deep and data-driven knowledge of young people.

This year’s theme was #2030NOW, and Aria gave an impassioned speech about avoiding common misconceptions and more deeply understanding this incredibly diverse and complex segment. Because if organizations buy into the false narrative of the Millennial, we won’t merely create ineffective campaigns; we’ll fail to inspire and empower the leaders of 2030.

These are the people who are going to solve the world’s problems. We can’t stereotype. We can’t generalize. The challenges are too great and their talents are too diverse.

We have to look more deeply at the data and use it to form a more intimate understanding of the various segments within Gens Y & Z.

To build the leaders of today and the leaders of 2030, we must truly know them.

So, check out the full presentation — I guarantee you it will be 5 minutes well spent.