Mobile and millennials
Teen alcohol and drug use is down compared to the past decades, and Clint! Runge attributes that to the way today’s youth define success.
Millennials and Generation Z youth define success by their own personal journey and therefore feel more responsible to be in charge of their own success, said Runge, managing creative director of Archrival, a youth marketing agency in Lincoln.
Runge’s talk was part of the Mobile Me & You conference held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The event was hosted by the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. At least 365 students, faculty and journalists from all over the country registered for the conference.
Runge discussed youth culture and how different generations are affected by technology and media.
“You think of your teenage years to be this rambunctious time period,” Runge said. “But the reality is, teens aren’t like that today. That’s a myth. Teens today are highly responsible.”
Not only are teens more responsible today than ever, Runge said, but they also have a very realistic view of the world. Because youth have access to so much information, they can’t be sheltered from the bad news, he said.
“They see things for what they are,” Runge said. “They’re not easily fooled. They get it.”
Because of this realistic world view, youth today are rebels with a purpose. Rebellion has always been a part of being young, he said, but today rebellion has changed.
“Today rebellion isn’t without a cause,” Runge said. “It’s rebellion with a cause.”
Today’s youth heroes are defined by Runge as “good rebellions.” These are role models that are activists who want to change the world for some purpose, he said.
Runge also noted some of the negative effects technology has on today’s youth. There is a part of youth culture that doesn’t feel surprised anymore because technology makes everything easy for them, he said.
“Because we have technology, we can be smart about anything we choose,” he said. “But there is value in surprise.”
Another negative effect of technology is the pressure to be accepted caused by social media. Many youth judge their own personal success by how many likes, shares and comments they receive on social media, Runge said.
“We call this social street cred,” he said. “The more stuff that you are able to post first that people like and share, the cooler you are, the more visual you are and the higher your (social) ranking.”
