One of the answers can be found in the book “Generations” published in 1991 by Neil Howe and William Strauss known as the founders of the generational theory. The authors of this theory proposed to define 20-year generational periods, but these are just approximate intervals, they can vary within several years and are a little bit different from the intervals described by other researchers. Certain features developed under specific conditions of child‑raising environment characterize each generation. For example, habits and needs related to quality, speed and amount of information form values and a certain attitude towards life in general. For millennials known as Generation Y (born between 1984 and 2000), digital technologies and the absence of territorial boundaries are an integral part of everyday life. They decide whether a certain topic is interesting in 8–10 seconds. They easily manage their money using mobile apps, receive education in master classes and online courses and prefer flexible working hours and co‑working over office work.
In its research, the Markswebb Rank & Report analytical agency cites numbers, which show the differences in attitudes of Baby Boomers and Generations X, Y and Z towards new technologies. Baby Boomers (born between 1943 and 1963) are tradition-bound people, face‑to‑face communication plays an important role in their lives, and only 11.9% of them pay for goods and services online. The representatives of Generation X (born between 1963 and 1984) are always busy, they actively take part in development of the Internet as they were born at the time of its emergence. Founders of Google, Tesla, Facebook and Amazon belong to Generation X. When it comes to using the Internet, whether it is buying clothes, booking tickets, looking for a job or even buying an apartment or a house, they are about as good as millennials. Today, 53% of all online purchases are made by Generation Y. But Generation X prefers to spend more time on social media than millennials, they like being in front of a personal computer and viewing news feeds on Facebook about 7 hours per week. Social networks as a free way of communication with the outside world have a huge potential for further development of digital civilization.
Generation Z, i.e. those people who were born after 2000, are the main users of new technologies. The digital world belongs to Homelanders, who absorb information faster than modern technologies provide it. According to Marc Prensky, who also studied the generational theory, the oldest representatives of the digital generation are still teenagers between the ages of 14 and 15, and they will have to use, develop and improve the technologies, which are currently being created by millennials.
Choice of the Youth — Crypto Industry
Millennials are inherently multi-tasking, they quite willingly learn about new things, have no experience of financial losses and easily see income opportunities. Such characteristics partially explain the interest shown by Generation Y towards the crypto industry. Technological awareness of millennials also contributes to frequent use of high technologies, execution of various operations using crypto currency, from its creation and mining to raising digital capital.
The youth are more interested in creating and using programs, apps and services for estimating financial strategies and managing funds via smartphones. Unwillingness to spend time on studying complex financial schemes and lack of fundamental knowledge inherent to Baby Boomers and Generation X, who are always engaged in the economic and financial fields, do not mean that Generation Y is losing out to other generations. Millennials simply spend time and resources more efficiently and are very good at high technologies.
The emergence of online investment companies, services and digital platforms greatly facilitates the processes related to carrying out financial operations both for personal use and professional activity.
For example, Wealthfront (2008) makes it possible to transfer options to a diversified portfolio of funds traded on the exchange. In addition, it allows accumulating desired savings (for education, travelling, etc.), groups together all accounts and provides an opportunity to analyze expenses and incomes.
The Betterment functionality (2008) provides an opportunity to automatically accumulate and allocate assets.
Motif Investing (2010) is both an investment broker and a social network where every person can invest in a project according to their own interests.
Oval, startup company (2016), offers to deposit a small amount of money to the user’s digital account for each incoming or outgoing transaction. Thus, regular passive income is ensured.
The Bitbon System (2017) is a digital platform providing an opportunity to invest money or find investors for projects.
Most digital services and platforms issuing their own crypto currencies and tokens, which are based on a democratic and decentralized nature of Blockchain technologies, raise no objections from the youth. Blockchain is a perfect environment for developing a social network: it stores personal data, no intermediaries are necessary to carry out transactions, and interaction among the network participants is absolutely transparent.
Digital currency and blockchain-based platforms are becoming a tool for financial independence of Generations Y and Z as they meet all requirements of freedom and equality.
Reasons to choose crypto currency:
- Financial crisis of 2008 created a sense of disappointment in the stock markets. This was also the year when the first crypto coin, Bitcoin, emerged, which gave a new hope to the youth.
- Seeming simplicity of investing. You can invest a small amount of money and receive passive income by using your personal computer or other devices (telephone or smartphone).
- The decentralized Blockchain system ensures independence from the influence of public corporations on the financial system.
- Digital freedom erases boundaries and provides access to information at any time and via any device.
- Crypto industry completely changes the labor market.
- The value of money changes. Generation Y pays more attention to solving environmental issues, whereas “mining” money is considered to be a computer game.
In 2019, the crypto industry marks its tenth anniversary, and there is a solid foundation for its further development. Principles of the Blockchain functioning and possibilities of its use in various fields are already clear to all generations. The rate of use and acceptance of digital technologies in everyday life mostly depends on understanding their functioning principles. Crypto currency has become a symbol of social justice and a key to the new global financial system.