A new study suggests a significant difference between people who belong in the age group of 25 to 50. Based on the research, people born between a massive generation gap may have a contrasting approach to their daily activities. The shift of these activities was presented from an examination led by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gen X and Millennials: A Comparison
According to the study, generation X or Gen X females are more likely to include extensive interests in their daily activities. The study enumerated these interests from reading, house chores, lawn work, and caring for their children. On the other hand, millennials are fond of other tasks such as spending a lot of leisure time through computers, physical exercise, caring for pets, and sleeping.
The American Time Use Survey data was utilized in the study to discover how a population that belongs in the age group of 23 to 38 chose and did their daily activities. According to a report by PhysOrg, a Gen X woman named Amy Rottier had the same activities 20 years ago under the category that the study found. For her millennial daughter Helen, the same activities on the research matched what she had been doing in 2019.
According to an interview, Rottier was fond of going to the mall to grab everything her daughter needed back in 2003. Helen, on the other hand, buys every essential with just a click away from her devices. The report from the agency equates to what the Rottiers experiences. Surprisingly, the changes in various generations of females also reflected the data harnessed from male subjects.
The records showed that both Gen X and millennial people worked roughly the same amount of time with each other. Men had a slight increase in their working hours due to factors such as part-time jobs. In terms of sports activities and leisure, both generations had the same amount of time spent. However, Gen X tends to have their own homes and offspring compared to millennials.
A slight variance of 18 minutes was observed from both groups over watching television, with Gen X exceeding millennials. In the age of video games, millennials are more likely to participate in traditional recreations, exercise, and sports.
Technology Influenced Both Generations; Reading for Leisure Declined
Technological advancement influenced both generations in many aspects. Bureau of Labor and Statistics senior economist and author of the report Michelle Freeman said that millennials had a substantial advantage compared to their Gen X counterparts, as they were developed in tasks that can be done in the comfort of their own homes.
Gen X leans more towards driving across the town and going to a physical store or bank, as the present options were not available during their age. Freeman explained a wide gap between 2003 and 2019, an age where technological improvements surged. With the increase of these innovations, it is safe to say that accessibility and devices are a factor.
Millennials prefer to have families later in life compared to Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980. The millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, prefer to get higher degrees of education than being married. Freeman explained that reading for pleasure declined in both generations in the past 20 years. Reading time observed between 2003 and 2019 averaged from 22 minutes and 16 minutes, respectively.
Millennials are also sleeping 22 minutes longer than Gen X. Freeman said that the shift on sleeping schedules may have been influenced by numerous studies on the importance of sleep. Millennials also take time to care for their pets, scaling to a time twice as much compared to what Gen X exhibited in 2003. Chore such as lawn work is not much definitive in millennials, as most groups were less likely to own a house. The report was published in the Monthly Labor Review, titled "Time use of millennials and Generation X: differences across time."
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