I have been referring to Digital Natives as the group of kids born after 1985 for whom the Internet (and its attendant information technologies and social networking tools) have always been a part of the landscape of their lives and increasingly has become integrated into their life coping and problem solving strategies.

Well now we have Millennials – or kids born on or after 1980 who are now 13-29 years old. This expands the group somewhat and I’m not sure I would put 13 year olds in the same user category as a 29 year old. However that is what Pew Internet and American Life Project is doing – check out their current report on Millenials – its worth a read.

To summarize: They are the most ethnically and racially diverse cohort in our nations history, in 2008 they overwhelming voted for Obama, they are the least religiously observant group and they are more inclined to trust institutions than the two previous cohorts; Gen X-ers or Baby Boomers. All the more reason for nonprofits – especially social service providers – to develop and maintain high quality online tools they can count on.

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Blog by sacheson