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[title]If the idea of living without your smartphone sends a shiver down your spine, don’t worry: you’re in good company. In fact, according to new research commissioned by the mobile phone technology brand Honor, three quarters of millennials say they couldn’t get by without their phones. Honor surveyed 1500 18-to-34-year-olds across three major European countries, and 73% of them described their phones as essential to their everyday life.
German millennials are less glued to technology than Brits, but more so than their French neighbours: 74% in Germany compared to 78% in the UK and 68% in France. But that’s still a significant majority. Is this a problem? Should we be worried about the fact that most of us can't go for more than a few hours without checking our phones?
Generation Tech
Apparently not. Despite flagging up some downsides of technology (primarily to do with privacy), millennials are broadly positive about the positive effects of technology. A massive eighty percent of us say we're empowered by current technology, and a majority of German millennials say that technology helps them better appreciate beautiful things. We are also hopeful about our individual futures: 70% of German millennials believe that they will be able to follow their dreams.
Taking the plunge
The survey results showed a connection between technology and bravery. Seventy-nine percent of German respondents believe that technology can enable people to make brave choices. That's important, considering that 60% of millennials believe their generation has to take more risks than generations that have come before, and 86% say you have to be brave to get what you want in life.
So what counts as ‘brave’? For Honor, a brand which exists ‘For the Brave’, bravery consists of courage, persistence, strength and the ability to transform words into actions.
It might not be a surprise to find out that for a generation raised in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the actions seen as bravest are starting a new business and quitting your job to start a new career. Millennials, it seems, rate taking control of your work life as more courageous than travelling the world or even having children.
Love over gold
Maybe the most interesting finding is that millennials value happiness much more than money. When asked about their future goals and aspirations, young people ranked financial concerns below finding a job they love, finding the right partner in life and having time to
enjoy life. And 88% of German millennials think technology has a role to play in achieving their goals. So maybe being glued to our smartphones isn't such a problem after all. Our parents might think we're wasting our time staring at a screen, but we're actually making our dreams come true, one swipe at a time.