Top 10 Defining Events Millennials Lived Through

Younger millennials might not get this one - in fact, we really hope their parents didn’t let them watch. But for many in Generation Y, this reality series was a major part of youth culture - courtesy of the omnipresent and hugely influential channel that was MTV in the 90s. Nowadays, the reality TV landscape in riddled with over-the-top, unscripted behavior by larger than life “Real People”. Back in 1992 when the show debuted however, there was nothing else like it. This diverse collection of wayward outcasts, oddballs, and attention-seekers spoke directly to teens looking for distraction and a place to belong. It shaped a relationship with media, fame, and celebrity culture that continues in the age of social media.

Music plays an important role in every generation, but thanks to MTV and the rise of file sharing, millennials experienced it in unprecedented ways. Developed by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the original iteration of peer-to-peer, file-sharing service Napster lasted only from 1999 to 2001. But in those two years, it rocked the music industry to its core, exposing Generation Y to free, shareable music online. The internet’s potential to fundamentally change how we distribute and consume music had been tapped, and there was no going back. Napster was shut down, only to be replaced by the likes of Limewire, Kazaa, and torrenting - paving the way for paid music streaming services.

When this devastating Category 5 hurricane made landfall in Florida and Louisiana, the youngest millennials were nine, and the oldest 24. But there’s something about tragedy that bridges how we process events. When New Orleans’ surge protection levees failed, 80% of the city was flooded. In the ensuing chaos, over 1,800 people lost their lives. Many blamed the government’s slow and inadequate response to the disaster. For Generation Y, it was a formative experience. Not only did it demonstrate the fragility of life, but for many, it was a harsh lesson in class and racial disparity - a reminder that people aren’t always given equal opportunity, care, or support in times of need.

The battle might be far from over, but things have certainly come a long way. Just a few short decades ago, homophobia wasn’t only common, it was fundamentally engrained in mainstream media. Beginning in 2004, the legalization of gay marriage in the US walks hand in hand with the inclusive and egalitarian worldviews associated with Generation Y. Of course, the fight for same-sex marriage began long beforehand, with civil rights campaigns in the 70s. But more so than any generation before them, millennials have embodied this shift in values. For many, when gay marriage finally expanded to all 50 states by 2015, the change was a given, and long overdue.

It was the trial of the century. After the wife of actor and former NFL player O. J. Simpson was found stabbed to death, along with her friend Ron Goldman, all eyes were on O. J. An estimated 95 million people watched the car chase that followed, and the televised trial was a national event. The case has been credited with giving rise to the 24 hours news cycle. At first, it seemed an open-and-shut case; there was a blood trail, DNA evidence, and plausible motive. But it all got so much more complicated . . . The trial, and O. J. subsequent acquittal, generated debate about racial prejudice, celebrity status, and the criminal justice system - which, many argued, failed dismally in seeing justice done.

Sadly, mass shootings are something that millennials have become far too accustomed to. Although Columbine wasn’t the first high school shooting in the US, it was the deadliest - forcing a national conversation about bullying, mental health, and gun laws. On April 20th, 1999, senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire on students and teachers at Columbine High School. Before committing suicide, they killed 12 students and a teacher, and injured 21 others. Since then, the US has witnessed school shootings with much higher death tolls. But for many, the Columbine High School massacre marked the day that school stopped being a place where they could feel truly safe.

It was a crisis that, in retrospect, seems inevitable. The collapse of the housing bubble, the subprime mortgage market, irresponsible financial institutions . . . we talk about them today as tailor-made for disaster. But at the time, almost no one saw the Great Recession coming - least of all millenials, many of whom had just finished studying their butts off to secure their first jobs. But the rules had suddenly changed. It was the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, sending stock markets plummeting, crippling household wealth, and exacerbating economic inequalities. The recession forced millennials to adapt and get creative, or accept lower paying jobs and hope for the best - all while saddled with considerable debt.

The election of America’s first black president was a momentous occasion - a huge step forward in a country with a long history of division and prejudice. And millennials were a big part of Obama’s win. In fact, 66% of voters under 30 voted for Obama in the 2008 presidential elections. Bear in mind that his campaign and first term occurred at the start of the recession - when the future that millennials had hoped for was coming apart at the seams. In Obama, many in Generation Y found a leader who inspired hope, and more importantly, promised change that aligned with their values - including health care reform, lower taxes for lower and middle income earners, and action on climate change.

Millennials experienced the arrival of smartphones at a period in their lives when it had the most impact. But while smartphones fundamentally changed our day-to-day lives, it’s arguably social media that most reshaped our relationships to technology and to each other. In a single generation, social media networks such as Facebook completely redefined how people find social validation and connect with their peers. A distraction? Sure. But it’s also become a powerful tool for social and political activism . . . as well as for completely useless arguments. Of course, today’s online world wouldn’t be what it is without other game-changers of the aughties, such as Google and Wikipedia. But social media has become a pervasive part of how we relate to the world around us.

When that first plane hit, American identity was changed forever. Even the youngest millennial clearly remembers where they were when they heard the news and watched the footage. On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre and killing close to 3,000 people. With the exception of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, it was the first foreign attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor in 1941. Shattering the illusion of safety, the event fundamentally changed the millennial experience. The Patriot Act, the War on Terror, and the decade-long manhunt for Al-Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden became definitive experiences of Generation Y.