describe the phenomenon as a process
of industrial mutation that revolutionizes
an economic structure by destroying the
existing or old structure while creating a
new one. Creative destruction is however
of two forms, the first is creating an
improved version of an existing product
and the second involves the substitution
of an existing product using a new form
of technology. The latter form is otherwise
known as radical innovation or disruption.
As a generation of young individuals
that experienced the full transition from
analogue to digital with unprecedented
access to data, millennials have been
labelled a driving force of the disruption
economy as their behaviours and choices
have created a new techno-economic
paradigm that continues to challenge
established norms making way for rapidly
evolving innovations. The continued
usage and advocacy for digital based
solution by millennials has resulted in the
generation of a lot of data, Big Data in
digital parlance, which have propelled the
emergence of new technologies that are
rapidly impacting and changing the world
as we know it. These technologies have
not only affected businesses but have
Are Millennials Disrupting or Destroying?
also led to massive changes in society –
impacting communication, politics and
cultures in unprecedented ways.
In a deviation from previous generations,
millennials are driven by personalised
experience. They evolve and leverage
social media as a platform for
communicating, networking, shopping
and sharing new skills, ideas or personal
experiences. Financially, they focus on
more desirable experiences or events
than on asset ownership, explaining
their preference for hailing an Uber
than outrightly purchasing a car for
mobility around town. Their inclination
for personalized experiences has altered
the way organizations relate with them,
influencing marketing strategies in new
ways, as businesses fiercely compete
for their mindshare. We continue to
witness the impact of the Amazon effect
in all facets of the retail economy with
e-commerce providing swift, seamless and
integrated experiences that are shaping
the future of businesses and jobs. Legacy
consumer-based businesses – luxury cars
sales, hotel accommodations, media
& entertainment, computing and data
storage devices – have been disrupted by
the emergence of new technology trends
such as the proliferation of the internet,
digitization of content, the evolution of
social media, new form factors such as
the smartphone and evolving consumer
habits, resulting in dethroning old players
and crowning new kings of the game.
With the disruption driven evolution in
the economic space, many old order
businesses and job roles are being
eradicated and new ones created.
Advancements in robotics, artificial
intelligence and software programming
are forcing us to rethink the jobs that
humans can and should do. Access to big
data is providing insights into how we
work, how customers interact with us and
how collaboration platforms give us the
ability to connect people and information
together anywhere, anytime, and on any
device.
With so much dependent on the
behaviours and tastes of the millennial,
many argue that millennials are more
than a disruption catalyst; destroying
economic norms as we know them and
heralding a new order of innovation-
driven generation.
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