Millennials are changing how we communicate

by Sujatha Shankar Kumar

Challenging the art of communication

“Oh my God, I totally ship them!” says Raisa Bastian in a conversation about celebrity couple Ranvir and Deepika; her office Director passing by, asks puzzled: Why are you shipping them away? “It means we are in complete approval of them”, explains the 26-year-old. As the gap between the older generation and the new-age millennial yawns, millennials are challenging and changing the art of communication. Millennials are quick, confident, adept, and they know what they want. From 20 somethings to 30 somethings, this generation is well-read and well-informed, demonstrating a maturity beyond their years. They are hungry for information and savour it. Life for a millennial is all about what’s trending: they ride along easily not falling into predictable traps. Change is exciting, and they agree 'we must keep changing'.

Words and Language

“Here’s a fun fact”, says 26-year-old architect at Lopez Design, Vinod Anthony Thomas, “Abbreviations come in two forms: if they can be pronounced as words, they are acronyms (NASA, ISRO) and if the letters are pronounced individually (MRO, SOS) they are called initialisms!” Vinod comes up with whole sentences compressed into abbreviations: IYKWIM. (if you know what I mean). IDK (idontknow)? LMGTFY (let me google that for you) - this one’s fairly new - and MMT (makes me think). Raisa, who is a Bangalore-based game designer, expands on this, “I say LOL not just while texting, but also in person, when I’m chatting with a friend. SMH (shaking my head) goes in a status as in - Oh my God this dog is so annoying, SMH.” LOL is now also a response when one cannot think of a sensible reply.

The prolific use of acronyms evolved with texting, Raisa explains, “Short forms saved time on older phone keyboards – typing long messages may take pages; this way, there are lesser alphabets. This has graduated to word shortening, which used to be fashionable, but is now tiresome. “Dnt instead of don’t – either use it or don’t!” says Raisa.

Priyavarshini Thiruselvam, 26, currently pursuing her Master of Educational Leadership in the University of Wollongong gives me her list, “Brb (be right back), lame max (very lame), chill, peace out, adorbs (adorable), awesomatic (awesome), noted, lemme know, Duh, lol, rofl, and a lot of emoticons on WhatsApp whose meaning most elders including my mother, hardly know.”

Trends and Mannerisms

“More than TV celebrities we relate to YouTube celebrities: PewDiePie who does a lot of game videos and White noise YouTubers like Jenna Marbles, Gabbie Hanna, Zoella..” says Raisa. Dance moves keep coming and going like Dabbing [1], the in-thing in 2018. Right now, it’s ‘woah’ which they do online as well on selfie videos. Woah is also used to communicate surprise in texting.

On the cusp at 38, designer Boopathy Srinivasan brings trends to motivate his students. “I use the latest stand-up comedies or viral content to discuss topics so they will connect better. Binge-watching or other online TV series creates clubs and helps us to be part of their sub-culture. Using their familiar and contemporary mythology helps to communicate with them. Humour always has a wider audience - mentioning Russell Peters, Kenny Sebastian or Trevor Noah is a definite attention grabber.” Communication can come anytime, sporadically, through social media, says Boopathy, adding, “The manner of communication is different, and its connotations; for example, later hours communication is not impolite. The use of digital tools allows millennials to get done things with ease, from Ola to PayTM.” While Boopathy himself mistrusts the authenticity of friendships made on the virtual platform, it seems to be the way of the future. “Even important marriage invites are sent via WhatsApp. Voice calls, personal meetings and other decorum are still relevant to me while younger people are either unaware of it or challenging it.” 

What the older generation can learn from the younger

Millennials concur on what elders can learn from them: adaptability, open-mindedness, acceptability. “The art of unlearning. The importance of working smart and not hard. Investing in long term goals”, says Vinod, who has designed an award-winning toilet for rural areas. “A design intervention that rethinks privacy and defecation repels the older generation that has been defecating out in the open. The younger generation is more welcoming to such design solutions as education has played a major role in shaping their decisions and thought processes.” Their views conflict on personal decisions, relationships versus marriage, societal change and environmental conservation. “If they see an emotional video they are sad about it. But when they see an LGBTQ person they cannot reach out”, says Raisa, adding, “It’s not easy for them as they are set in their ways. It is much easier for us, as the world is more tolerant now.”

What millennials like about the older generation

“There is honestly so much more for us also to learn from the older generation in terms of people skills, resilience and other important things. Most things the current generation is subjected to socially are just fads”, says Priyavarshini. “Reading habits, ability to analyse deeply, emotional and mental resilience, taking ownership of our unique and indigenous culture without becoming ethnocentric, to name a few.” In accord, Raisa concludes, “I like learning to respect from them - that everything can live.”

[1] wiki: Dabbing, or the dab, is a simple dance move or gesture in which a person drops their head into the bent crook of a slanted, upwardly angled arm, while raising the opposite arm out straight in a parallel direction.

Illustration: Concept: Vinod Anthony Thomas, Execution: Mohan Godwal

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