If you are trying to figure out Millennials (the 18-29 year old generation), here from Pew Research is the study you’ve been waiting for.

The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change looks at Millennials across all dimensions — lifestyle, technology use, social and political attitudes — often including comparisons to older generations.

The study is too rich in information to summarize here. I’m afraid you’ll need to read it, if you can spare the time from meeting this year’s fundraising targets (Millennials won’t help you much in that regard).

But two things did strike me.

First, according to Pew, every generation has something on which they as a group tend to hang their identity. With Millennials, it’s their use of technology. I’m sure you’ve seen other data on Millennials use of social nets, mobile technology etc. But what Pew’s analysis underscores is how tightly woven into Millennials’ daily lives this technology actually is.

Says Pew:

"Millennials’ technological exceptionalism is chronicled throughout the survey. It’s not just their gadgets — it’s the way they’ve fused their social lives into them. For example, three-quarters of Millennials have created a profile on a social networking site, compared with half of Xers, 30% of Boomers and 6% of Silents. There are big generation gaps, as well, in using wireless technology, playing video games and posting self-created videos online. Millennials are also more likely than older adults to say technology makes life easier and brings family and friends closer together…"

Second, I’m puzzled by an apparent inconsistency in Millennials’ political attitudes.

On the one hand, Millennials gave 66% of their vote to Obama, and in the process erased the usual turnout gap between younger and older generations. That suggests a desire for change. And yet they appear to be far more satisfied with the "state of the nation" than other generations.

Says Pew:

"There is one generation gap that has widened notably in recent years. It has to do with satisfaction over the state of the nation. In recent decades the young have always tended to be a bit more upbeat than their elders on this key measure, but the gap is wider now than it has been in at least twenty years. Some 41% of Millennials say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, compared with just 26% of those ages 30 and older."

Lots of other stuff in this report to ponder. Excellent weekend reading!

Tom