Since my topic is millennials, I asked myself, how do millennials differ from older generations. I came up with three main questions. First, what are millennials? Secondly, how does technology influence this generation? Thirdly, how does the identity change compared to the past generation? I believe that the generation, which was born between 1982 and 1999, is described mainly through modern technology and a different mindset towards the modern world issues and working environment. We grew up with it and it certainly influenced us and our identity. The question that I came up with is "How does technology shape the identity of millennials?"

I am interested in this topic, because I grew up as a millennial. This project will give me a better understanding of what older generations think of us, how technology shaped, and even changed our identity, and also what older generations predict will happen in the future. Millennials are currently one of the most debated topics, because the generation is grown up and is finally in the stage to take over the responsibilities and the leadership from the past generation. No matter what happens in the future, the generation of millennials will be very different from the past, mainly because of the invention of various new technological tools. In addition, I think that my own experience will also benefit this project, because I grew up as a millennial and I am part of this new generation. The fact that I am an international student at the University of South Carolina who has lived in different places with different generations gives me the qualification to write about this topic. I have gained knowledge not only about millennials, but also about other generations, which gives me the benefit to compare and contrast different generations with millennials. 

My first source is an eBook, written by Rob Salkowitz. It is titled "Young World Rising" and gives an exclusive glimpse into the future trends of this generation. It talks about the transformation of global business and changing the dynamics of globalization. Salkowitz takes into consideration how technology changed the thinking of this new generation and how the "new kinds of organizations adapted to a flat and crowded world" (Salkowitz).  "Young World Rising" is a valuable source to this project, because it includes in-depth case studies, which support Salkowitz arguments. In addition, this source focuses on how technology changed this generation, which will be a crucial part of this research question. The author has bias, because he does not mention any other sources, besides his own. In addition he does not clearly state the opposing opinion to his own argument. 

The second source is written by George B. Grean and Miriam Grace and focuses on how millennials keep up hope for the future of this planet. "Millennial Spring: Designing the Future Organizations" deals with the facts why millennials are different than the past generations, and also how millennials will take responsibilities in the future. This source has value in comparing and contrasting millennials to the past generation, such as what mistakes the last generation did, which millennials will try to avoid.  In addition, it has data and statistics about modern companies, such as Apple and Boeing, which will help support the thesis in the research paper. This book can have bias towards these modern companies, because Grace works at Boeing and talks very positive about the future of the company, and thus millennials. 

The third secondary source is written by three different authors, Pritam Sungh, Sumita Rai, and Asha Bhandarker. "Millennials and the Workplace" deals with the rapidly changing workplace environment in the new millennium. This article profiles millennials according to their demographic and psychographic background along with personality factors such as work locus of control, personal values and achievement motivation. This piece of literature holds value in talking not only about the changes in workplace environment, but also personal changes as individuals in this new generation. This eBook has bias towards the origin of the authors. Each author was born and raised in India, which could cause some unknown knowledge towards the developed countries, such as the United States, but it could also cause bias towards India. 

I believe that this research question is arguable in many different ways. There are three components to this question, which have to be answered in a research paper, before making a conclusion. The first question is how did technology change the standards of life to what millennials have grown. The second question is how did these changes shape a new identity of millennials and the third question will be how do all these changes affect an outcome of actions in the future. I think that this question is very diverse, but very straight forward. The three sources that I briefly introduced do not always agree on the same point, which makes it easier to gain knowledge, because two sides confront each other with different arguments. Those different perspectives certainly affect my prior knowledge and will change some of it throughout this project.

