Millennials: the generation of transition towards an emerging world

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the first chapter of the doctoral thesis (in progress) “Musiquear y convivir; estudio en millennials de la Ciudad de México” (Making music and living together; a study of millennials in Mexico City), which seeks to investigate the role of musical experience (practices and meanings) in the communicative exercise (of thoughts, feelings, emotions, existential dilemmas) of this generation in the country's capital.
In this first chapter, entitled “Millennials: the generation of transition towards an emerging world”, the millennial category was extensively developed, placing it in current contexts, both globally and locally. In this way, and under the premise that the historical moment in which we find ourselves is that of “a world that cannot yet be named”, due to the dizzying and constant technological advances that have a superlative interference in social dynamics, four sub-sections were developed: 1) a brief review of the history of the 20th century in order to trace the impact of the “capitalist path” on its societies and in its different generations, as well as its links with the musical experience, 2) the treatment of the “millennial” category itself through a dialogue between authors that allowed it to be positioned as a “subject of transition”, 3) an exposition of the challenges of a world in crisis (of time, of otherness, of listening, etc.), 4) notes on the country and Mexico City (highlighting the events with the greatest impact on the generation, as well as a brief review of the music industry and experience).