<P> A 2013 Pew Research Poll found that 84% of millennials, born since 1980, who were at that time between the ages of 18 and 32, favored legalizing the use of marijuana . In 2015, the Pew Research Center also conducted research regarding generational identity . It was discovered that millennials are less likely to strongly identify with the generational term when compared to Generation X or to the Baby Boomers, with only 40% of those born between 1981 and 1997 identifying as part of the Millennial Generation . Among older millennials, those born 1981--1988, Pew Research found 43% personally identified as members of the older demographic cohort, Generation X, while only 35% identified as millennials . Among younger millennials (born 1989--1997), generational identity was not much stronger, with only 45% personally identifying as millennials . It was also found that millennials chose most often to define themselves with more negative terms such as self - absorbed, wasteful or greedy . In this 2015 report, Pew defined millennials with birth years ranging from 1981 onwards . </P> <P> Millennials came of age in a time where the entertainment industry began to be affected by the Internet . In addition to millennials being the most ethnically and racially diverse compared to the generations older than they are, they are also on pace to be the most formally educated . As of 2008, 39.6% of millennials between the ages of 18 and 24 were enrolled in college, which was an American record . Along with being educated, millennials also tend to upbeat . As stated above in the economic prospects section, about 9 out of 10 millennials feel as though they have enough money or that they will reach their long - term financial goals, even during the tough economic times, and they are more optimistic about the future of the U.S. Additionally, millennials are also more open to change than older generations . According to the Pew Research Center that did a survey in 2008, millennials are the most likely of any generation to self - identify as liberals and are also more supportive of progressive domestic social agenda than older generations . Finally, millennials are less overtly religious than the older generations . About one in four millennials are unaffiliated with any religion, a considerably higher ratio than that of older generations when they were the ages of millennials . </P>

When did the millennial generation begin and end