Seen through the eyes of 15 to 24 year olds, the future is more competitive and less secure but full of opportunity.

Those were the findings of the Viacom International Media Networks’ MTV Knowing Youth 2020 Vision study, which surveyed 6,800 15-to-24 year olds in 34 countries to discover what’s important to them and what they thought their future would be like. The definition of who qualifies as Millennials ranges but for the purposes of VIMN’s study, which mostly focused on MTV’s target demographic, the company honed in on that younger age group.

What the study found was that people in this age group, no matter where they were in the world, were surprisingly similar, said Christian Kurz, VP, research and insights, Viacom International Media Networks, who presented the findings at PromaxBDA Europe 2014 in London on Tuesday.

Nearly all of them, 80%, described themselves as being curious about the world. Most want to travel and “their dance card is never full,” said Kurz. “They are always looking for new people to meet, and always looking to expand their social circles.”

That global outlook also informs Millennials about what they may want to do for a living, with the Internet showing them careers and ways of life that they otherwise may not have considered.

More than half of those surveyed, 55%, said that being part of a loving family is a key definition of success and a key driver of happiness. In fact, with people’s increasing attachment to technology, connection to family and friends is also gaining in importance.

“The shape of family is changing and becoming more important to all of our audiences,” said Kurz. “In today’s world, we observe the closeness of young people with their families.”

More than three-quarters of those surveyed defined success as being happy. “Financial success is less important to Millennials than emotional success,” said Kurz. “They feel that ‘I need to enjoy what I do and I need to feel that it does something good for me and throughout the world.’”

Because of this drive to be happy, Millennials are more interested in finding fulfilling work than high-paying work. “That may well result in a portfolio career, making the most of Millennials’ creativity and adaptability,” said Kurz.

Also, 84% believe that their generation has the potential to change the world for the better, and have a strong desire to inspire and contribute to the world’s well-being. As a result, they tend to be willing to do volunteer work and are focused on the environment, habitually recycling and conserving water.

Kurz left his audience with seven takeaways about Millennials:

1. Millennials are optimistic about their future and think things can only get better.

2. Millennials see their future through a portfolio career, or having many different jobs over the course of their working lives.

3. Millennials value human contact over tangible belongs, and especially value items that help them connect.

4. Millennials see technology as useful but don’t use it as a compromise to having real relationships.

5. To Millennials, being part of a loving family is key above all material things. It’s crucial to their social support system and they often use technology to stay connected to their families.

6. Millennials have a global view of connectedness and culture

7. To Millennials, change is about collective responsibility. They are motivated by local issues and see that as the key to global change.

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