Facebook? Nah, that’s for mum

Millenials ditch social networks for ones that meet their needs, not their parents’, writes

literature because it wouldn’t get me a job.

Which raises the point: what are the job prospects of young millennials? Mathiesen, who trained as a lawyer, saysthe traditional career trajectory has changed.

‘‘Millennials will have up to 16 different jobs in their lifetime,’’ she says. ‘‘They are comfortable with packaging themselves up and showcasing a set of skills to future employers.’’

That trend makes soft skills all the more important. ‘‘BlackCap can help a student nurture and showcase soft skills, such as empathy, leadership and community participation,’’ she says. It may even lead to an evolution of the social media influencer model.

Being an online influencer usually means attaining a form of celebrity on Instagram or Twitter. But Mathiesen thinks we’ll see influencer behaviour turn into to something more meaningful and professional.

‘‘A new generation of youth influencers as subject matter experts has arrived,’’ she says. She points to the increasing number of ‘‘millennial and Gen Z leaders of youth movements, change makers in social enterprise, community role models, innovators and inventors.’’

So Facebook and LinkedIn, watch out.

Those tools, built by and predominantly used by baby boomers and Generation X, have begun to fail us. Millennials are unimpressed. So much so, they’ve started to build their own tools.

What better way to cater to the needs of a new generation.

Richard MacManus (@ricmac) founded tech blog ReadWrite Web in 2003 and has since become an internationally recognised commentator on what’s next in technology and what it means for society. This is his last column for Stuff.