From “Millennial Searchers” (November 30, 2013)
Meaning, of course, is a mercurial concept. But it’s one that social scientists have made real progress understanding and measuring in recent years. Social psychologists define meaning as a cognitive and emotional assessment of the degree to which we feel our lives have purpose, value and impact. In our joint research, we are looking closely at what the building blocks of a meaningful life are. Although meaning is subjective — signifying different things to different people — a defining feature is connection to something bigger than the self. People who lead meaningful lives feel connected to others, to work, to a life purpose, and to the world itself. There is no one meaning of life, but rather, many sources of meaning that we all experience day to day, moment to moment, in the form of these connections.
Search the New York Times for more Millennial-generation articles. For example, “For Millennials, a Generational Divide”: “Young adults do not think and act alike, as it turns out. In fact, some do not want to be called millennials at all.”
Times Topics is also very useful for research on other projects, in other classes. As a subscriber, you have full-text database access to New York Times articles going back to 1851.