When it comes to the attention-fleeting Millennial demographic, we are seeing more and more emerging technologies designed to appeal to this age group in attempt to gain mainstream popularity. As a result, many early adopters are comprised of Millennials looking to get their hands on the latest and greatest new devices. At the same time, it's still too early to tell how and if these emerging technologies will actually change the future of the consumer landscape, like MP3 players and iPods transformed the music industry.

For years now, I've considered myself an expert on Millennial behavior. As an employer, I've hired and managed them. As a parent, I've raised two of them. As a communications consultant, I've counseled clients on how to talk to them. But, it wasn't until I recently became an adjunct professor that I began to comprehend and appreciate their struggles on the road to adulthood.

Members of Gen Y grew up with the Internet and mobile phones as a given. They see continuous connectivity as their right - there for them any place, anytime. Their media viewing habits are no different: They expect access to content whenever they want it, delivered to any screen they choose.

It feels like you can't watch a commercial this year without seeing a hashtag splashed across the screen at the end of the ad. Hashtags are everywhere, being referenced in ads making fun of Millennials and being thrown out by nearly every brand with a campaign, whether or not it makes much sense. Hashtags are meant to create and foster conversations, and unite people in a joint, sometimes fun, sometimes meaningful, digital experience. But most brand hashtags aren't cutting it.

Millennials. Always connected, yet so elusive. Each spends an average of nearly 18 hours per day on media, according to a recent study by Crowdtap. By 2018, Oracle predicts that their annual spending power will eclipse Boomers at $3.39 trillion. Naturally, marketers are concentrating an increasing portion of their ad budget trying to reach them.

One of the largest differences between Millennials and the generations that came before them is that they are much less loyal. For example, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 50% of Millennials identify themselves as independents politically (though the majority tends to lean Democrat). That's compared with 39% of Generation Xers and 32% of Baby Boomers who identify themselves as independents. According to the study, the same holds true for religion. Twenty-nine percent say that they have no religious affiliation.