• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, August 21, 2014

Sorry, but data- and insights-driven advertising (i.e., the only kind worth a dime) is a dead end for the entire media and tech industry. That’s because privacy is emerging as a defining cause for an entire generation of millennials -- you know, those 18-to-34-year-olds who, in aggregate, will soon spend more than their parents, and shortly make up 70% of the workforce. That’s according to Megan Meagher, Strategy Director at Red Peak Youth, a design and brand-consulting firm. According to Red Peak’s findings, millennials are more afraid of marketers than the government, or any other prying, privacy-eroding, data-hungry body. Yes, despite having digital in their DNA, this powerful constituency is spearheading a “turn toward privacy,” Meagher said. Among other big implications, millennials flying the privacy flag will be “very harmful for Facebook” -- or at least the only revenue-generating part of its business -- according to Meagher.