Although it is inappropriate to assume that everyone belonging to a specific generation will have the same beliefs and development features as social beings, it can be said that shared circumstances and experiences among people with a common setting can impact values and experiences of solidarity. Durkheim’s theory of social order explains this transition from one time (that affects the beliefs and lifestyles of members of a generation) to another. Mechanical solidarity results from homogeneity that is derived from some predetermined similarities and common traits. While in contrast, organic solidarity is experienced by the members of a community that is industry-oriented and is based upon the division of labour. The conscience, or the society’s moral code, provides more room for individualism in organic solidarity as absence of social control is a major trait of this transitioned phase, whereas mechanical solidarity depends on a collective absolute authority made for the greater good of the community where the essence of social control is observable. This transitional phase (from mechanical to organic) divides the generations by their choice of life between individualism and collectivism.

Social identity breeds from four things, categorization of youths into being members of groups, the distinctiveness, uniqueness and prestige of the group, the salience of out-group individuals and the factors associated with group formation. If youths realize that they are members of a certain group, then they may define themselves by the values and characteristics generally espoused by the group members. If the beliefs of the group are aligned with social expectations, the individual grows positively and if the beliefs contradict social expectations, deviance occurs where the individual also involves himslef into deviant behaviour. For instance, members of a feminist group believe in gender equality; people who belong to the anti-feminist group do not acknowledge equality which may result in violence against women or violence against men etc. As social identity theory presumes, individuals’ sense of identity exists because of the knowledge of being a part of a larger social group such as when an individual closely defines her or himself by being a member of a generation. Furthermore, the commonness in values, beliefs and identities of members of the groups makes the group’s stance and salience stronger. This might explain the barriers to communication between members of different groups; particularly different generations of millennials and generation Z. Similar to radicalization, millennials fall victim of youth gang crimes and violent extremism more than generation Z as is requires collectivism and relies on collective identity. Individuals attain the sense of self in the social world based on their membership in a social group. In context of subculture theory, deviant subcultures do not construct based on pathological or biological traits, instead they are understood as meaningful attempts to resolve problems faced by the people concerned; e.g. identity crisis, financial crisis etc. Every human action, including deviance and delinquency, is an ongoing process of problem solving. Such problems breed within the political, cultural, social and economic structures of the mainstream society. Thus, subcultures are formed in an attempt to solve these problems when it can not be done in the conventional way depending on social expectations. Thus, being in a subculture gives an adolescent or a young individual the sense of identity allowing his beliefs to merge with the collective beliefs of other members from the subculture. And millennials are the prime victim of that as they grew up learning the values of collectivism.