Millennials

For the blog by Yoani Sánchez, see Generación Y.

Generation Y, also known as The Millennial Generation, is a term used to describe the demographic cohort following Generation X. Its members are often referred to as "Millennials" or "Echo Boomers") . There are no precise dates for when Gen Y begins and ends. Most commentators use dates between the late 1970s and early 2000s. Members of Generation Y are primarily the offspring of Generation Jones and the Baby Boom Generation.

The term

The term Generation Y first appeared in an August 1993 Ad Age editorial to describe those teenagers born between 1974 and 1976 (now usually considered a part of Generation X). "Generation Y" alludes to a succession from "Generation X".

The name "Echo Boomers" relates to the size of the generation and its relation to the Baby boomer generation. In the United States the actual "Echo Boom" was a five year span between 1989 and 1993 when for the first time since 1964, the number of live births reached over four million. It wouldn’t be until 1985 that the live birth number would even match that of 1965 at 3.760 million. Also it should be noted that the birthrate of 1971’s 17.2% has yet to be reached according to the 2000 census.

One analysis of American demographics locates the increase in births between 1979 and 1994. By this calculation there are 60 million members of the generation, more than three times the size of Generation X, and just shy of the 72 million baby boomers.

As this generation came of age during and after the 1980s, during the Digital Revolution, terms such as "Net Generation" and "First Digitals" are sometimes used to describe Gen Y.

Howe and Strauss: "The Millennials"

Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe have been influential in defining American generations in their book Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 (1991). Howe and Strauss maintain that they use the term "Millennials" in place of "Generation Y" because the members of the generation themselves coined the term, not wanting to be associated with Generation X. Almost a decade later, they followed up their large study of the history of American demographics with a new book specifically on that generation, titled Millennials Rising: The Next Generation (2000).

In their books Generations (1991) and Millennials Rising: The Next Generation (2000), William Strauss and Neil Howe use the start year as 1982 and end year of the generation as 2001. They believe that the coming of age of year 2000 high school graduates sharply contrasts with those born before them and after them due to the attention they received from the media and what influenced them politically.

Defined demographically

Generation Y is the generation following Generation X, especially people born in western culture from 1982 (Millenials) to the mid-1990s. The generation is also alternatively defined as the children of the Baby Boomer generation. People born in the early 1990s are sometimes lumped into Generation Z (though the majority opinion begins this generation around 1996), however most commentators believe the main Generation Y cohort consists of those born starting in 1982.

Defined sociologically

Generation Y, like other generations, was shaped by the events, leaders, developments and trends of its time. The rise of instant communication technologies made possible through use of the internet, such as email, texting, and IM and new media used through websites like YouTube and social networking sites, may explain Generation Y's reputation for being peer oriented and for seeking instant gratification. This trend of communication is continuing into Generation Z.

Gen Y and digital technology

In their 2007 book, Junco and Mastrodicasa expanded on the work of Howe and Strauss to include research-based information about the personality profiles of Millennials, especially as it relates to higher education. They conducted a large-sample (7,705) research study of college students. They found that Net.Generation college students were frequently in touch with their parents and they used technology at higher rates than people from other generations. In their survey, they found that 97% of students owned a computer, 94% owned a cell phone, and 56% owned an MP3 player (iPod, Zune, Sansa, etc.). They also found that students spoke with their parents an average of 1.5 times a day about a wide range of topics. Other findings in the Junco and Mastrodicasa survey included that 76% of students used Instant messaging, and 92% of those reported multitasking while IMing, and 40% of students used television to get most of their news and 34% the Internet.

56% reported downloading music using peer-to-peer file sharing (15% reported downloading movies and 16% reported downloading software). 69% of students reported having a Facebook account, typically logging in twice a day.

Generation Y in the workforce

The Millennials are sometimes called the "Trophy Generation", or "Trophy Kids," a term that reflects the trend in competitive sports, as well as many other aspects of life, where "no one loses" and everyone gets a "Thanks for Participating" trophy and symbolizing a perceived sense of entitlement. It has been reported that this is an issue in corporate environments." Some employers are concerned that Millennials have too great expectations from the workplace and desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace. To better understand this mindset, many large firms are currently studying this conflict and are trying to devise new programs to help older employees understand Millennials, while at the same time making Millennial more comfortable. For example, Goldman Sachs conducts training programs that use actors to portray Millennials who assertively seek more feedback, responsibility, and involvement in decision making. After the performance, employees discuss and debate the generational differences they have seen played out "

There are three (suggested) core elements that drive the ambitions of Generation Y in the workplace  :

Impact--Making a difference is a strong motivational force behind Gen Y's efforts. Though salary and benefits continue to dominate the no. 1 and 2 on the importance list, making an impact ranks no 3.

Communication--The instant communication framework Gen Y developed through extensive computer usage has lead to a need for more professional feedback than that of past generations. Communication platforms such as SMS, e-mail, video chat, microblogging and blogging have engendered a mindset that necessitates constant communication with others. That mindset has carried over into the workplace.

Flexibility--The divide between work and life is continually growing narrower as more people shift from the bricks-and-mortar to a remote workplace. The rate of remote office workers has increased significantly in the past two years, according to WorldWideWeb.

Carol Elam and Nicole Borges discuss some issues with Millennials in a medical school environment.

Gary Hamel discusses managing members of Generation Y.

Multiculturalism

United States

Being amongst the first generations to be born and actively grow up in an American society desegregated by law (Brown v. Board of Education), imposing sexual equality by law (Title IX), and proactively defending the rights of various minority groups by law, in addition to the effects of '60s and '70s era influence on their generation, Millennials have been conditioned by the state, educational institutions, and by cultural influence to take a supportive outlook on multiculturalism.

These combined influences have served to create what is a more culturally tolerant and open-minded generation, at least with concerns to race, and a dramatic decrease in racial and ethnic conflicts.

Social studies education has changed significantly particularly during this generation's childhood and adolescence, with tolerance and multiple points of views on divisive issues being introduced into school literature, such as Columbus controversy, Martin Luther King, the civil rights era, and sexual education.

Worldwide

Institutionalized racism in countries such as South Africa and the United States was abolished by the time Gen Y grew up, and they know of it only as an evil of history.

In Ireland, Gen Y are known as "Celtic Tiger Cubs", a reference to their childhood taking place during Ireland's economic boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, often resulting in them enjoying a childhood of far greater privilege and wealth than their parents.

See also

• After-eighty generation
• After-ninety generation
• Generation X
• Generation Z
• Cold Y Generation
• 2000-2009
• Generation Jones
• Baby Boom Generation

External links

• Financial Times Podcast - how to keep Generation Y Motivated
• Millennious Podcast - A podcast on the millennial generation and digital lifestyles by two Gen Y-ers
• Blending Generational Knowledge and Talent Strategies - Gen|Blending
• Who's filling Y's shoes - The origin of Gen Y
• Generation Next, A PBS Documentary
• USA Today
• The "Millennials" Are Coming
• Resource Library: New World, New Workforce: Gen Y Views on Today's Workplace January 2009
• Generation Y's Goal: Wealth and fame?
• Attracting the twentysomething worker
• The Gen Y Perceptions Study

International

• China's Generation Y: Understanding the Future Leaders of the World's Next Superpower
• A new switched-on and cynical generation
• Generation Y, the Internet, and mindfulness From a Gen Y'ers point of view, not PR or marketing-related. March 2009

References

• 5- "Drug Survey of Students Finds Picture Very Mixed" by KATE ZERNIKE, New York Times, 12/20/05
• 6- Time Magazine, August 1, 2005.
• 7- The Wall Street Journal, 7/28/05.
• 8- William Strauss and Neil Howe Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069:Perennial; Reprint edition (September 1, 1992)
• 9- After X Comes Y - echo boom generation enters workforce - Brief Article HR Magazine, April, 2001 by Julie Wallace
• 10-Brandchannel.com: Dr. Pete Markiewicz: Who's filling Gen Y's shoe's?
• 11-Millennial Manifesto: Scott Beale and Abeer Aballa-InstantPublisher (November, 2003)
• 12-CensusScope-Dominate Generations http://www.censusscope.org/us/map_generations.html
• 13-CDC report- Table 1-1. Live Births, Birth Rates, and Fertility Rates, by Race: United States,1909-2000