Ann Marie-Yerks
Comp. 106
27 April 2009
Life After the Baby Boom Generation
First it was the baby boom generation, now terms like “First Digitals,” “Echo Boom,” “Generation Y,” and “Millennials” are used in popular culture to describe those people born between 1981 and 1997. Sometimes people also use the term “Net Generation” because of the closeness to the “Dotcom” boom. While there is not much that distinguishes all of these terms from one another, there are several similar characteristics, attributes, and qualities define this age group. There are also numerous stereotypes that have come attached to this age group. For example, the ability to multitask better and overall increased knowledge is some ideas that older people perceive on Generation Y. However, sometimes gender and race can violate these stereotypes and expectations.
All of these terms contain the offspring of the Baby Boom generation. However it really depends on the location of the people you are referring to when using the term “Generation Y”. This is because most of the time, a generation is defined by the media, popular culture, and even members of the generation; so I think there can not be any exact time period which defines any generation. For example, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, many rich countries in the Middle East experienced a drop in birth rate. In Southern Europe and some parts of Japan, the “Y” generation is notably smaller and most of their extended families are small as well. In the 1980’s the Soviet Union experienced a huge growth in births, much like the United States did. However they went through a large decrease in the 90’s. In parts of Eastern Europe Generation Y is the first generation that does not have memories of communism any type of dictator rule. In other very populous countries like China and India, Generation Y was the first generation to experience better goods and services due to a change in their economy.
While Generation Y alludes to the relationship to Generation X, the term “Echo Boomer” is used to relate the size of the generation and its relation to the Baby Boomers. The actual "Echo Boom" happened in a five year span between 1989 and 1993 when for the first time since 1964, the number of births got to reach over four million (Strauss, Howe). The term "First Digitals" refers to the generation first attaining digital social interaction, and experiencing its opportunities and limitations. “First Digitals” are people born in the late 1970’s until the late 1980’s. They more than likely finished high school and went through some college or finished college. They also adapted to, and used digital technologies and social networking websites like myspace, facebook, and twitter. According to Howe and Strauss, the birth years of the Millennial Generation are 1982 to 2001. They also bring up a good point in that the media and others used the graduation class of 2000 to make a contrast between people born before this class, and those born after. This term simply relates the young age of the generation at the new millennium in the year 2000.
“Trophy generation” and “Trophy Kids” are terms that are used for the Millennials. This term stems from the occurrences in organized youth sports. Most of the time “No one loses” and every participant are rewarded with a “participation trophy”. This raises a huge problem. Most people would think that this generation, rich in technology and education, would make the perfect workers, the opposite is being reported from people human resources departments. It has been reported that employers are starting to become concerned with the fact that people in the Millennial generation have a very high expectation of what should be given to them at an entry level job, and the desire to make their job fit their lives, rather than adapt to life in the workplace. This reminds me of the characters in Microserfs. Sometimes they worked for 16 hours and had to adapt to that lifestyle (Coupland).
“According to a new survey from CareerBuilder.com and Harris Interactive, Gen Y workers want better pay, a flexible work schedule and company-provided BlackBerrys and cell phones” (Balderrama). I was not very surprised at this, because I would be the same way. Young people do not care about seniority, and some are ignorant about it. Some research studies indicate that the millennial generation's great expectations stem from feelings of superiority. Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute and MonsterTrak, an online careers site, did a research study of 18 to 28 year olds and found that nearly half had moderate to high superiority beliefs about themselves. Responses such as "I deserve favors from others" and "I know that I have more natural talents than most", is what the superiority factor was measured by. But the big companies and firms know that hiring generation Y applicants is their best bet to help them stay competitive in the economy. This is after all, the generation that had cell phones in high school when everyone thought it was unnecessary. As a result, fifteen percent of employers are “modifying their policies in order to appease their Gen Y employees. Of those employers who made changes, 57 percent implemented more flexible work schedules and 33 percent created new recognition programs” (Balderrama).
I think that the expectation for little kids to be successful has risen tremendously. I think this is the reason why they use the term “Trophy Kids”. Millennials are truly "Trophy Kids," the pride and joy of their parents. The millennials are greatly praised and often received trophies when they excelled, and sometimes when they didn't, to avoid damaging their self-esteem. They and their parents have placed a high premium on success, filling résumés with not only academic accomplishments but also sports and other extracurricular activities. From a personal experience, I always hated being a “trophy kid”. I did not like getting a trophy when I lost in something, I always felt like it gave me a false sense of accomplishment. I’m not sure how many people would agree with me when I say that little kids should not be given “participation” trophies. Kids should be rewarded when they win, and encouraged to become better when they lose. Doing this would make for the kids to have more realistic expectations later in life once they enter the work field.
Works Cited
Coupland, Douglas. Microserfs. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
Strauss, William, and Neil Howe. Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069. N.p.:
Harper Perennial, 1992.
Balderrama, Anthony. "Generation Y: Too demanding at work?" www.cnn.com. 26 Dec. 2007. 27 Apr. 2009
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