Generation Y- The Millenial Generation: Let's generalize
November 1, 2007 9:44 AM   Subscribe

Generation Y, the Millenial Generation. There are lots of people saying a lot of things about this generation. How much of it is true and how much is hogwash?

As a member of the 'Millenial Generation' I have seen a lot of articles in newspapers and across the internet generalizing my generation, both in good and in bad ways. I'm interested to hear people's opinions about the generalizations, and see if we can link this to anything. At this point are we really any different, or maybe we're just young, ambitious, and reliant on new technology? Here are a couple articles and links that I have seen:

http://ask.metafilter.com/62379/Tips-on-managing-20somethings

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033934/index.htm

http://ask.metafilter.com/75165/How-can-I-become-the-equivalent-of-a-tenured-professorby-next-year-or-so

http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/10/17/the-real-deal-about-gen-y-theyre-inherently-conservative/
posted by ets960 to Human Relations (3 answers total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: This is really overly broad as presented; it's hard to know what you're expecting other than a round-table on generational perception, and that's not really AskMe material. -- cortex

 
I'd say it's a 50/50 mix of truth and hogwash. That was the question, right?
posted by dead_ at 9:51 AM on November 1, 2007


Have you seen The Secret of My Success, which a young person from the '80s who can't wait to advance? Or the new show Mad Men, set in 1960, which portrays, among other things, the foolishness of ambitious 20-somethings who also have an inflated sense of their own abilities? (Incidentally, one of these 20-somethings is also micromanaged in his career by an older generation. Sound familiar?)

These days, Gen Xers seem to be viewed as contributing members of society, but when they were entering the workforce they were considered slackers who shockingly put lifestyle before career and didn't have a grip on reality. Ironically, many badly-labeled Gen Xers are now the ones dismay at today's young and foolish workforce. See this, from 1994.

It's pretty much a universal reality that young college-educated folks have, for many generations, reacted with shock to the realities of the office workforce. It seems like it's also a reality that when new managers start dealing with these people, they forget their own youthful struggles and start laughing, grimacing and labeling.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 9:58 AM on November 1, 2007


Mod note: a few comments remove, the flag feature is right under the exclamation point
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:04 AM on November 1, 2007


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