Generation Y

Generation Y (occasionally written as Generation Why?) - along with Echo Boom, Byte Block, Internet Generation, South Park Generation, and Millennial Generation - is a name used in demographics to describe a particular generational cohort in Western societies, specifically the United States. The cohort comprises those born in the late 20th Century, especially the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, although no consensus has emerged specifying exact dates, which has made matters difficult and confusing for many people. Proposed start dates range from 1977 to 1985, and proposed end dates range from 1994 to 2002, making only 10 years (1985 - 1994) out of the maximum 25-year threshold (1977 - 2002) definitely Generation Y. The typical dates, though, are usually roughly 1977 to about 1993/1994.

The inherent similarities between Generation Y and its predessessor, Generation X, have led many to view Gen-Y as a mere protraction of Gen-X, going as far as to question the existence of two separate generational classifications. There are, however, very important differences between the generations, including (but not limited to) the age at which modern technology was introduced to members of each generation.

Elusiveness of definition

The nature of generations as a valid social phenomenon is somewhat disputed. Many claim that attempts to characterize large numbers of individuals is unfounded, but many others think that understanding the theories behind generations answers more questions than it raises. Popularized by authors William Strauss and Neil Howe, the concept of generations in general hinges significantly on their work.

Many labels have been attached to this generation, although none has been overwhelmingly accepted yet. Additionally, the term “Generation Y” is sometimes used to refer to the later half of Generation X, who exhibit distinct differences from the first wave, which further exacerbates the confusion surrounding the labeling of this generation. For the purposes of this article, we will use the term “Generation Y” to refer to those born in the United States in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

The name "Newmils" is popular in the UK, as is the term "Thatcher's Children". The term "echo" is most popular in Canada, inspired by David K. Foot and Daniel Stoffman's book Boom, Bust and Echo. The Y in Generation Y comes from the name Generation X sometimes given to the previous generation (Y immediately following X in the alphabet.) In the Generations system of authors Strauss and Howe, the Millennial Generation, as they call it, is the generation of Americans born from 1985 to 2005. However, alternate birth year groupings are widely available, based on criteria such as personal identification, fertility rates, and national events. In subsequent publications, Strauss and Howe have altered their boundary years as well.

In his book Growing Up Digital, business strategist and psychologist Don Tapscott coined the term "Net Generation" for the group, pointing at the significance of being the first to grow up immersed in a digital- and Internet-driven world. However, they may be the last generation to appreciate its significance in changing the culture, as most of them can still recall now-obsolete items of the pre-digital era (typewriters, hand-drawn animation, and VHS tapes, for example). In addition, most Generation Y members, even those born as late as 1990 can still remember a time before widespread use of DVD players, digital audio players, cellphones, TiVo, digital cable, iBooks, and other now ubiquitous items. Those born in the late 70s, early 80s can even remember the age before PCs and the Internet.

Perhaps the best way to define the boundaries of this and other generations in the United States is by considering dominant national events. Events that shape national identity, while not completely explicative of all personality traits, can shed much light on broad characteristics of a generation. National events proposed as boundaries for Generation Y are the Challenger explosion (most members of this generation did not witness the tragedy in schools, were not aware it had happened, or were not born yet, in contrast to members of Generation X, who watched the takeoff—and the explosion—in the classroom). On the other end, the September 11th attacks are a proposed end-point for the generation; people who in 2001 were not yet born, or were too young to remember and/or understand what happened on that infamous day, would be grouped into Generation Z, while people who were still in school (or had recently graduated) would be Generation Y.

The very early years of the late 1970s and 1980s are among the most debated and stratified for determining the boundaries of Generations X and Y, as various sources have placed people born from 1978-1982 as being either the tail-end of Generation X or the elders of Generation Y.

Most Generation X'ers however, clearly do not believe that people born shortly prior to and around 1980 belong in their circles, as these people would have been no older than elementary school and middle school age when the Gen-X defining rock bands Nirvana and Pearl Jam became popular in 1991. This same thinking is what leads some people to dispute the fact that those born from 1958 to 1964 are Baby Boomers, since they would been too young to remember the Kennedy assassination as well as having been obviously too young to possibly have been drafted into the Vietnam War (though this is a minority view).

Generational demographics

Many in Generation Y are the children of Baby Boomers, and the generation is also known as the "Echo (Boom) generation," because it is, in some areas, the largest demographic grouping since the baby boom that immediately followed World War II (the U.S. birth rate per 1,000 population, however, declined for seven consecutive years starting in 1991 — the second longest such streak on record, exceeded only by the eleven-year baby bust of 1958 through 1968). Most parents of the members of Generation Y are from the Baby Boomer or younger Silent generations; significantly fewer parents are from Generation X (mostly kids born in 1991 or later). Their grandparents are mostly from the G.I. Generation, with some older Silents. While the echo was much larger than the previous cohorts, except the Baby Boom, the relative size of this generation is much smaller that the Baby Boom. The American population was much larger in the 1990s than in the 1950s or '60s. From 1946 to 1964, the U.S. total fertility rate averaged 3.3 — high enough to double the population every two generations. Since around 1980, it has averaged 1.9, which is below the so-called replacement rate, though in recent years it has moved slightly above 2.0. Families continued to get smaller than in previous decades, usually with only one or two children.

Generation Y in the United States

Over 60 million people were born between 1977 and 1993 in the United States. Some demographers define those years as constituting the large baby bulge of the late 20th century in that country, and define people born between those years as the "echo generation." Those numbers mark the echo as slightly smaller than the Baby Boom (72 million), but much larger than Generation X (Between 40 and 45 million). Birth rates in the United States peaked around 1983-87 and have dropped considerably since then, but remain higher than in the 1960s– early to mid '70s. Most families with children since the late 1970s, 1980s, and 90s had only a few kids, leading to smaller families than in previous generations, although this was merely the continuation of a trend that began earlier in the century.

Most have few memories of the Cold War (apart from perhaps action movies, toys, or video games with such themes) and came of age during the technology-driven changes in the years of President Bill Clinton. They were the first to grow up with the Internet in a developed, prolific form, including music downloads, instant messaging and cellular phones, which came to fruition at about 1997. The portmanteau "screenager" was coined in 1997 by Douglas Rushkoff in his book "Playing the Future" to describe this techno-savvy generation.

Other major social changes in recent times include immigration and developments in race relations. Characteristically, Generation Y members are generally very tolerant towards multiculturalism and internationalism. It is also not uncommon for post-1970s born children to grow up dating people outside their own race or ethnic group, as well as having a wide range in friends. This growing trend towards interracial relationships is unfortunately sometimes a source of negative friction between youth and their parents or elders, who grew up in a society where interracial romance was once considered extremely taboo and even banned in a number of states until the late 1960s. The state of Alabama only officially disbanded its anti-miscegenation laws in the year 2000. As well, many people in this group are themselves multiracial in background, and this is also a considerable change from previous generations.

Opinions on Gay rights and gender roles have also been altered to some degree by this group. Generation Y is known for having among the most wide-ranging opinions on such issues as many members of this generation hold a grudge towards homosexuals while many others are openly accepting.

This generation was the subject of much concern during the 1990s, though, despite some of its positive features. The Columbine school shooting, along with similar crime, as well as youth participation in street gangs, hate groups, and behaviors such as teen pregnancy fueled a wave of action by schools and other organizations. These events however, save for the school shootings, were very present, if not even more common, before the 1990s but were simply not talked about as much.

Gulf War II may become the war that defines Gen Y, but a contrast to this view is that the current conflicts involving Generation Y may end up mimicking the Vietnam War, which greatly impacted both the Silents and Baby Boomers, corresponding with generational and ideological divides over the war. One major difference however, is that all servicemen and women in Afghanistan and Iraq are volunteers, as opposed to the Vietnam War where many young Americans were draftees.

The Presidential election in 2004 was the first election where Generation Y was able to vote in large numbers, John Kerry received most of the votes. However the ratio between young voters voting Democratic or George W. Bush remained stable. This suggests that GenY maybe reflective of society as a whole, rather then a defining independent generation.

Generation Y elsewhere

In a strict sense, the term "Generation Y" and its variations can be said to refer only to the United States, but the close cultural connection between the U.S. and other Western countries has led to the term being used to describe any youth culture, even if the emerging generation does not bear any characteristic similarities to the United States version of "Generation Y" besides chronological birth years.

In many rich countries, the 1980s and 1990s were a period of rapidly falling birthrates. In Southern Europe and Japan, and less markedly in Northern and Eastern Europe, Generation Y is dramatically smaller than any of its predecessors, and its childhood years tended to be marked by small families, both immediate and extended, small classes at school and school closures. In the Soviet Union during the 1980s, there was a "baby boom echo" similar to that in the United States, and Generation Y there is relatively large; however, birth rates fell through the floor in the 1990s to extremely low levels. This meant a lot of individual attention from parents in a period in which society was becoming intrinsically more risk averse.

The child poverty rate was still relatively high in many Western countries throughout the 1980s and '90s.

The increasing stratification of wealth in many societies has led to an increase in the societal differences between poor and rich members of this generation. Although many middle class and wealthier families arrange many extra-curricular activities for their children, less affluent families cannot afford such extras, increasing the pressure on their own children. Since much of the generational character is tied to the prevalence of "extracurriculars" and relatively expensive technologies such as computers, some feel that the description of the generation only applies to wealthy members or at least the broadly middle class.

In Eastern Europe, Generation Y is the first generation without mature memories of communism or dictatorial rule. In newly rich countries such as South Korea or Greece, Generation Y has known nothing but developed world standards of living, while their grandparents often grew up in developing world conditions, causing considerable social changes and inter-generational difficulties as the young reject many traditional ways of life.

Relationship with other living generations

Gen Y are usually children to the Baby Boomers and rarely early Gen Xers (about 1950 to 1969). Because of this they have a tendency to share social views with the Boomers and culture with Gen X, who serve chiefly as their "older cousins" or even older siblings.

People born in the 1980s onwards tend to be familiar with computers more than previous generations; creating a gap that has been compared to the one made by electric power and cars in the early 1900s.

Music and subcultures

Responding to changing trends in market research, marketers sought to capture the attention and support of Generation Y by attempting to popularize wholesome, youth-oriented popular music in the late 1990s. With the sudden popularity of boy bands and girl bands, pop music icons such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys were often associated with the first wave of Generation Yers born in the early to mid 1980s. This trend in “corporate acts” started around 1997 or 1998 and continued through 2002, but by 2003 it was met with slightly different tones as the bulk of Generation Y became the primary audience for new music. While pop music still dominated through the end of the nineties and into the new millennium, the preference for other, non-pop genres showed the diversity among members of Generation Y.

The musical tastes of some Generation Y have fragmented into various countercultures, including "punks," "emo kids," "goths," "scene kids," etc. As usual, the subcultures have aligned themselves along musical lines, with some refusing to put on the aesthetic expression of counterculture, yet remaining significantly detached from the “mainstream.”

It is important to note that although many bands and acts attempt to engage Generation Y, there is little authentic representation of the generation in popular culture that is not engineered and marketed by older generations. This is a seldom articulated point of contention that may explain the generation's relative ambivalence to pop culture.

Trends/Problems among Generation Y members

As with previous generations, many problems began to surface as Generation Y came of age.

Firsts

Technology

This generation was the first generation to use the following technology from an early age:

Culture

This generation was also the first to experience:

Contemporary Cultures