Gen Y

One of our Vesuvio discussions was the topic of Gen Y.  As marketers, our shop talks about them a lot.  Our account planning group called them "The Next Great Generation" in a presentation recently.  And that's accurate, at least in terms of the United States.  But I'm not sure that's true when compared to their peer generations around the world.

Granted, Gen-Y is a formidable group, 70 million in number, or roughly the size of the Baby Boomers, and we know what kind of impact Boomers have had.  Gen-Y is self-aware, optimistic, and group-oriented.  They feel empowered, and they demand control.  They respect their parents, are determined to be successful, and they seek genuine relationships.  But most of all, they are connected.  They've never NOT known the Internet.  They're completely comfortable with digital media.  And they've got money to spend.

What Andy and I discussed, however, was not how to market to them.  We talked about the less-than-rosy side of the generation, of which he's a part.  He's concerned Gen-Y is too protected, too naive and not prepared for the realities of the world.  That they're spoiled and self-centered.  Not to mis-represent his tenor (and Andy is none of these things, BTW), he also saw positive aspects to his millennial peers.

It was a refreshing conversation.  My focus has always been on the Baby Boomers; I haven't taken the time to look back.  But now that I've become more aware of this group, and because I work with so many of them, I'm paying more attention.

I'm generally optimistic about them.  I think they'll do incredible things.  My worry about Gen-Y is their sense of entitlement, which I think could cause them to lose ground to their peers in other countries, and thus, cause the U.S. to lose ground.

A couple of passages from Thomas Friedman's book "The World is Flat" summarize my feelings well.

Friedman quotes an official in the U.S. embassy in Beijing:  "Your average kid in the U.S. is growing up in a wealthy country with many opportunities, and many are the kids of advantaged educated people and have a sense of entitlement.  Well, the hard reality for that kid is that fifteen years from now Wu is going to be his boss and Zhou is going to be the doctor in town.  The competition is coming, and many of the kids are going to move into their twenties clueless about these rising forces."

Friedman writes, "One cannot stress enough: Young Chinese, Indians, and Poles are not racing us to the bottom.  They are racing us to the top.  They do not want to work for us; they don't even want to be us...I was talking to a Chinese-American who works for Microsoft and has accompanied Bill Gates on visits to China.  He said Gates is recognized everywhere he goes in China.  Young people there hang from the rafters and scalp tickets just to hear him speak...In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears.  In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears -- and that is our problem."

Precisely.

Comments

[Jodie]

Educational Perspective: 10 years ago we were happy with Spanish, French, German languages being taught. Today if your child goes to Shawnee Mission Schools they can take Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Russian! They can even enroll in an entire 4 year intensive program CIS in the language they choose. The district has a teacher exchange with China. The Chinese are smart and are aggressively teaching their Gen Y 's to be tough competitors with us… what are we working on…. The No Child Left Behind fiasco! Our government doesn't get it.

[Rich]

Jeff: Thank you for the invite to your Blog. I enjoyed the tour and really enjoyed this particular post. I have two children in the Y Gen, and I often worry about their competitiveness in this world gone flat. I do not believe they will be working for Wu or Zhou, I am more optimistic than that. I believe because they are so "connected", they will use that advantage to engage the world in ways we can't even predict or forsee at this point. They will increase collaboration which will in many ways break down the current barriers that exist based on traditional paradigms. They will approach the world differently and I think for the better. My hope. I enjoyed our brief conversations at the conference and I am looking forward to moving forward on some great ideas gathered at the conference.
Regards,
Rich
www.whoisrichhand.com if you are interested in my part time passion.

[olivier blanchard]

Wow. Well put!

[Jeff Risley]

Jodie, thanks for the comment. I had no idea of the breadth of classes available at SM schools. Very cool. And Rich, I agree that this will be a great generation that does great things, mostly because of parents like you, Jodie and me.

[Joni Kelley]

Hi Jeff. I read (somewhere?) that the number one form of child abuse today in the U.S. is overindulgence. Not to discount other types of abuse, but I think they're on to something there.

I've been lurking and reading for at least a month now. Good stuff!
Joni

[Jack Yan]

That final paragraph says it all, Jeff.
¶ The Gen Y question overall is an interesting one, mind. They seem to be divided into two groups, based on our research: one which thinks it’s cool not to give a darn, and one which is socially aware, happy to form global groups. American Gen Yers believe more in borders than their counterparts in Australasia, which to me is surprising given their grasp of technology.
¶ Like you, I am generally optimistic as many are quite willing to form groups to work in the areas they wish to see change.

[DK]

Ah, the old 'generation why?' debate - good points made.

However, this demographic have the Net/Iming etc entrenched into their lives - mediums without boundaries (be it geographical or class) - maybe something that will hold them in good stead when this 'entitlement shift' comes?