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.
