Generation Y
The pretense behind Gen Y is that it is a generation driven by a “me, me, me” rationale. Many would say that the “me” generation is one that is depleting the community and idealizing the individual. But, where did this state of mind originate from and who is to ‘blame’? In my opinion, the Gen Y developed as a direct result of the baby boomer’s struggle to make the family and community happy, while providing opportunities for their children to not face the same struggles, to work less with greater benefits and to progress as an individual; all supported by the success of the generation and the demands of the world.
Society’s dependency on technology has overtaken nearly every facet of human existence. In order to be competitive, one must be marketable. Decades ago, being marketable was determined by education, who you knew, and how you made an impact on those people. The hand shake and verbal communication were keys to success. Today, the key to success is at your fingertips and relies almost entirely on technology. The depth of achievement is directly related to the development of technological skills and the representation on social networking.
Distinct differences in the effort, resources and application of skills are evident when comparing the baby boomers and Gen Y. The baby boomer generation was taught to commit to a job and excel in the job by putting in the time required for networking and promotion. On the other hand, Gen Y has been developed to do things to stand out and be marketable and diverse. Because of these inherent variances in approach, Gen Y is perceived as having no tact and being arrogant and impatient, as most talk about themselves and their skills in an effort to advance quickly. Over time, the focus on what can be done with the team and for the team has been lost.
There is a discrepancy in the job market between those with instilled values and network versus those with a downloaded network. Somewhere...