[generation Y]
n. People born after the Generation X cohort. Its name is controversial and is synonymous with several alternative names including The Net Generation, Millennials, Echo Boomers, and iGeneration. Generation Y consists primarily of the offspring of the Generation Jones and Baby Boomers cohorts.
This is taken from Wikipedia ("The Free Encyclopedia"). Remember how we all used to have the entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica and how heavy and thick they were? Now I just wikipedia or google what I need to find. Again I find myself realizing just how much of the world is at our fingertips when we have technology.
I'm not quite entirely sure I fit into the description of a Gen Yer. I definitely see consistencies between the description of what I am labeled as and what I am- for example: as much as I would like to say I don't care about brands, I do; I check my email about once every five minutes when in front of the computer (even as I write my blog I am constantly hitting that 'F5' short cut button to refresh my inbox) and get impatient if it takes longer than one second to refresh; I prefer things that look more stylish and sleek; I have a Roth IRA account and I care about it. On the flip side: I love my Cons (converse shoes); I love my Nike shorts (find me anyday in the summer, I'll be wearing them in any assortment of colors); I think Levis are cool.
Even though I say I may not be 100% Gen Yer, I read on and on about how we are diverse, we question everything, we are more racially and culturally tolerant, we need the combination of work hard and play hard, we are more financially savvy, we job hop, we like work-life balance, we are the fastest growing segment in the work force, we don't know what war our parents are talking about (they don't understand our fashion sense), we are constantly changing everything- our phone, our laptops, our views, we are constantly bombarded with the media- and many times we follow it- and I definitely see how this describes the majority of the people around me. You really can't overlook us.
Gen Yers are one of the next largest groups that rivals the baby boom in size. Marketers struggle to find ways to catch our attention to persuade us that we need to buy their next latest and greatest invention. They have to fend off competitors and figure out how to stay on top of their game. Their most difficult job will be to figure out what we like as fickle consumers now and predict what we will like 5, 10, 50 years down the line- and now with the economy acting up the way it is, challenges are definitely down their path. I'd say we really are reshaping America as we know it.
love them.
