So, in the manner of mad labels, "demographics" and greater understanding, my generation, that is the generation born in the 1980s, has been labelled Generation Y. This is as opposed to Generation X, a catchier and cooler sounding name which was the generation before mine, which was populirised by Douglas Coupland's magnificent book Generation X: Tales for an accelerated culture.
This whole, defining a generation lark started after WW2, when the "Baby boomer" generation came through. Basically after the Second World War everyone who came back alive had sex like mad and there was suddenly an extraordinary sized generation. They mostly came of age in the 1960s, and everything associated with that, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, sexual freedom, student protests and so on.
The generation after, had alot less children. This was later defined as 'Generation X' - mostly kids born in the 1960s, who didn't really believe in the icons of the baby-boomers, got married less, didn't believe in God so much, all that jazz. When Coupland expanded on the idea of Generation X in his (brilliant) novel, he looked around and saw a generation stuck in McJobs, who weren't interested in climbing the ladder (so in deep contrast with the 'Yuppie' movement of the same sort of era) it was this that got the nickname 'Slacker Generation' in the early 1990s.
Generation Y is the term now on alot of people's lips, because the generation born in the 1980s, either to Generation X, or to Babyboomers (or in my case, one of each) because now as a generation we're coming of age, and its interesting to look around and my generation and think what kind of impact we might collectively have on the universe.
The internet is obviously a key difference between us, and Generation X. When I read Gen X, I related to it quite alot, despite the fact I haven't quite reached that age yet (I'm 22), I could easily imagine myself drifting, slacking, trying to avoid a McJob, ditto the rest of my generation.
The internet though is the key difference, it has completely reshaped my generation's lives, and I would argue that we are the first really - for better or worse - to shape it our image.
What this suggests, to me at least is we are quite a faddy generation - though maybe this is just the nature of the internet. Myspace, Facebook, Last.fm, YouTube, all other trendy websites on the internet rise and fall in memical trends - those are just some of the more lasting ones really.
But we switch from them and lose interest when something vaugely different comes along, see the switch from Myspace to Facebook last year.
Also, as this blog demonstrates we all have more of voice than previous generations. What's interesting I suppose is that most of Generation Y don't utilise it so much as shout inanely at the world. This is not a critisim, just an observation. But when you read, say, the YouTube comments, you have to sit and wonder. It does say...something about this generation. The annonymity of the Internet means we can say whatever the hell we like, most of it mundane or insulting. Perhaps we're less interested in politics than the Babyboomer generation.
The Iraq War, I suppose is quite a pivotal moment for our generation - 9/11 was a bit too early for me at least to comprehend the full meaning of it at the time - Iraq was certainly the event that made me think more in political terms. Its fair to say I wasn't the only one - millions of people did not march against Afghanstan and the war there, but Iraq, Millions of people lined the streets of London, New York, Paris.
I also have a suspision that there is a big distrust of political figures from our generation. We're a bit too young to remember Blair wooing Generation X with his rockstar posturing, and have grown up with the other end of Blair, and then in America, Bush. Look across the G8, and I see people I don't like leading England, Italy, France, America etc. It'll be interesting to see what effect my generation has on politics - Obama could be a big winner from Y i think.
According to Doctor Redmand of Liverpool Uni who has apparently spend a lot of time studying us, Generation Y are less punctual, communicate differently, has little interest in race, sexual orientation, is interested in values (whatever that means), educated, bored by routine, success-driven, lifestyle-centred, anti-commitment, service-minded, environmental, entrepreneurial, opinionated, diverse and goal-orientated.
I can certainly recognise some of those things. I think some are just a reaction to Generation X, to try and set the generations apart, but certainly les spunctual, communicate differently, little interest in race etc, educated, bored by routine, anti-commitment I could relate to myself. I think Enviromental is a key one for the generation in general, I think it is our generation that is actively interested in that.
Other things I think I would throw in there, are that I think we are tech-savvy almost effortlessly so. We rely on the web for news, we pretty much all own Mp3 players, we all use MSN or some other IM, Probably mostly have a Facebook and/or a Myspace, and downlaod music illegally or otherwise from the internet. Alot of these things appear to be comfusing or novel to older generations, when they seem as normal as day or night to us.
The other is the mistrust of corporations. I think that started with Generation X, but i think there is along with a mistrust of anyone political, a dislike of companies like Microsoft or McDonalds. I guess we've just realised thats where the power is.
I don't imagine this to be definitive in any way, and I do think you can only generalise a generation only so far, but its interesting nontheless, and after all, its about the time when this generation is going to start shaping the world around us.
