Generational Warefare
I don’t know about all the readers out there but it seems to me that the media over the last five years has jumped on the generation bandwagon with every plight they have. Every time a generation does some thing different they seem to want to fight it out in the media. What do you think? I am getting sick of the all Gen Y comments about laziness and spoilt. Generation X gets a tough flack when it comes to how good they’ve had it for years. So many comments that judge us as groups, not individuals. Is it even possible to track a whole generation and dub them as a stereotype? Or are we all just afraid of change and losing control, falling past our prime and letting change occur without our input? It seems to have become such a debatable topic that shows like “Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation” are successful. Do you think that’s justified? Let us know what you think.
The generalisations are annoying, and I think often unfair. Generation Y is far more educated than previous generations and seem to be very politically aware – I think the existence of organisations such as The Oaktree Foundation attests to this.
However, to some extent, we can be lumped in the same kind of category because we do share a historical context and a great deal of wealth. However, I don’t think the real consequences of our context have been adequately explored by the media. We have reports saying that Gen Y is wealthy, therefore they are also lazy and don’t know what it’s like to live it tough. That causal link has no evidence behind it at all. Our wealth has given us access to education, the media, and the internet, which would increase our level of general awareness about the world which could actually result in things like increased empathy and a greater ability to look at the big picture as well as a knowledge about what it takes to be successful in life. The positive side of things aren’t even put out there as possibilities.
So I guess the biggest problem I have isn’t so much the generalisations because it is useful and interesting to look at overall trends. However, if you’re making huge sweeping generalisation, at least base it on some evidence! The fact that some young people drink a lot, for instance, says nothing about Gen Y on its own about how many people do it or why they do it – and its silly to pretend an ill-researched, tabloid news report can adequately answer those questions.
To some extent it is, but the wholesale lumping of people into categories is never fair and has never worked.
The different generational ‘personalities’, however, is a different thing. When you look at generic types of person or generic attitudes amongst specific age-groups, and then track it back through time, you’d be surprised what you would discover. I wish I had a link to hand to provide you with, but a lot of research on this has actually been done – and a lot of it is on the money and solid.
What I personally find terrible about these debates in the media, however, is that it’s always an “excuse”. We can’t cope with young people: blame the whole generation. We can’t deal with technology: blame the generation. We don’t like the fact that we fought wars and did it hard: blame the generation who didn’t have to. Blame games make me yawn, are unfair, and are faintly ridiculous – and IMHO they’re not media-worthy either.
I understand the usefulness of mapping cultural trends, and being aware of common traits in generations, but I feel this becomes problematic when all of these so-called characteristics are negative.
Generation Y are criticized for being incapable of holding down a job, or showing loyalty to any one employer. I have to ask, what is so wrong about constantly seeking to gain the best positions in life? Why should young people be encouraged to settle for whatever job or career they can get, rather than aiming high and trying to achieve even the loftiest goals?
Generation Y are painted as obnoxious and too opinionated, yet simultaneously apathetic. As Erin rightly pointed out, multiple, entirely youth-run organizations exist that contradict that point, and a single visit to any university campus will display thousands of individuals who are engaging critically with the world, and truly trying to make a difference in their communities.
Rather than generalizing generations, and as a result, increasing the generation gap, I think media outlets and entities should focus on promoting the positives of all generations: not as age-brackets, but as people.