Gen Y does WI!

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Who are Generation Y?

Defining someone by their generation undoubtedly uses pretty broad brush strokes as so many other factors can effect how someone behaves (gender and socio-economic background for example). All the same, as I have decided to write this blog with a "Gen Y" slant I thought I should examine the accepted characteristics of this generation and explore my own understanding of the term. 

Definitions of Gen Y vary quite a lot - we may also be called Millennials, Echo Boomers, Net Generation or Boomerang Generation. There is also quite a lot of debate over what birth years are part of Gen Y - I think 1977-1994 is quite a good span and would say that generally I would relate to people in that age range as the same generation as me. Of course some people are on the cusp, particularly when you take the varying definitions in to account. Perhaps Gen Y is still too new a term to have a more accepted definition in the way "Baby Boomer" and "Generation X" do.

What with the name and age range being a little blurry I think that it is more useful to define Generation Y by it's characteristics, which everyone seems more in agreeance on. The two inter-related characteristics of Gen Y which particularly interest me are that of technology dependence and the need for instant gratification.

It goes without saying that we are an extremely technology literate generation and the gadgets and gizmos available to us are interwoven in to our every day lives. However, I think it is key to remember that we have seen a great deal of change in our life times and it may be this which sets us apart from the successive generation. I was born in 1986 and I'm fairly certain that if you described an iPhone to someone then they would have thought you were bonkers. I remember the BBC test card, I can remember what the MS-DOS interface looked like and I remember when the Nokia 3310 was cutting edge and technological advancements are happening at such an exponential rate that I am sure we will see many more unimaginable changes to come.

The multi-channel communications now available to us have been embraced by Gen Y and allow us to create and share in a way which was never before possible. Creative practices in particular have been opened up to the masses - anyone who wants to can make a short film or record a track and then publicise it to the world instantaneously and for relatively low cost. I think this gives Gen Y a strong characteristic of entrepreneurship and the desire for autonomy, which is related to the trait of instant gratification.

I'm always doing a million things at once with lots of different windows open on my PC. I know I'm pretty impatient too; "Bored now!" is one of my most overused phrases and I can be heard shouting it at frequent intervals such as when I have had to queue for more than 2 minutes at the supermarket or wait for a tube for more than 3. I have high expectations for myself and sometimes wonder why I'm not MD of my own international organisation yet. This is definitely symptomatic of my generation but I don't think it is necessarily a negative thing either; I am able to juggle many tasks, look at problems from lots of different angles and I don't accept any less than the best. Gen Y want it all and we want it all now and I think that makes us a force to be reckoned with.

In my next posts I will begin exploring Gen Y and the third sector; until then...