Y Would You Call Me That?

I do not fit into any categories. In fact, I take great pride in the fact that I am unique. I enjoy leading a life that is well-rounded and having an open mind toward all new experiences whether they are familiar or foreign. My life, my viewpoints, my ideas, and my attitudes are all uniquely shaped and do not follow any sort of “marketable” pattern. I do not fit into any group, so WHY would anyone try to tell me that I do. Whatever this “Generation-Y” group is, I don’t want any part of it. I can’t possibly fit into that group, because that group can not possibly describe me.

At least that is what I thought before I realized that some defining characteristics of “Generation-Y” include: acceptance of diversity, embracing uniqueness, curiosity for new learning, and self reliance. Well, I guess that is pretty much Me.

So it turns out that I may in fact be a “typical member” of the Generation-Y, but how can a group that embraces uniqueness have a “typical member?” How can anyone attempt to predict what the masses of Generation-Y will want based on the opinions of the few? I don’t think that they can.

Looking back at the (now so obviously dated) Business Week article Generation Y I see two lists of allegedly “cool stuff” from both Baby Boomers and Generation-Y.

When I look at the “cool stuff according to Generation-Y” list, I see a list of fads, products that practically don’t exist anymore, things I never liked, and people who I never thought were cool. Motorola Flex Pagers? Hard Candy? I’ve never even heard of those, but I know the only people who still wear pagers are doctors and drug dealers. The Spice Girls? Leonardo Dicaprio? I’m sorry, but I never thought they were cool (although I did like The Departed). Dawson’s Creek? I never saw a single episode. The WB Network? Gone (I’m assuming now that it was only supported by Dawson’s Creek). Aside from Mountain Dew, I can safely say that I have never bought, wanted, watched, or cared about anything on the entire Generation-Y list.

The “cool stuff according to Baby-Boomers” list on the other hand, now that is a cool list. Timeless classics like Coke and The Beatles will be around forever (incidentally my iPod has twenty Beatles songs and zero Spice Girls). Harrison Ford movies are usually pretty good (at least there will be action and explosions unlike the average Leo film), and my roommates and I still watch Nick at Nite. I own Nike shoes and apparel (not a single item from the Vans line) and I would greatly prefer the Lexus to the Jeep Wrangler. Lastly, I don’t even want to live in a world without Major League Baseball, but I could care less if the “Skateboard Triple Crown” gets cancelled (whatever that is, it probably already is cancelled).

So I have asked myself: Does this mean that I am over-the-hill, middle-aged man at heart? Do I just have tastes that are so old that I fit into the “baby boomer” generation more than my own?

I have decided that the answer is No. I don’t fit into those lists that the article provided, but is that my fault? Of course not! The problem isn’t with me, the problem is with those lists!

Looking at the lists now, the Gen-Y list is obviously outdated and filled with currently irrelevant material, while the baby-boomer list is filled with time tested classics. Obviously, at the time this list was made Gen-Y had not yet found its true values or tested any of its ideals. Gen-Y was only a fickle teenager at that point and insisted on changing its mind (about almost everything) often. An updated Generation-Y list would definitely look completely different (while the baby-boomer list would most likely be very similar to the way it is now), and may be more in tune with my own opinions.

Something else that sticks out to me is the fact that this “Generation Y” list was obviously written by someone who was not a member of Generation-Y. It seems to me like a market researcher walked up to a group of pre-teens at the mall and said “Yo, what is up? What rad things are goin’ on these days?” and then preceded to write down the answers.

It also seems like there is a growing fear of Generation-Y, at least in the marketing world. Baby-Boomers seem to be saying to themselves “Who are these young people and why are there so many? What do they want? And why is that music so loud?” Marketers seem to have this idea in their heads that Generation-Y will be completely different than every previous generation and that our access to technology will revolutionize the way we think and the way our society develops. Maybe.

But I think its more likely that Generation-Y will grow up and get real just like every other generation before. We will need jobs that pay well, products that get the job done, and entertainment to keep us from getting too bored. Just like every other generation ever. The technology and media will be different, but the basic ideals and principles will be the same as before.

Every new generation has new technology to deal with, but ideals stay remarkably similar. Looking back, is there huge social difference between the “Printing Press Generation” and the “Pre-Printing Press Generation” (if anyone ever cared to label such a thing)? That was a huge technological development, and yes there were vast changes to every day life, but social ideals stayed nearly the same. Each new generation is young, they grow up, they continue where the old generation left off, and then a new generation comes along. It has been that way since the beginning of time. Y would I be any different?

Just a test

Please do not be alarmed. The following is only a test.