What's up with Gen Y?

Let's stop for a minute. Gen Y, millennials, echo boomers. As we try to understand them, we’ve come up with a lot of names for post Gen X kids. Yet the more we coin terms for them, the more the disconnect deepens. As we’re spending all our time trying to figure out who this tech-savvy animal is, we’re losing sight and time. They are not the technology that empowers them. They’re not a social network unto themselves. They in who they are as kids, teens and young adults are empowered by the tools they have at hand to magnify who they are. Who they are is not much different than previous generations. Where the difference lies is that everyone’s voice can be heard and amplified now.

Think about it. Is the behavior that underlies having a credit card extended on your parent’s credit any different than borrowing your dad’s card with a note 30 years ago? Is the behavior behind instant messaging now any different than getting your own phone in your room? Really, who knew what you were talking about or who you were calling. My best friend’s mom had no idea her twelve-year-old struck up a random ongoing phone conversation with the odd Green Peace bachelor around the block. Lucky for her, the only lesson she learned was about Earth Day. The freaky stuff she learned in person from her older brother’s friends.

You can get stuck on the power and the unknowns of technology, but whether they’re 12 or 21 kids will be kids. They’re impatient. So are we all once we’ve had a taste of the possibilities. WHat they have in common is that they're all seeking likeminded counterparts to define themselves. That said, parents as always need to be parents. Marketers need to be sensitive to that. And brand planners as always need to be clever. As clever as one had to be when there was no TV and a copywriter held hands with an art director to reach a local market, 'cept now it's a fast multiplying niche of a teen.

Comments

[Duncan]

As you say, kids will be kids, adolescents will be adolescents, 40 year olds will be 40 year olds. Developmentally at least. But I think we do see distinct sets of values emerging as teenagers separate from their parents and make sense of the world for themselves.

It's not just about technology. After all today's iPod is yesterday's Walkman. There are attitudes toward safety, community, global awareness, expectations relating to speed of communication, that will shape Gen Y for years to come.