From Twitter to Facebook, from Blackberries to iPhones, Generation Y has
it all. Generation Y has achieved great success and set unprecedented records in all walks of life.
Whether it is in politics, corporate America or entertainment, Generation Y is making its mark and setting the standard for generations to come. So, just how bright is the future with Generation Y in charge? Generation Y includes individuals born between the second half of the 1970s and the fi rst half of the 1990s. The digital world in which we’ve grown
up has given us designations such as: Echo Boomers, the Millennium Generation and the iGeneration, just to name a few.
Although technology has given us easier access to information and entertainment, there are some negative consequences.
Some Gen Y’ers have never sent a written a letter in the mail. Instead, we use cell
phones and social networking msites to communicate. This has led to a reduction in the
skill of developing personal relationships with those who are not immediate family
members or close friends.
Gen Y’ers crave attention in the forms of feedback and guidance. We want constant
praise and reassurance.
We’ve already started to make changes in the corporate world. As the fastest growing segment of the workforce, Gen Y’ers are disrupting the traditional workplace environment.
Younger professionals prefer to wear fl ip-fl ops and jeans to work, as opposed to the typical white collar, suit and tie attire. We advocate less work, more pay and more family
time than our career-oriented baby boomer parents did. But like our parents generation,
we are highly competitive.
Our unrelenting demand for attention motivates us to constantly outsource and
outwit our competitors.
According to Jordan Kaplan, associate managerial science professor at Long
Island University-Brooklyn, this generation is less responsive to authority.
“They’ve grown up questioning their parents and now they’re questioning their employers,” said Kaplan.
Being skeptical about everything we have been taught may help us solve some of the world’s problems such as, global warming and world hunger; problems that will only grow larger in the future.
The world has a bright and promising future with Generation Y in charge.
However, the quality of our leadership skills of our generation is hard to foretell. We’ve grown into the, “I want it right here, right now” mind set, which could hurt much more than it could help.
Imagine this childish mindset coming from the leaders of two countries feuding over resources, such an occurrence would likely lead to war.
Hopefully, this generation has paid close attention to the blunders of modern history.
If so, we will be better prepared to take on leadership positions that will become vacant in the near future.
We can then be assured that the lives we had led will be our brilliant obituaries.