'Generation Y' deemed selfish by some |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Dec 03 2008 at 2:36 PM |
By Jenny Gierhan
Antelope Staff
"I am never going to be like my PARENTS!" Sure, that's what they all say, but has this generation lived up to its vow? From one generation to the next, there have been changes in opinions and behaviors, but overall no significant behavioral and attitudinal changes have been so apparent since the late 1960s with the hippie movement.
Stephanie Armour of USA Today said Generation Y-ers, born from 1977 to 1997, cover 30 years and 70 million people. Sometimes called "echo boomers" this generation is closest in population size to the 75 million baby boomers. What makes generation Y so much different than generation X and the baby boomers?
"I think our generation is a 'wanting' generation," said Mark Weissert, senior construction management major from Elwood.
Dana Robinson, freshman athletic training major from Omaha said, "I do agree that our generation is more selfish because people who are older than us in our same generation do have wealth that they could be sharing more with the poor and jobless."
Ask yourself this: does my major reflect something that I truly want to do, or am I studying something that may not whole-heartedly satisfy me? If you are reading this issue as a non-traditional student pursuing a 'dream' degree consider yourself a perfect example of the social attitudes of a Gen. Y-er.
Gen. Y has been deemed selfish, getting a bad rap for viewing life through personal desires. What is self-fulfilling and rewarding is ideal for a Gen. Y-er, says Armour in USA Today.
Before Gen Y, when social attitudes didn't accept women in the workplace, incomes allowed for mainly the basics. Self-fulfillment in a career wasn't the main goal.
Experts agree. This is a generation whose career choices and behavior are driven by the desire to play meaningful roles in work that helps others, say authors Bruce Tulgan and Carolyn A. Martin in their book "Managing Generation Y." Tulgan and Martin also note that they want to be 'paid volunteers' joining an organization because something truly amazing is happening in that atmosphere. They want to be a part of something meaningful and worthwhile.
Growing up with both parents working, a new sense of disposable income lends itself to making dreams and wants reality. Maybe it's not fair to blame parents for the selfishness of a generation; however Weissert agrees parents are a factor.
"This is a generation where kids seem to control parents," Weissert said. "Gen. Y has gotten a lot of ideas of how life is supposed to be lived from television especially with reality television shows like 'The Hills.' These people live their life through a camera lens, giving the world a tainted view of Gen Y's behavior," Weissert said.
All the new products shown on "The Hills" and other similar shows combined with the attitudes of the characters influence materialism for Gen Y-ers. They want, want, and want expensive Coach and Chanel bags while wearing Gucci sunglasses, whining and complaining until parents give in by making these purchases.
"It seems to me that our parent's generation wasn't allowed to boss their parents around. Their parents who are our grandparents told them no without worrying if their child would hate them for it or not. Parents need to stop trying to be their child's friend," Weissert said.
Technology also has a hand in what makes this generation so self-centered. This is a world where text messaging your boss to "call in sick" and text messaging your mom rather than actually calling as a means of communication is normalcy.
"When I pass people on campus I see everyone pulling out the latest Blackberry and jamming out to iPods," Weissert said.
Generation Y grew up the only generation completely comfortable with technology, especially the Internet, whereas previous generations had to grow accustomed to it. This makes a tremendous difference in the power of Gen. Y-ers.
"I've never known a single adult that is happy about their child having cell phones, text messaging and playing video games. So if no parents are happy with that why are they giving in? I don't know if it is technology or what, but no parents stick up for what they believe in," Weissert said.
With the holidays approaching rapidly people begin to make lists of things they want. Robinson thinks selfishness decreases during the holidays for a lot of people.
"People are usually so giving during the holidays, donating coats and volunteering at soup kitchens," he said. "Even though our generation seems a little 'me-centered' I feel that as a group we are beginning to shape up and do good things for other people and the earth, such as going green. I also do a lot of volunteering with kids from low income families and unfortunate situations. I know that I've made a difference and am doing my part to help society."
