The New Psychology of Generation Y by Allison Gamble
They’re the fastest growing segment of the workforce, and according to an article in USA Today are some 70 million strong. Their dress style is high casual, flip-flops and hoodies, tattoos and eyebrow rings. They grew up multi-tasking, switching back and forth between cell phones, iPods, laptops and other electronic gadgets. From shopping to taking classes and even getting psychology degrees, this generation has become accustomed to doing nearly everything online. They’re Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation (or Millennials), Generation Next, Net Generation or Echo Boomers. Whatever you call them, one thing is definite: the people born between the late 1970s and the early 1990s are different from any generation that’s come before, and their generational consciousness is having profound effects on the culture we live in as well as the rest of the world.
Generational Cohorts
Many Millennials are the children of Baby Boomers; a generation named due to their large size — there were 76 million of them born in the U.S. from 1945 and 1964. Primarily, Baby Boomers are associated with a redefinition of traditional values. If their fathers were content to be company men in gray flannel suits and their mothers stayed home with the children, Baby Boomers explored ways to give their work lives more autonomy and freedom. The women among them fought to break through the glass ceiling, seeking economic parity with men. Likewise, technology gave members of this generation the birth control pill and put a man on the moon. Baby Boomers were also the first generation to be subjected to relentlessly targeted marketing.
According to the consumer insight marketing company ThirdAge, today Baby Boomers control over 80 percent of the nation’s personal wealth and exercise more than half of its discretionary spending power. As Baby Boomers begin retiring, they will have even more of an economic impact as it’s Generation Y that will be paying for their Social Security.
Another aspect that distinguishes Baby Boomers from their cohorts is that they did not achieve life milestones on the same timeline as the generations that came before them. So while some Baby Boomers became parents in their 20s, many put off starting families until they were in their 30s or even 40s. Therefore Baby Boomer offspring fall into both Generation X and Generation Y.
Generation Xers were born in the 1960s through the mid-1970s, and have about 51 million members. The end of the Cold War and the rise of globalization shaped much of Generation X’s cultural perspectives. Often children of divorce, Gen Xers are characterized by a certain degree of psychological dislocation, a post-modern worldview that often prizes parody over authentic experience and a marked disdain for authority and rigid work situations.
The New Psychology of Generation Y
Unlike Baby Boomers, members of Generation Y are not interested in putting their work lives above their family lives. They want flexible employment with an emphasis on telecommuting so they can spend more time at home. However, this doesn’t mean Millennials are not achievement-oriented. Having been raised by parents who didn’t want to see their own mistakes repeated, Generation Y defines “achievement” in a radically different way. According to Julie Coates, the author of the book Generational Learning Styles, Millennials tend to have closer relationships with their parents than previous generations and when asked to name their heroes, one-third chose one or both parents rather than a political or pop culture celebrity.
Besides being to close to their families, members of Generation Y grew up engaged in group activities, from “Mommy and Me” play activities as infants to soccer teams in school. As a result, members of this generation value teamwork and strive to include all members on their particular team. Generation Y also embraces diversity. This generation is the most multicultural group in the nation’s history. Oftentimes their parents are a mix of races and ages. Similarly, Generation Y grew up with positive gay pop culture role models and are extremely accepting of non-heterosexual gender choices. The philosophy of the Millennials has also caused them to have a more active interest in politics and social issues than Generation X. For example, Coates notes 70 percent of Colgate University’s 2006 entering class arrived on campus pre-registered to vote.
Finally, Generation Y came of age during two economic downturns: the dot-com bust of the turn of the century and the current recession fueled by the housing crisis. As a result, they have become much more financially savvy at an earlier age than the generations that preceded them. In fact, forty-six percent of the Gen Yers in the workforce have already begun saving for retirement.
Of course, no demographic cohort operates in a vacuum. Generation Y has fashioned its own worldview from the melting pot of experiences, ideas and values characterized by the two generations preceding them. However this fusion represents a new cultural and psychological awareness that is likely to bring big changes to social, political and business spheres in the years to come.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison Gamble has been a curious student of psychology since high school. Though her academic studies led her into writing and the weird world of internet marketing, she maintains an interest in understanding the mind. Herself a member of Generation Y, she believes knowing yourself is the first necessity for knowing what to do with yourself.
Bea Fields is the President of 
