Leonard Klie's Gen X: Stuck In The Middle

As generations go by, our predecessors assume we are skipping out on important aspects of life just to get a few extra minutes on our devices. In Catherine Rampell’s “A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much”, it is said the older generations believe Generation Y is “coddled, disrespectful, narcissistic, and impatient” (Rampell 388). In all reality our generation is just doing what it has to in order to thrive in the world we live in, where technology is one of the largest parts of our everyday lives. If the older generations that criticize Generation Y had grown up in Generation Y they would realize the world we live in requires the use of technology. The advancement of society with technology has shaped Generation Y to be the people that they are, relying on technology; however, older generations believe Generation Y is lazy.

He says that while Gen Z can take in a lot of information very quickly due to this technological upbringing they also lose interest extremely quickly. Also, they tend to be more private with this technology than millennials were, rather than posting everything online they are more likely to use more anonymous apps.

Shopping: Shopping for the Generation X started with the trip to the mall. If your local department store didn't have "the cool stuff", you'd have to take a trip to the mall where there are more options for the Gen X'er. Later the rise of E-commerce came into play, so now Generation X members are seasoned enough to know where to physically find the goods they need, but also know where to find a good deal on-line.

There are currently six living generations in the United States, each with different characteristics, beliefs, and values. The things that define each generation’s culture are derived from their history, upbringing, and the lifestyle of their time. Our generation was born between 1980 and 2000. We are called Millennials. More specifically, we grew up in the South, which typically lends itself to being more conservative and religious. These characteristics, along with our instant gratification attitude, define who we are, what we believe, and how we view other generations. For example, we might have differing views with the Silent Generation. Some Millennials may feel the Silent Generation’s social, religious, and economic conservatism is outdated.

Howe, Neil, and William Strauss. Millennials Rising: the Next Great Generation. New York: Vintage, 2000.

Youngsters, nowadays, are tech savvy or computer literate. Adults call these youngsters the “Millennials”. Millennials grew up with what technology can offer like personal computers, gadgets , and the internet. Positive and negative effects, advantage , and disadvantages will always be present.

Pew center mentions Millennials were the first generation raised with technology, but they are narcissists. From the article, the new generation are using more technology than the old generation. From the Example, many students in college use social media for their online homework and they need to type their essays. The author has proposed to focus on communication with others that the millennials are using social media to make the world great. A new generation will grow up with technology and make the world

As generation Y, the first group to come of age in the new millennium, grows and matures, they have entered the workforce at an increasingly high rate, making them the fastest growing segment of the United States workforce (Dorsey, 2010, pg. 15). These “youngsters” are typically in their early 20’s to early 30’s, still in the early and formative stages of their careers (Wain, 2013, pg. 308). Joining these Millennials in the workforce are those known as Generation X, consisting of the middle generation born from around 1965-1984 (Wain, 2013, pg. 308). At the far end of the age-workforce spectrum sit the Baby Boomers – those born between the years of 1946 and 1964 (Kaifi, Nafei, Khanfar & Kaifi, 2012, pg. 89). And finally, the oldest generation still trying to eke out their last paychecks before retirement is the Traditionalists, born between the years of 1937 and 1945 (American Medical Writers, 2012).

Generation Y are less brand loyal and the speed of the Internet has helped with the flexibility to change in its fashion, style consciousness and where and how it is communicated with. Lastly, Generation Y whichranges from 1995-2012. According to Generational Kinetics there are currently over 23 million Gen Z in the United States. Gen Z members are still largely kids and adolescents but have earlyindications of being increasingly self-aware, self-reliant, innovative and goal-oriented.One key difference from Millennials and Gen Z is that they don’t remember a time before social media. As a result, they tend to live much more of their entire lives from interacting with friends and family to making major purchases online and via their smartphones. Therefore, Gen Z kids will grow up with a highly sophisticated media and computer environment and will be more Internet savvy and expert than their Gen Y

Growing up, most Millennials butt heads with their parents like every generation before us. Although a vast majority of Millennials have generation X parents. Growing up as a Millennial, technology became more advanced which seems to be the root of the disliking for us from every generation before us. Our parents are “America 's neglected middle child” and we the Millennials are the future of today. We excel with technology, but struggle with our income, causing us to push back commitments other generations would have already done. Millennials want access not ownership. A growing percent of us are putting off buying houses, marriage, children, and buying cars. Being so technologically advanced we look for convenience over hard work, even in our purchases, “57% of Millennials who compare prices in stores. (AIMIA Inc. “Born this Way: US Millennial Loyalty Survey” ©2012)” Online purchases are happening more than ever, with taking in the factor of good quality and prices. “Millennials have come of age during a time of technological change, globalization and economic disruption. That’s given them a different set of behaviors and experiences than their parents (© 2016 Goldman Sachs).” As I explore the differences and similarities of our two generations I will be discussing power distance, uncertainty avoidance, in group collectivism, institutional collectivism, gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, performance orientation, future orientation, and humane orientation.

The Baby Boomers: In today’s fast growing workforce, this generation is known to be hard workers as well as excellent teams players. They are loyal workers, exercise self-control and are self-willed due to the fact that quite a few of the early Boomers had to compete for schooling and jobs when they were teenagers. Because of this, they feel a sense of obligation to fit in and dedicate themselves to their position; usually relishing in the accomplishments of their job. Because of this sacrifice, most Boomers view their jobs with a sense of fulfilment that gives them a feeling of self-worth in light of that achievement. This generation was once leaders; however, now they are being led by the younger generation of workers (Phillips, 2016). The computer made its debut during this era. It was mainly found in the business world and in academia. As a matter of fact, many Boomers seemed to be more suspicious of computers and were resistant to this form of technology. Many however were not subjected to operating computers; And, simply avoided them as much as possible.

“The vast majority of 18- to 29-year-olds polled — 84 percent — said adult children have a responsibility to provide financial assistance to an elderly parent if he or she needs it (Winerip).” This data just shows that the Millennials do realize that they owe the older generations for their success and that they aren’t against them. From the research done and the articles read, it can be shown that these two generations can work together if they both put their stubbornness aside to help the rising generation.

They both refer to individuals born between 1965 to 1980 as Generation X and people born in 1981 through 2000 are Millennials. Both assert that both generations have many similarities and interests. Both are independent, tech savvy, favor balance, security, personal responsibility, personal growth and easily adapt to change. However, Bennett suggests that Millennials are multitaskers, idealistic, value diversity, favor teamwork and need constant feedback, while Gen Xers work independently and need extraordinarily little feedback. Dunn’s analysis accounts for four generations, while Bennett’s analysis identifies individuals born after 2000 as “Nexters” and describes this group as tech savvy individuals with low attention spans, minimal interpersonal communication skills, who need constant feedback and favor

One important aspect of our life is our health. Today, people are proactive about staying healthy and learning about their body. Since technology is now a major factor in our lifestyle; people who grew up in this era are more familiar with it. This group of people are called Generation X and Generation Y. The time span for this generation are people born between 1965 and 1986. Generation X and Generation Y have a different mind-set than the generation before them (Andolina & Lillé, 2011).

Truly digital, this generation is used to gathering and processing information in a snap, although interest in it wanes in a flash also. A majority – well over fifty percent – want to start their own company. Some see this generation as being more like the Traditionalists (1900-1945) because of the recent recession they lived through, as well as the concern for a safe future environment (think of the recent wars, and terrorist attacks). Time will tell on this one, but I am sure the market research professionals will have this generation detailed before you know