Generation Labels

It has become customary to label each generation with a letter and a series of attributes that define them as distinct from other generations. The assumption is that each generation have an ethos, understanding and even language that is foreign to previous generations. In the words of the Rolling Stones, “why don’t you all just ffffffade awayyyy, don’t try to dig what we all sayyyyy…..this is my generation baby.”

So why is it that almost all of the characteristics given to this generation, Generation Y  or the Millenials, are mostly negative in terms of the generations ability to cope because of the overprotection afforded them growing up? The Millenials are the echo generation of X, who are otherwise known as the baby boomers. The baby boomers apparently worked hard to give their echo offspring all the good things in life they could. This many claim, over-sheltered the Millenials so that as a generation they lack resilience and coping skills.

Since the Millenials are the born between 1982ish and 2000ish, they are also the people populating our colleges and universities now. The critics of this generation cite the stats that say more young people are staying in school for longer as proof of the claim that these guys don’t want to work, or face the rigors of adult life. The view is quite cynical and not shared by all.

Some of the press for the Millienials is actually good, quite noble even. In the book The Fourth Turning, the author claims that modern history repeats itself every four generations and that this repetition occurs over four cycles. The Millenials belong to the fourth cycle which is known as the fourth turning, and which follows on from the unraveling.

Anyway, authors Strauss and Howe say that each of these cycles has their archetype, which is how we come to label various generations. The archetype for the Millenials is the Hero. According to these guys Millennial Heroes have a deep trust in authority and are somewhat conventional but powerful. They are also very dependent on team work and will become great team members in life’s crises and then grow to be energetic, decisive middle aged people. So despite the criticism there are some people that believe the students of today are destined to be the great team players of tomorrow.