We hear a lot in the media about Millennials,
the generation now in their twenties and thirties.
But who are the Millennials, also known as
Generation Y, and how do they differ from
the generations before and after.
Millennials are usually defined as those born
between approximately 1981 and 1996. This
makes millennials the first generation to
have used digital technology from a young
age rather than having to learn it as adults.
They were the first digital natives.
Millennials suffered particularly badly from
the global economic crisis starting in 2008
as it hit just as they were trying to enter
the job market. Millennials are generally
thought to be more socially liberal than their
parents but perhaps more self-centered, even
narcissistic. This has led to the label Generation
Me.
Another generation that we hear a lot about
are the Baby Boomers. The name refers to the
generation born between 1946 and1964. Some
see the Baby Boomers as the generation that
had it easy. Easier to get a job, easier to
buy a house. Easier to retire by the age of
65.
So, who comes between the Baby Boomers and
the famous Millennials. That would be Generation
X born between the mid-1960s and the early
1980s. Generation X is sometimes thought of
a lacking in focus and commitment. As children
they were the first generation where it was
common for both parents to be working and
leaving them at home after school unsupervised.
Generation X broke the model of the Baby Boomers
in terms of career, with a huge increase in
being self-employed and starting their own
businesses.
And that leaves Generation Z, young people
born between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s.
Not only are Generation Z digital natives,
they are the first generation to grow up with
social media.
And who comes after Generation Z? We’ll
have to wait and see.
