What can we expect now that Generation Y, those in the 18 to 29 age category, are approaching centre stage?
Are their personal characteristics very different from their parents’ generation, the baby boomers?
Also, what will be the impact on the economy as Generation Y moves into positions of authority and control?
Generation Y is wired to a far greater extent than their parents. They grew up on the Internet, and are constantly in contact with their “friends” on Facebook, by e-mail, or text messaging. They are on their cell phones a great deal of time, and are using their iPhones for all forms of entertainment. Their lives revolve around telecommunications and without that they are bereft. They are the first generation that is completely wired.
This generation believes that in just a few years they will have the same standard of living as their parents.
They seem to live in a world apart from their parents in their attitudes, their goals, and ethics. They do not accept the possibility that they will have to undergo many years of struggle similar to what their parents had to go through.
These younger people believe that the recession is really good for them as it creates opportunities when older people lose their jobs. The former will encounter no difficulties because of the weak economy. Just the way youngsters drive recklessly because in a way they think of themselves as almost immortal, they are so self assured that they “know” they can surmount any economic troubles without enduring some major hardships.
Finally, they are so tolerant that they have few attachments to anything or any organization.
What will all this mean for Canada and our economy? It is hard to accept the fact that their lack of zeal or commitment will lead to progress. Their indifference almost mocks the work ethic because they assume that they can bypass that.
Liquor consumption is omnipresent and violence among their peers is accepted by them, much more than by society in general.
In contrast to what must be acknowledged as the above generalizations, young people in the Asian and less developed parts of the globe have principles that veer 180 degrees from those cited above.
Our economic future is cloudy at best.
If we in North America and Europe fail to recognize that struggles loom ahead, it does not take much imagination to realize that rough times are inevitable for us.
Let us hope that the next few years will bring about a reawakening of old principles so necessary for our progress.