- Living at home in our twenties isn’t really such a bad thing. According to this piece, living at home after college (or whatever) actually promotes autonomy later in life. Having parental support in our early adult years leads to our being able to support ourselves down the road. I think this could have a lot to do with the fact that living at home can give you a chance to save money and not have too much ‘grown up stress’ while you try to figure out what to do with the rest of your life. After college, there is a lot of transition and change that happens. If you have a chance to live at home in a stable place, your mental and fiscal situation can be better than trying to figure out how to pay bills, student loans and try to find a job or career that you really want to do. Living at home can take at least some of those worries off of your mind.
- Good parenting is more important to us than a good marriage. I thought this was interesting. HuffPo cited the increasing success of single women who may be parenting without or despite the less successful father of the child. I read a similar article in Slate that brought up a similar point. This piece was not in reference to parenting specifically but more broadly to the dating world which we find ourselves in. The Slate piece essentially said that 20-something women are allowing the less successful men of the same age drive the path of their relationships. They cited an oversupply of successful young women leading to fewer committed relationships and/or more casual ‘hook-ups’. The author posits that this is because women aren’t in control of their sexual interactions. I think this could be A reason (not THE reason), but at this point our culture in general is more accepting of multiple partners, little or no commitment and/or couples who never get married.
Slate says that studies have shown that when there are more women than men (as in, women must compete for men, and men can make the rules of the game), there tends to be a more sexually permissive culture. Women are forced into the roles men define or are left to be alone, because women are not the rare commodity, and men can just find another.
So, this brings up a question with which I frequently struggle: Do we just take what we can get (to be crass), and have some semblance of personal relationships (which are of course dysfunctional and emotionally unhealthy) or do we hold our proverbial ground and wait for that mystical man who can give us what we need on all levels? The logical follow-up question is: How long do I wait? And, how will I find him? Clearly (according to Slate), the odds are stacked against girls like me (those who are trying to be kind of successful), and I feel as though I am at risk of never finding that person or even A person. (No need to meet my soulmate today, but some companionship would be nice.) Slate says the slackers playing video games in Mom’s basement are running our sexual lives. Pretty friggin frightening, if you ask me. But, what I would really like to know is, what role do the successful 20-something men play in this landscape of love (or lack thereof)? Why doesn’t the lack of supply of ‘quality’ successful young men inspire us successful (or at least ambitious) young women to a higher level? Should this alleged competition not create in us a desire to be better to catch that rare successful and single man? Clearly, Slate has answered no questions for me, and only prompts more. - Generation Y is more isolationist. We generally believe that the United States is too involved in foreign affairs. I would agree with this on some levels and not on others. From discussion with friends, I find that members of our generation are in fact aware of the injustices here at home that we can’t seem to solve while we fight injustice abroad. I’ve also read several pieces citing our generation’s greater interest in foreign affairs. Perhaps this is related to the very involvement in foreign affairs related to the terrorism and violence that has erupted in the world in our lifetimes.
- This brings me around (sort of awkwardly) to the fourth fact: Gen Y has changed work and career priorities. Because of the economy in which we have entered the workforce, we have learned to be humble about our expectations when it comes to promotions and advancement . Referring back to the previous point, our generation is aware of injustices here and abroad and tends to seek careers in the public sector doing good in the community.Previous studies of our generation as young children posited that we would be entitled and spoiled growing up in the late ‘80s and 90s when the economy was doing so well. It seems, however, that since we have become adults post-9/11 (see my previous post), amid this recession, we have adapted. Another HuffPo article, Graduating Off a Cliff, discussed the same topic.
“The Millennial Generation is the largest, most diverse, most open-minded, most tech-savvy, most eco-conscious generation in American history. Millennials are also the most unemployed, in debt and generally screwed over. Despite their desire to contribute to this country's greatness, Millennials may be the first generation in decades to face worse economic prospects than our parents and even grandparents.”
We just want opportunities that have been given to previous generations. We aren’t entitled. We just want a chance. With the economy as it is, no employers will give young people a chance to learn a skill or profession without some kind of previous experience. The days of meeting people who found careers in fields other than that in which they got a degree are long gone. Rather than “applying up” to positions that we could learn and grow into, everyone is “applying down” to jobs we’re overqualified for. Thus, recent grads with great potential are competing with more experienced professionals who are also victims of the economy. It just makes more sense for employers to hire the more experienced, mature, established applicant.
Previous generations did not have the vast amounts of professionals looking for work. Our peers who work in the trades and in medicine are not struggling nearly as much as academics or professionals are, especially those of us in ‘support’ or ‘nonessential’ roles (nonprofit communications, anyone?) It’s harder for us to create our own opportunites as professionals who operate as a piece within a larger organization or company. There have been a few who have had success with start-ups, but we can’ all run our own start-ups. - Finally, a Pew study from 2010 found that despite everything happening in our world (and the previous four points), Gen Y is generally optimistic. This is a good thing. Let’s keep it going!!!
Who is this generation of young adults who are (trying? potentially?) leading our world forward? I recently read an article in the Huffington Post about 5 ‘new’ revelations about our generation, Generation Y, born approximately 1981-1991. Some of them are new to me, some are things I knew but enjoy reading in print. Here are those 5 things plus some of my reflections and other thoughts from other sources.
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Carrie:-2010 Westminster College grad Archives
January 2015
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