Humans are driven by some hidden desire to control the universe. Accordingly, their civilizations institute laws, draw limits, and name each day as it goes by. Humans also try to add up the shifting cultural variations through the identification and branding of generations. As every generation attains maturity, applies a powerful force on humans' culture as well as economy. Presently, the most widely known of generations-or the baby boomers, are reaching retirement, while their children-or generation Y, are starting to stretch their muscles. Having knowledge of the values and characteristics of generation Y is beneficial for the current as well as future businesses, because generation Y is the the next big wave of customers. What one needs to know about this generation is very much rooted on the Internet (Freestone and Mitchell 121-128).
The term baby boomer was created by Landon Jones to define individuals who were born during the Post-World War II period, approximately between 1946 and 1964. The baby boomers individuals are associated with rejecting or restructuring their customary values. Baby boomers who have retired from their occupation or profession are referred to as the Golden Boomers. This set of individuals has it own distinctive character traits that set it apart from other generations. On the other hand, Generation Y is also known by several other names, including the Millennial Generation, Generation Next, Echo Boomers, and Net Generation, and represents the demographic age bracket after Generation X. There are no exact dates marking the beginning and the end of the millennial generation, reviewers have marked the generation's birth dates from around the mid-1970s to the beginning of the 21st century. People belonging to Generation Y are referred to as Echo Boomers because of the substantial growth in birth rates from the 1980s to the 1990s, and since many of them are offspring of baby boomers.
Unlike other generation, generation Y establishes more than friendships-community that can understand, accept and respect them. Having observed the hard work rewards of their parents, generation Y has managed to be materially endowed. The generation Y individuals are dynamic and have free mindsets. Thus, they see more value in personal experiences rather than job stability, which enables them to easily and adaptably change their jobs (Armour 1-4: Jones and Susannah 3-10). This generation is also very good at expressing themselves and speaking their minds, which a great trait in today's world. The generation Y is a technologically savvy group, making them excellent in sharing and distributing information instantaneously. With their appreciation of the Internet, this generation is fast and can make instant answers and immediate decisions and daily challenges, particularly with the help of the Internet (Freestone and Mitchell 121-128). With the inspiration by their baby boomer parents to see value in education and their high expectation of achievement, they are initiative in getting hands on experience through voluntary jobs and working while studying (Armour 1-4).
On the other hand, apart from being over-demanding and unrealistic, the generation Y are financially irresponsible and spend their income arbitrarily on entertainment, travel and other recreational pursuits (Jones and Susannah 3-10). Although they may be fast in instantaneous decision-making, generation Y individuals are pretty impatient and are not likely to be motivated by long-term goals. Due to their expressive conduct and with their respect for authority, this generation is not likely to be impressed by the age or a title of an individual while addressing them. On some decisions such as shopping for new products, generation Y individuals are very likely to be swayed by the popularity of what they buy amongst themselves and may not have a justifiable reason for buying the products; making them indecisive to some extent. The individuals of generation Y have the tendency to separate themselves from the existing norm and rebel against the accepted trends; even when the norms are good.
Research indicates that the baby boomer generation, when compared to their parents and the latest generation are much better off financially since most of their households have a retirement account (Lusardia and Olivia 205-224: Richard, Schaeffer and Macunovich 497). Baby boomers are comparatively more informed and advanced that their parents, with most of them having embraced Internet activities such as online buying and gaming; have the tendency to check the news on a daily basis and are more educated than their parents (Richard, Schaeffer and Macunovich 497). Compared to their later generations, the baby boomers are environmentally safe and buy practice recycling. The baby boomer generation is also renowned for valuing work ethics and also respects knowledge.
In the U.S, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that baby boomer generation were earning more compared to their parents and also accumulating wealth at a faster pace. On the other hand, the baby boomer generation is likely to spend a lot on themselves compared to other generations, which makes them to spend twice compared to others. In regard to health, the baby boomer generation is deteriorating, with a considerable number of these individuals facing issues of obesity and overweight (Russell 28). They also have a likelihood of experiencing at least a single chronic medical problem in their lifetime. Study shows that report more chronic conditions compared to their parents (Moschis and Anil 6-10). This makes them to constitute of the most majority of individuals that need to be catered for by healthcare.
Grasping the characteristics of different generations is fundamental formulating communication styles and understanding various social attitudes that help in equipping the generations and effectively bringing positive impacts to these generations.