Monthly Archives: June 2012

GenY is getting old, so now there are popping up many new names. Of course there are many reasons to doubt generations, because often there are more differences inside an age group than between different age groups, but we all seem to like them so much.

A much more interesting question than what will be the best alternative to GenZ (oh, please) is actually what the influence of the current recession will be. Will our kids be be recession babies just like the silent generation born from 1925–1945 notably during the Great Depression (1929–1939) and World War II (1939–1945).

This new generation would than be described as docile and more avert from risk taking. But how silent were the original recession babies as the generation  delivered Jagger and Richards?

Or will they be GenY2, everything we think from this rather narcistic generation, but even more?

If you doubt that the present Millennials are less narcistic than earlier generations, I have bad news for you. Actually they are, and they seem to care less, are less politically involved,… but on the bright side, they are doing more volunteering. These are the insights we get from Twenge et al who looked at the evolutions we’ve seen in the values of the past generations. One thing I do want to add, before starting to blame the kids, I think Twenge and his colleagues are more describing the changes in society, reflected in the values of the youngsters.

Abstract of the research that can be downloaded here:

Three studies examined generational differences in life goals, concern for others, and civic orientation among American high school seniors (Monitoring the Future; N
463,753, 1976 –2008) and entering college students (The American Freshman; N
8.7 million, 1966 –2009). Compared to Baby Boomers (born 1946 –1961) at the same age, GenX’ers (born 1962–1981) and Millennials (born after 1982) considered goals related to extrinsic values (money, image, fame) more important and those related to intrinsic values (self-acceptance, affiliation, community) less important. Concern for others (e.g., empathy for outgroups, charity donations, the importance of having a job worthwhile to society) declined slightly. Community service rose but was also increasingly required for high school graduation over the same time period. Civic orientation (e.g., interest in social problems, political participation, trust in government, taking action to help the environment and save energy) declined an average of d
.34, with about half the decline occurring between GenX and the Millennials. Some of the largest declines appeared in taking action to help the environment. In most cases, Millennials slowed, though did not reverse, trends toward reduced community feeling begun by GenX. The results generally support the “Generation Me” view of generational differences rather than the “Generation We” or no change views.

There are a lot of interesting perspectives on youth. Brain development, trends, psychology,… The combination is the best, but also the hardest. I know that picking just one element out of the complex world is very limited, but the strange thing is, the element of demographics is seldom an element when discussing GenY.

Of course we know that in the world GenY is one of the biggest generations ever, but there are huge regional differences.

For instance, if we take a look at the BRIC-countries:

• The BRIC countries share certain characteristics, such as large populations, swiftly developing economies and, for some, high levels of natural resources on which to draw. Rapidly increasing incomes and huge consumer numbers offer consumer goods companies ample business opportunities. The BRIC countries are, however, set to diverge both in terms of economic development and demographic make-up;
• The most marked shift in demographics will be in Russia owing to the fact that it is the only one of the BRIC countries experiencing population decline, reducing the labour market and signalling a higher proportion of pensioners;
• Brazil in particular is falling behind in terms of GDP growth and consumer spending power. Annual population growth in Brazil is forecast to slow by 2020 but the high proportion of youth will ensure the growth of its labour and consumer market in the medium-term;
• China will suffer from a combination of an ageing population and declining youth population, largely a result of its one-child policy since 1979. Population growth will be relatively slower in China than in Brazil or India but the sheer size of its population continues to promise a significant consumer base;
• India will also experience ageing, although strong population growth will ensure it retains a large and growing youth population to swell the labour force. 26.7% of India’s population is projected to be under the age of 15 in 2020. (source)

Even if you compare Belgium and Netherlands, 2 neighbour countries, there are subtle differences. Belgium has known a babyboom for almost 10 years, with only the last year a small decline in growth, while in Holland the amount of births doesn’t reflect the same course. (source Belgium, source Netherlands)

It’s not as if demographics can predict economic growth, but they sure can have an influence. Russian president Putin may be asking for people to have more kids, but if young people are leaving his country, than there is a problem (source). If you have too many young people and no jobs, than it’s hard. If you have some jobs, but few young people, and even they are leaving the country, than to me a country seems doomed for a long time. This seems the case for Ireland and Spain, just take a look at the population pyramid of Spain.

It could be an idea for people handling the economic crisises in Europe at this moment to keep also this element in the back of their minds…