Gen Y research

Hi guys this is the lesson learned from a book entitled Mind the Gap!

I'm also reading a book entitled Geeks, Freaks and Cool Kids. they will be uploaded later.

Gen Y consists of those born between 1980s to 2000s. The attitude of this group is to transform the world for the better. They are highly irritated by unbalanced lifestyles as well as dishonesty. There are twelve words that define this generation and they include: “Impatient, desensitized, disengaged, skeptical, disrespectful, bluntly expressive, adaptable, innovative, efficient, resilient, tolerant and committed.”

Some words that emerged in this generation include:

1980s

Break-dancing
Out of order
Road rage
Yuppie
Designer stubble
Fantasy football
Internet
Girl power
Laptop computing
Glasnost and perestroika

1990s

Cool Britannia
Ball tampering
Cybercafe
Docu-soap
Heroin chic
New lad
World Wide Web
Biotechnology

2000s

Metrosexual
SARS
Weapons of mass destruction
9/11


Dress Codes

In regards to the dress codes each generation has adopted we start to see an interesting pattern. While Xers rebelled and tried to make their jeans different Gen Y adopts certain styles of Baby Boomers. They to now wear jeans and white T-shirts but not necessarily ripped, dirty or grungy like the Xers on a mass level. It appears that Gen Yers don’t mind looking like their parents.


Advertising Attitude

While Xers simply don’t trust ads Yers just view them on a level of transparency. Rather than being cynical about ads Yers acknowledge their existence and the role they play in their lives. They don’t necessarily trust them but they do view them as sources for entertainment. To this group ads with facts have no merit as buzz and word of mouth are the real informants. Books such as The Tipping Point exemplify that one person can influence a whole country. Besides being entertained Yers are constantly interested in what goes behind the scenes. They not only want to be part of the content but they also want to know how it operates. This could possibly be due to the fact that transparency is a necessity for them.

Codrington, Graeme and Sue Grant-Marshall. Mind the Gap! South Africa: Penguin Books, 2004.56 - 179