Mind+the+Technological+Gap+-+Gen+X+versus+Gen+Y,+who+would+win?

=   Student no: N8278423. Tutor: Emily Mann =

They Say Generation Y Will Save the World With its Technology. What Defines This Generation in Today’s Society a nd How Does it DifferentiateFrom Gen X?

Cultural Artifact media type="youtube" key="Mmz5qYbKsvM" height="315" width="420" align="center"

This cultural artifact depicts how fast the world has changed and is currently changing. Through this change we can see a generational divide and newer generations advance and excel far beyond any other before them. I believe this video relays and provides a great understanding behind the generations introducing this technology and generations that are adapting with this technological evolution.

Public Health Issue This video provides evidence of numerous health issues that could arise as more and more people rely on technology. In this modern era technology seems to penetrate and influence our life more and more, people seem to be having less and less physical contact with others. This lack of contact and immersion of technology creates a lack of tangible physical experiences. This alone can and is damaging the mental health of this generation. Not to mention the lack of physical exercise due to increased online time. With a busier day and poorer diet technology and the fast food industry has taken advantage of a busying Generation. Literature Review

Research shows, the biggest divide facing our society is not a gender divide, racial divide, income or technology divide but it is the generation divide (Lewis, 2003). Obviously the age or life-stage of a generation makes them unique to other cohorts. Being young, generation Y have many different priorities to older generations. Gen Y generally has no financial commitments, thus over 70% of their income is spent arbitrarily, with the majority going on entertainment, travel, and food (Eisner, 2005). They have different recreational pursuits to other generations. The point is that people operate in different ways because of their age. However age is not the sole reason for generational behaviours otherwise teenagers today would be indistinguishable from teenagers of a generation ago. Yet this is clearly not the case because life-stage is just one factor that differentiates the generations. Today gen Y continues to be characterized as a super sized generation X, far larger than any other generation before it, Gen Y is a very diverse and individualistic generation (Wolburg & Pokrywczynski, 2001). As stated by Johns (2003) “Members of Gen Y view themselves—although not other generations—as part of a distinct tribe”. From this tribal nature, customization is a given. Gen Y’ers grew up expecting to have things their way—being able to express one’s individuality is considered a fundamental right in today’s modern world(Allen, 2004). These attitudes help explain why Pew’s research (2007) found that more than 50 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds have opted for tattoos, piercings, or non-traditional hair colours. Much of Gen Y was raised in a time of economic expansion and prosperity. But Gen Y is coming of age in an era of economic uncertainty and violence. Though it is the most affluent generation some 16% of Gen Y grew up or is growing up in poverty in its post-Columbine, post-9/11, 24-hour media world (Sujansky, 2004). According to Sujansky Gen Y has seen more at an earlier age than prior generations have ever seen. It is not surprising that Gen Y reflects some values held by Traditionalists. Like that "greatest generation" trait, Gen Y tends to have a strong sense of morality, to be patriotic, willing to fight for freedom, is sociable, and values home and family (Eisner, 2005). It also helps illuminate why Gen Y is significantly less likely than any other generation to have old-fashioned values on family and marriage. In fact, 60 percent of Gen Y overall, including 67 percent of Gen Y females, completely disagree with the idea of women returning to traditional roles (Eisner, 2005). All of this in direct comparison to Gen X. Gen X grew up to accept diversity, be pragmatic and practical, friends did not equal family, whereas Gen Y's large size, level of education, and technical skill position it to dominate over gen x. Gen Y was socialized in a digital world. Far more advanced and is more than technically literate; it is continually wired, plugged in, and connected to digitally streaming information, entertainment, and contacts (Eisner, 2005). Lewis states that Gen Y has so mastered technology that multitasking is nothing less than a habit. A recent also study found Gen Y consuming 31 hours of media (through multi-tasking) within a 24-hour period, an attribute only to the gen Y clan (Weiss, 2003).

Social and Cultural Analysis As seen in the literature above, it is easy to understand how technology and social media are shaping today’s society. It has been shown that Generation Y seemingly handles far more content than any other generation before them (Weiss, 2003). This technological age will have huge repercussions on society and Generations to come. As the visual artifact displays, technology has boomed and will continue to boom. However, this evolutionary advancement has come at a large cost though. With less physical interaction mental health issues have become more prevalent along with the obesity crisis and the fast food chains dominating. Evidence is quite clear that technology has indeed affected this generation. In many ways creating health issues i.e., the obesity crisis and lack of social interaction. On the other hand research also shows that technology has also provided a basis for awareness. Gen Y’ers have become extremely picky when it comes to large companies and look for companies who are socially responsible, eco friendly and providing a work / life balance for employees (Trunk, 2007). Generation Y is concerned about the world and the impact society has upon it (McGinnis, 2011). These issues are extremely important as they affect future generations through a ripple effect. We have this technological advance and as the Visual artifact mentioned 4 Exabyte’s of unique Information will be generated this year alone. That is more than the previous 5,000 years together (GeoEnable, 2010). We are moving so fast forward it almost seems like we are neglecting our basic health concerns. Perhaps we need look at re-education / educating people about food, the benefits of food and exercise. Last thing we want is a generation of kids raising kids. Technology, 4 steps forward, the health of a generation 2 steps backward.

Analysis of the Cultural Artifact

The visual artifact chosen to represent this material illustrates technical advance perfectly. It really makes you realise how powerful and intelligent these generations are. The figures displayed also relay that people are not afraid of change in this modern era. We seek change until we get what we want. The generation of ‘I can’. With a major prevalence towards Social media and the speed at which this niche is growing. It is mind blowing thinking about the fact that in 1 week of Times newspapers there is more information than one person would experience in a lifetime in the 18th Century and that in one year we can produce more ‘unique information’ than that has been produced in the past 5000 years. This generation has learnt so much through technological tools such as the internet, where would we be without it? It also really makes you wonder if we would be better with or without it. The big question is, what’s next?

References

Allen, P. (2004, September). Welcoming Y. Benefits Canada, 28(9), 51(3).

Eisner, S. P. (2005). Managing generation Y. S.A.M.Advanced Management Journal, 70(4), 4-4-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231242493

Johns, K. (2003, April 11). Managing generational diversity in the workforce. Trends & Tidbits. Retrieved on October 10, 2004, from http://www.workindex.com

Lewis, K. R. (2003, November 3). Managing multiple generations in the workplace can be a challenge. Newhouse News Service.

McGinnis, J. (2011). “The young and the restless: Generation Y in the nonprofit workforce.” Public administration quarterly(0734-9149), 35(3), p.342.

Pew Research Centre for the People & the Press. (2007). How young people view their lives, futures and politics: A portrait of “Generation Next.”. Washington, D.C.

Sujansky, J. (2004, April). Leading a multi-generational workforce. Occupational Health and Safety, 73(4),1618.

Trunk, P. (2007). What Gen Y really wants. Time Magazine: Business

Weiss, M. J. (2003, September 1). To be about to be (Generation Y ). American Demographics, 25(7).

Wolburg, J. M., & Pokrywczynski, J. (2001). A Psychographic Analysis of Generation Y College Students. Journal of Advertising Research, 41(5), 33-52. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Discussion:

n8309043Matt Donovan; Hearing voices, Speaking in Tongues.

Really well researched piece. I particularily liked your artifact and the poem you added to it. You provide a really good discussion and wrap everything together nicely. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Well done