Blog 1: Generation Y

After reading the various articles and listening to the podcast, I was reminded of a time in my youth when I started to think about the things that would shape my generation. I was seven years old in second grade anxiously waiting to go to computer class. I loved this class because all we did for forty-five minutes was play computer games. I recall wondering what the point of all this was. Why were we learning to use these devices called computers? I instantly dismissed the device as a pointless machine, useless to all those who played with them. Obviously, I could not have been more wrong. I preface with this story to answer these questions with two responses. My first answer is that I strongly believe that my generation is indeed being captured accurately by tapping into our diverse and individualistic behaviors. And my second answer to these questions is that I as an individual am an Omega, an absurd anomaly unable to be captured by the groupings of marketers.

I think there is a lot of truth in what is said in the articles and the podcast. The millions of young people apart of Generation Y have been raised in a society rapidly growing through technological advances and progress. That has made us tech savvy, media experts who demand speed and efficiency above all else. But I think the one thing that really sets us apart from the other generations that the readings captured is our inherent thirst for individuality and diversity. We as a generation do not ascribe to one large homogenous group who all have the same interests, likes, and dislikes. We seek out that which is unique and an expression of our individuality. We are, essentially, not mainstream. An example of the generational differences between Baby Boomers and Echo Boomers can be seen in television. Baby Boomers witnessed the birth of television back when The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy were the hit shows to watch. Those programs captured nearly half of all American viewers with each weekly episode accounting for nearly one hundred million viewers. The homogeneity of this viewing experience continued well into the 1980’s and some parts of the 1990’s. But the programming tastes of viewers today have changed mostly due to the younger generation (Gen Y). Programming has diversified so much that hit shows are popping up on cable channels instead of major networks such as FX (Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me), TNT (The Closer, Saving Grace), HBO (The Sopranos, Six Feet Under), and Showtime (Weeds, The Tutors). Moreover, the Emmy winner for Best Drama Series this past year went to Madmen, a series on AMC, not a major network. As a result, the big four networks are scrambling to find ways to attract viewers with crowd-pleasing blockbusters. But that is precisely what our generation does not want: bland, homogenous programs.

Although I think marketers are catching on to my generation’s edgier, more diverse tastes, I feel like I am a lone straggler that does not fit into the social networking hipsters of today. I will concede that I pride myself in being an individual, and consequently identify with being typical of seeing myself as unique and diverse. However, I am not tech savvy nor do I care for social networking. I must be a true product of my parents because they have always been technologically illiterate. I do not own an iPod, I have no facebook (Gasp!), no myspace, no blog (except this required one), and I don’t spend all my time wasting away on the computer. Instead, I spend my time delving into all that is movies- reading reviews, watching movies, buying movie memorabilia. I fit into the movie nerd niche, but I certainly do not identify with the essence of this generation.

Marketers should tailor their efforts to the characteristics of this generation if they want to succeed. This generation that is defined by media, technology, and speed is one that demands diversity and individuality because we have a more realistic view of the world and its complexities. I, on the other hand, may have a different view because I don’t easily fit into the stereotype of this generation. Or perhaps I should have been more precocious in observing the power and influence of computers back in those elementary school days. Either way, I’m still an individual apart of this young generation.