(Vol3.No26.120225)
By Sophia Demetriades
Gen Y is going through a discriminatory stage. You could say that the exception becomes the perception, because the few Gen Y individuals who are loud and obnoxious in the media make the public believe that these individuals are representatives of the whole group (generation). Clearly, you can find many Gen Y’s who are capable, intelligent and serious. We dont all host crazy parties on Facebook and trash our parents house!
This is both a shame and perhaps a kick in the but.
It’s a shame because the generation is loosing motivation when they are constantly put down. If you tell someone their an idiot enough times, they will believe you. The older generations need to have a serious think about this and modify their own attitude to be more inspiring and encouraging. Why would a young person today want to grow up to impress un-greatful parents who have no belief in them?
Isn’t this really a self-fulfilling prophesy?
People feel motivated as a result of doing better. The behaviour is likely to fuel success. Rather than criticising Gen Y behaviour, why don’t we look for those who are displaying good behaviour and promote that?
On the other hand, it’s a kick in the butt because struggle creates a greater challenge, and taking on a greater challenge makes people stronger and better. The generation has to prove itself, and so it will. With free information flow and the internet, Gen Y are getting increasingly smarter and well informed. What they dont understand yet is how to use that information to their advantage, and how to excel and achieve. The reason for this is probably because previous generations and older generations are quite negative at the moment. They are predicting a darker future. Gen Y, is not interested in a darker future. That kind of negative attitude is not something we want to carry down for generations, is it?
When problems arise and gets in the Gen Y’s way of having fun, good Gen Y individuals will look for solutions. We are experiencing an entrepreneurial revolution; clearly Gen Y have what it takes. All they need is a kick in the butt, and a bit of inspiration.
Because our memories retain the most negative and dramatic information by nature, we are left with a strange unanswered attention to the negative. What if news media posted 1 weekly story about successful Gen Y’s rather than interviews of Facebook parties gone wild?. They seriously cant mean that these rebels represents the entire generation!
But hearing about worse case scenarios is educational. It helps us to prepare for the worst, and to be ready to act. Gen Y is thinking, solving and acting, they are not lazy. If anything they are uninspired? Look at the role models they have. Yes there are some great ones, but again the media is also portraying quite a lot of lousy role models, many of whom are predicting a dark future, and unhappy life in a suit.
Gen Y need to learn how to team work a little better. Considering how smart they are, they should be able to do this fast. Gen Y also need to understand that they are not so smart that they have no more to learn. They dont know what they dont know. The right attitude and the right network can get you to great places. Gen Y are going to these great places, they have been heading there for years. Just watch out, Gen Y is about to make the world a better place.
