Generation Y: The transition of generations

Millennials, Internet generation or Generation Y... This is the generation born between the beginning of the 1980s until just before the beginning of the 21st century, until 1995, more or less.

The generation that emerged in a period of profound transition from the analog world to the digital world.

The classification of when Millennials were born can vary slightly, depending on the definition given by different researchers. Some believe that those belonging to this generation were born no later than the mid-1990s.

A notable point would be the September 11th Attack, which those born after 1995, for example, remember little about and whose impact was significant across the planet.

Other researchers already assess that Millennials were those who saw the “arrival of the new millennium”, so they were born shortly after the beginning of the 2000s.

The fact is that this was the generation that saw, even in childhood or adolescence, the emergence of a completely urbanized, technological and internet-connected world.

Currently, Generation Y is the largest in modern history and is made up of the individuals with the fastest population growth in humanity.

Millennials make up 50% of the world's workforce and that number is expected to rise to 75% by 2025.

Today, members of Generation Y are fully integrated into new technologies, have mastered computer skills and were the first to challenge much of what was “law” for previous generations.

To learn a little more about the context in which Millennials live, let's quickly take a look at the two previous generations .

Baby boomers

They are the post-war generation, born from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Today, they are between 55 and 75 years old and do not have as much contact or intimacy with technology.

The term refers to the enormous population growth mainly in Europe and the United States shortly after the end of the Second World War – baby boom, “baby explosion”.

They were raised under strict precepts by parents who had seen war and who had conservative thoughts about society and the economy.

They are the grandparents of Millennials and have faced all kinds of challenges in the job market and witnessed profound political, social and economic transformations around the world.

It was the generation that witnessed the emergence of television and had the peak of their youth in the 1960s and 1970s, being the founders of the hippie movement.

The idea of ​​success in professional stability has led many people to work their entire lives in the same place, only leaving the company when they retire.

Generation X

Born between the 1960s and 1980s – some scholars believe that the main representatives of this generation were born up until the 1970s. Today, they are between 40 and 55 years old and make up around 20% of the Brazilian population.

The expression Generation X emerged in England in the 1950s, after a photo essay by Robert Capa, which dealt with the unknown generation, which was yet to come and which had an unknown future ahead of it, the crux of the matter.

Years later, the generation showed itself to be partly atheist, that it no longer reserved sex for after marriage and that it contested several rules of previous generations.

Mainly in Brazil, they are part of a generation that saw a deep economic crisis in the country in the 1980s. For this reason, they are very concerned about their work and extremely dedicated.

This generation is often resistant to change and has a somewhat superficial contact with technology, often restricted to having fun on social networks like Facebook and Instagram.

Millennials, children of technology

While Generation X saw the arrival of PCs, dial-up internet, then smartphones and social networks as adults, Millennials were the children who got used to seeing all these technologies emerge as they grew up.

This is certainly the most striking characteristic and the one that most influenced the behavior of those who are now between 20 and 40 years old.

Currently, there is still the idea of ​​subdividing this generation: Old Millennials - from 25 to 34 years old. And Young Millennials, who are between 20 and 24 years old.

The main difference is also related to the intensity of the internet's presence in the lives of each of these groups.

Old Millennials witnessed – some as children, others as teenagers – the arrival of new technologies and did not grow up so immersed in the world of the internet, accessing the first chat rooms and Orkut in adolescence.

Young Millennials spent their childhood surrounded by computers and digital cameras and at a very young age had access to smartphones and mobile internet.

Largely due to rapid and very broad access to a variety of information, Millennials are a generation that is very connected to activism, social issues, the black movement, feminism, LGBTQIA+ rights, sustainability and the environment, and several other movements involving historically oppressed and/or forgotten populations.

They are the biggest online consumers, because they know more and are more mature about the digital environment than younger people, but at the same time they are more resourceful than older people.

Sometimes, they are the ones who decide which streaming channel the family will subscribe to, which product they will buy online and what is the best way to solve problems in the digital environment.

Sometimes, due to intense exposure to social media and constant online presence, they are very prone to depression and anxiety.

Millennials and the job market

Most experts see Millennials as professionals with high self-esteem, creative and who always look for different alternatives to problems at work.

As they have a lot of contact with technology, these professionals are able to easily use the internet and especially social networks.

Many scholars believe that consumer behavior influences professional behavior.

One example would be the fact that products made for Generation Y already have an expiration date so that they can be discarded in a short period of time. Thus, Millennials have become professionals and individuals who adapt more easily and quickly to changes.

In contrast to Generation X professionals, who, having grown up with more durable products – toys, appliances and cars, for example – can sometimes also be more resistant and less adaptable to change.

Generation Y professionals also have a big advantage over professionals from previous generations. They are more sociable and work better in teams, in general.

In part, according to human resources professionals, because they are always connected and have more interactions with very diverse people.

This would make the Millennial more open and integrative, making the work environment more welcoming and participatory.

Furthermore, they are generally people – and professionals – accustomed to performing several functions at the same time, being more agile and efficient.

They also tend to seek greater self-knowledge than previous generations.

They are more familiar with issues related to emotional intelligence and self-control, the search for balance between personal and professional life, mental, physical and psychological health are fundamental issues for this generation.

Generation Y and the social issue

This is perhaps the first generation in which “being” has become more important than “having”.

After profound crises and economic impacts experienced by previous generations, this is the first generation that has lived in a certain stability and has witnessed significant leaps in social, economic and especially technological development.

Access to social media has made it possible to think that this generation is capable of anything and that is how they seek to live and perform their functions.

When consuming content, shopping, working at a company, going to a bar... For Millennials, it takes more than just meeting a simple need, it takes connecting ideas, thoughts and opinions.

It is common, for example, to see Millennials boycotting companies whose owners have declared their vote for candidates A or B if they disagree.

Many people may stop going to that restaurant or buying jeans at that store after a labor or homophobia complaint involving that establishment.

They were also the first generation to broadly question life choices and decide on profound career changes around the age of 40, for example.

For this generation, these are important issues. It is necessary to make existence useful and meaningful in all its aspects.

“Cringe” generation

More recently, this generation has become the butt of jokes from the upcoming generation, “Generation Z” . Millennials have become the “cringe” ones. The weird/idiotic ones.

This is largely due to a set of factors that many studies have pointed out as being related to this generation:

greater dependence on parents, more time to leave home, buy a car and acquire a property - compared to previous generations.

Many believe that this generation has great potential to look forward to - incredible economic growth and access to technologies and information never before achieved.

However, successive economic crises and recessionary trends around the world have had a profound impact on the development of this phase in early adulthood.

Studies indicate that this is the most indebted generation in history, for example.

Given this, aesthetic aspects associated with Millennials – skinny pants and side-parted hair – have become of questionable taste for the new generation that is arriving.