young people today

I enjoy Debbie Travis. I’m not always onside when it comes to her decorating ideas — I lean to the very minimal — but I think she’s just terrific.

She has a new show on now called From the Ground Up. During the opening , Debbie talks about the impetus for the show. I can’t remember what she says exactly but it has something to do with young people today lacking a good work ethic. But through the miracle of Google, I found this delightful little blurb:

The idea of the show came from Debbie’s own experience on TV sets: she realized that the new generation was lacking a work ethic: they want everything fast but are not willing to work for it. This new show has the backdrop of a renovation but is focused on these 20’something, the “entitled” generation who have it all… except a future.

At first, I got a little mad at Debbie. This is so not true, we are too willing to work for it (at least I am) … and then it hit me. I am too old to be on that show. Debbie’s not talking about me and my hardworking peers. She’s talking about the Millennium Generation (aka Generation Y) — people in their 20s. They’re a whole segment.

The M-Generation — those who will come of age in the first decade of the century — represents the first wave of a technologically-switched-on, affluent generation of young people. The M-Generation are causing major changes to family life, education and technology.

What happened to Generation X? Remember us? The young people of yesteryear?

The media introduced Generation X as a group of flannel-wearing, alienated, overeducated, underachieving slackers with body piercings, who drank franchise-store coffee and had to work at McJobs.

Douglas Coupland is now 45. I have a mortgage and yes, young people today most certainly are lacking a work ethic.

Why, in my day we worked so hard to get ahead… cue slacker music.

Comments

  1. Christine — you’re talking a lot about getting old lately. How can you be old? – you have a blog.

  2. Is a blog a young person thing? I don’t have a MySpace profile…so that’s something telling right there.
    But I’m not sure having a blog is an indication of my youthfulness…
    • “Power creators” are the Internet users who are most enthusiastic about content-creating activities. They are young — their average age is 25 — and they are more likely than other kinds of creators do things like use instant messaging, play games, and download music. And they are the most likely group to be blogging.

    Well, I do enjoy instant messaging, and I play games and download music…

    • “Older creators” have an average age of 58 and are experienced Internet users. They are highly educated, like sharing pictures, and are the most likely of the creator groups to have built their own Web sites. They are also the most likely to have used the Internet for genealogical research.

    I have no interest in sharing family pictures and have little interest in genealogical research.

    • “Content omnivores” are among the heaviest overall users of the Internet. Most are employed. Most log on frequently and spend considerable time online doing a variety of activities. They are likely to have broadband connections at home. The average age of this group is 40.

    Well, I am employed! I do log on (ugh) all the time  and do all kinds of different things online. I have DSL at home and I know what DSL stands for. The average age of this group is 40…..um….er….well…bingo!

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