Generation Y are people who tend to be born between 1983 to 1997, and can be sometimes be called

Millennials. They are ‘peer-oriented’ (which explains why Facebook is so popular), don’t look at jobs in the traditional sense, and are comfy with gadgets.

I love working with them. They’re quirky, fun, groupish but not clique-ish, and have good working habits. I teach voluntary classes to teens around 15 to 19, and they’ve got entire books loaded onto their cheapish phones, talk about the latest movies and gadgets, but seem fine not owning them. It’s more of a really big club than a generation.

Anyway, you don’t have to ‘get’ Generation Y. Generation Y gets you. They’ll fit in mostly anywhere, and you’ll want them around cos they’re the people who know Facebook and ipods better than anyone else. And they don’t sound geekish either. Geek for the masses.

How this compares to life - I don’t know. I think that it helps me get an understand of where the world is going, and that ethics will be a big part in all this. Companies will need to run their businesses more ethically and authentically, because Gen Yers are socially conscious. It’s affecting other Generations too - even oldies like me (I’m sorta in Gen X) are looking at the world in a new positive light.

If you’re fearful that Gen Y is a cop-out, don’t worry. Generation Y can get jobs in IBM.

Now, maybe I’ll use this excuse to get a Nintendo DS.

Some interesting facts from Wikipedia:

In their recent book, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa (2007) ^[22] found that in a survey of 7,705 college students in the US:

• 97% own a computer
• 94% own a cell phone
• 76% use Instant Messaging.
• 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week
• 34% use websites as their primary source of news
• 28% author a blog and 44% read blogs
• 49% download music using peer-to-peer file sharing
• 75% of college students have a Facebook account ^[23]
• 60% own some type of portable music and/or video device such as an iPod.