In recent decades, the respective identities of each new generation have somewhat diminished. From the baby boomers, to Generation X, to millennials, to Generation Y, each successive culture has affected a lesser impact than its predecessor. As members of Generation Y, we have little generational culture to claim as our own.
To gain a basic comprehension of how society perceives baby boomers, one needs to look no further than the satirical movie “Forrest Gump,” which uses a projected glorification of the baby boomer generation and its “accomplishments” to hide a scathing message. This contrasts greatly with how society recognizes Generation Y, which is not very much at all.
As members of Generation Y, college students today do not quite face the vitriol older generations direct toward millennials, who we typically imagine to be terrible hipsters and trust-fund-gobbling 30-year-olds. Though we aren’t tied to such outwardly disparaging ideas, increasingly, it seems as though we are not tied to any cultural identity whatsoever. The most one could say to generalize a typical Generation Y persona is that, usually, a member of this culture watches internet videos in extreme quantities. It’s also likely one has a strong opinion on pumpkin spice lattes.
We are the generation of cat pictures, of YouTube vlogging, of hours spent drowning in nonsensical Buzzfeed articles that beg us to find some semblance of cultural dignity in the cartoons we followed in the 90s. Even the negative aspects of Generation Y are significantly milder than those marking previous generations.
Our responses to societal conflict are certainly less radical; instead of picketing and protesting, we more often retreat to Twitter and Facebook to combat real issues in a less-than-real way. I say this not to slight modern protest efforts, but rather to indicate that we haven’t coalesced enough as a generation to rival efforts of past generations. To this extent, the War on Terror hasn’t elicited as prominent a response as the Vietnam War triggered in the baby boomer generation.
Although we are certainly able to draw attention to causes we support through the internet, the popularization and necessity of the internet in recent years have caused tangible manifestations of generational culture to taper. Generation Y’s identity suffers from an absence of a physical presence, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Our lack of a prevailing generational identity opens up the possibility for Generation Y to be the most inclusive and progressive generation yet. Without strong ties to group-sanctioned identity, we can sympathize more easily with those who challenge our beliefs. In not being inextricable from Generation Y, we do away with the groupthinking that encourages the separation of “us” and “them.” While we lack the distinction of generations before us (a fact baby boomers will often hold over our heads—“When I was your age…”), this is more of a sign of cultural advancement rather than confusion.
The gradual deterioration of these generational cultures marks a larger trend worldwide. It establishes the augmented unification of diverse people, primarily through the increased accessibility of technology and the internet (as well as through everyone’s shared interest in cute animals). The breakdown of the tradition of taking pride in one’s generation signifies the breakdown of differences people perceive amongst themselves.
Though members of Generation Y likely won’t proudly proclaim their heritage any time soon, hopefully our legacy will involve the eradication of obstacles that hinder empathy, including generational gaps.
