Atypical Gen Y-er? Don’t be anti-Gen Y

This Young Minds post was written by Rebecca Denison.

It’s not exactly news to anyone that Gen Y has become a controversial generation. Interacting with fellow Gen Y-ers online has shown me that most of us in the social media space are not what most would call typical Gen Y.

I understand that the descriptions they give to generations are not all-encompassing, but I have found through my personal interactions that those of us who are active online tend not to fit the mold more often than my offline Gen Y friends.

One trap I think it is too easy to fall into these days, though, is becoming anti-Gen Y. While I do not think that I share too many traits with Gen Y, I by no means would consider myself to be anti-Gen Y. Check out what you get when you Google “hate Gen Y.”Your browser may not support display of this image.

I think one of the best things about Gen Y is our highly developed sense of acceptance. The easiest way to quickly distinguish yourself (in a not-so-good way) is to paint yourself as someone who is anti-Gen Y. if I don’t identify with any other qualities typical of my generation, I certainly believe that I am an accepting individual.

Even if we don’t all share Gen Y qualities, what a lot of us do share is a quality of acceptance, which allows us to embrace even those who do not necessarily like the average Gen Y kid. So what does this mean for you?

While I encourage you to get online and have a unique voice, I think that becoming an anti-Gen Y voice is an incredibly bad idea. Gen Y is not in charge yet, but we are quickly growing into the workforce and we’re more comfortable with technology than any generation before us.

If you make it clear that you’re completely anti-Gen Y, you may tell older generations that you will be a better employee than your peers. At the same time, you will alienate your peers and tell them that you think you’re better than they are. In the long run, this will only hurt you more than it will help you.

What do you think? Is there really a difference between being atypical Gen Y and being anti-Gen Y? Tell me how you feel about Gen Y and having your own (and unique) voice online.

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  • I embrace my Gen-Y "ness". Its so cliche to say but we are still young, you hear this a lot, I'm sure. I'm really excited to see what our generation does 10 years, 20 years and 30 years from now. I see big things coming from us. We are a very ambitious bunch. We are completely changing the way the world works, especially the marketing world. Through us, everything is mobile, online and much more global. I can't wait to see what comes next.
  • I think the positives about Gen Y outweigh the negatives. At least in this circle, I find that most of the negatives revolve around work. While work is certainly important, I think what Gen Y does well is not put the huge focus on work that previous generations did.

    How many of our peers do we see traveling the world now, picking up and moving halfway across the country to pursue a different life, volunteering in different countries, etc. Not saying these things weren't done before us, but I think we have different priorities and that's how I like to think of Gen Y.
  • Seems to me that positioning yourself as "anti" anything is a bad idea. Why not be for something?
  • I'll be the first to admit that I share GenY qualities - let's face it most of us can't help it. I get it that some criticize GenY as "impatient, disloyal, and demanding". I think your point about acceptance is great Rebecca because this is the bridge from taking those negative views of GenY characteristics and turning them positive. I'm not impatient I'm passionate. I'm not demanding I'm just strong willed and have high expectations.In asking people to accept these qualities about me I also have to accept that it will be necessarily for me to listen and cooperate with people of both my generation and the ones before me.

    I guess in short my thoughts would be that instead of being anti-GenY I try to embrace the positives and unquestionably my own unique voice will show through as well.
  • That's a really great way to look at it. We all have faults, and why not focus on what about us is truly great? So perfect.

    On the other hand, I think it's good to remember that it's best to show what's best about you instead of tearing others down and being anti-Gen Y for the sake of rising above the crowd.

    Thank you for your comment, I really love the way you think! :)
  • I don't think being anti Gen Y is necessarily a bad thing. Of course you're going to have some haters but I'd rather have that than simply be pro Gen Y for the sake of more people liking me.

    There's a saying somewhere that's something like "if you're not pissing somebody off, you're not creating any change." While you don't necessarily have to be pissing people off, there's going to be some resistance if you're truly doing something worthwhile and affecting change.

    I'm personally not a fan of all the same old Gen Y posts that get spewed across the web every day. Why are we pigeonholing overselves into this category, and then complaining when people call us that??

    Let's be ourselves, think for ourselves, and let our unique voices be heard. If that's Gen Y, fine. If that's not, still fine. I don't introduce myself at events as a Gen Y kid. I introduce myself as Tim Jahn.

    Thanks for the questions, Rebecca! I enjoy the way you approach topics in a honestly curious way.
  • I can see what you mean, but I guess I meant that I don't think you should a Gen Y hater. I'm definitely not a pro-Gen Y girl, but I don't blog about how much I hate my peers either.

    You make a really good point that sometimes it's OK to be inflammatory, and I think I need to keep that in mind. I often am so concerned about not stepping on toes that I don't question norms when maybe I should.

    I don't introduce myself as Gen Y or try to make associations with Gen Y, but at the same time I don't walk around spouting how much I hate all Gen Y people. I think it's OK to be who you are without hating on those not like you. But I'm with you: let's just be ourselves.

    Thanks for your great comments here, I really appreciate your insights!
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