Un-settling: Some expect Gen Yers to finally "settle," but I agree with those that say "not so fast" (Forbes). In fact, Generation Y might put off "settling" into life more than ever, especially now that the job landscape doesn't look as good. Speaking geographically, Gen Y is very nomadic and the world feels like it's shrinking. More young people are taking up opportunities our parents might not have had to do things such as explore the world. Grad school and trips abroad look more and more appetizing to a generation that doesn't want to settle. The trend might also be apparent in our relationships, which brings me to my next trend...
1950s but not: On one hand people are putting off marriage and family more than ever before (USA Today). But on the other hand, war time and pop culture has fueled interesting resurgence of romanticizing the glamour/oppression of family life in the 1950s, with movies like Revolutionary Road and the TV show Mad Men. I'm not positive if we are fascinated by this decade because it is so foreign to us, or because we see a bit of ourselves in it. Maybe all of us look longingly at the martini-sloshing, apron- wearing, one-salary-per-household lifestyle (1960s-born Judith Warner writes a good commentary about this).
The next decade will likely continue toward the trend of accepting a mosaic of relationships in all shapes and sizes, from the traditional 1950s set-up, to cohabitation, to gay couples. Already I have some friends my same age who are married with children; others are not even looking to be in a relationship. For Gen Y "anything goes," and how we eventually embrace the alternative and the traditional as we start our families will be interesting to watch.
In fact, differences in the words "alternative" and "traditional" are going to be as obsolete to Gen Y as differences in the words "digital" and "real."
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2 comments:
I found your post very intriguing, particularly this part, "More young people are taking up opportunities our parents might not have had to do things such as explore the world. Grad school and trips abroad look more and more appetizing to a generation that doesn't want to settle."
This posting could have been written by me 25 years ago as the opportunities you suggest that were not so readily available to your parents sounds like I would have said about my parents (probably your grandparents.)
Graduating from college, both myself and my peers had plenty of opportunities to do non-traditional things, such as explore the world. Maybe we did it in a different way (by joining organizations like the Peace Corp or traveling to Europe for only six weeks.)
We too were a generation that did not want to settle. See, we have more in common than we think!
Roberta Matuson
http://generationintegration.typepad.com/matuson/
Hi Roberta-
Thanks so much for the comment and insight, and I'm also glad I found your blog.
Thanks for pointing out that the unwillingness to settle is a theme from before. Maybe that's why my parents always seem proud of me! Overall, as the world has gotten smaller, each generation has had more opportunity to explore it than the last generation. I certainly hope by the time my kids are in college that international travel will be a requirement!
I agree that our generations are alike in many fundamental ways. Yet I also think there are many differences, because of the time period Gen Y was brought up in and the interesting generation that raised us;) It's kind of comforting to me, though, that at a basic level we are still very much like the young people before us, with the same passion for life that our parents had!
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