Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
thegig.blogs.fortune.cnn.com
Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
1–10 of 41 posts
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#2Oh cool, another one of those 'them darn yunguns ain't made right' articles!
“Because this generation has been so coddled,” says Michael Wilder, pointing to Yers’ ever-present boomer parents, “when they do have to make a decision on their own, they’re looking for affirmation. They have no basic experience to allow them to be confident about the decisions they’re making.”
Heh, so you mean we're babies because our parents weren't drunks that beat us every night? Come and see my family, we are all emotionally isolated and not even remotely touchy-feely.
It's really nothing new. Just some dude writing an article about how he hates herd mentality.
Oh, and a handy counterpoint from the same magazine. Maybe those old fogeys can't believe in a world where the company is expected to screw you over and a steady job means a life of missed opportunities: http://thegig.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/05/30/job-hopping-g...
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#3Didn't I read the same article back in 1993?
One thing that the article does get right is that people are treated and act like adolescents until their 30's or even 40's and it's now considered socially acceptable (to a point).
But that's a longterm demographic and cultural trend that's been going on since World War II.
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#4Another "everyone in the same age group is the same" post.
All boomers are...
All Gen Xers are...
All Gen Yers are...
Yeah, right.
This is just an excuse for lazy journalism (is there any other kind any more?)
Would have been nice if the author dug a little deeper to try to understand why none of the 7 people answered the phone. To his credit, he brought up several good points:
"They’re trained to work in teams — in school, in extracurriculars"
My theory (even though I'm no more qualified than anyone else):
For many young people, playing on a sports team has replaced the part time job. There was a time when you had to work if you wanted a car, insurance, or money for college. Not so necessary now.
Responsibility to one's teammates has replaced "getting the work done". I have always thought that real responsibility is learned "on the job". Delay work, delay responsibility.
Even in this community, there's a tendency to try to solve problems in our own little vacuum. Here's what I think... I read somewhere... Things oughta work like... As a hacker, I'm just as guilty as anyone else; it's so easy to try to "think" things through.
Then I stop and say, "Find a customer." (Or find a job.) Once you have to really serve others in need, the "issues" cited by the OP melt away.
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#5It's hard to compare generations, as you are inevitably comparing observations on the current generation with memories about previous generations.
Memories are always distorted by the passing of time.
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#6Another "everyone in the same age group is the same" post. All boomers are... All Gen Xers are... All Gen Yers are... Yeah, right. This is just an excuse for lazy journalism (is there any other kind any more?) Would have been nice if the author dug a little deeper to try to understand why none of the 7 people answered the phone. To his credit, he brought up several good points: "They’re trained to work in teams — in…
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Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#7Get offa my lawn!
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#8This sort of thing is an old, old sport.
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/hesiod/
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.
~700 BC
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#9I wish people would talk about "people" instead of senseless "generational" gaps. Although of course you are going to be shaped by common experiences of your generation (let's say 9/11, Iraq War, etc. for my generation) and the social (gay rights, black/woman potential president, etc.) and technological changes (grew up with computers and the internet) that are occurring during your time period, you are shaped much more by your friends, parents, education, life experiences, location, and realistically the socio-economic status you were born into.
Some PEOPLE are confident. Some PEOPLE are not. Maybe it's just because I happen to attend a top university that is highly competitive, but I don't commonly see this lack of confidence. Although, at the same point as a generation gets older and matures in it's occupational field, of course it is going to become more confident.
People = People. We are much more alike than we are different. That's what makes classics, classics throughout centuries not just generations. It's because they relate to all PEOPLE.
Re: Gen Yers lack confidence, behave like idiots
#10This sort of thing is an old, old sport. http://thinkexist.com/quotes/hesiod/ I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint. ~700 BC
That quote is often trotted out but all it actually means that is at some point in history, people thought that the kids of today are soft. It doesn't imply any continuity between that thought then and the same thought now.