The group of young Europeans who posed for Robert Capa could not have known that they were going to be considered part of Generation X, the title given by the photographer to a series of photographs in which he wanted to capture what life was like for the young people who grew up after the Second World War (1939-1945). Show
Generation X includes those born between 1965 and 1981, during the reconstruction of Europe after the war. Their life has not been easy, since, after a period of upheaval, finding a job was a great challenge. To work and produce was their philosophy of life, leaving no room for idealism. Individualism, ambition and an addiction to work — or being a workaholic — are the values with which they grew up. The parents of this generation had the worst part: they lived through the postwar period. They are the Baby boomers — born between 1945 and 1964 — and they are called this because they were born during the baby boom, the period in which the birth rate shot up in a number of Anglo-Saxon countries, above all the United States, Canada and New Zealand, after the end of the Second World War. This generation was to be envied as they experienced all that young people would have wanted to at that time. They saw how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came together to form The Beatles in 1962. They also experienced the landing of a man on the Moon (1969), the soccer players Pelé and Maradona at their best and the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. They went through the entire period of technological evolution and the rise and development of the media, as well as enjoying stability in terms of both work and family and being active both physically and mentally. In spite of having adapted to a world ver. 4.0, they are less dependent on smartphones than the next generations. GENERATION Y OR THE MILLENNIALS: DIGITAL NATIVESThe revolution was shaped by the millennials or generation Y. Also known as digital natives, millennials are those born between 1982 and 1994 and technology is part of their everyday lives: all their activities are mediated by a screen. The concept of on and off is completely integrated into their lives. However, they were not born into it; they migrated to the digital world from the analogue one in which they were living. Unlike previous generations, because of the economic crisis, the world requires them to be better trained to get a job, as competition is increasing. Unlike their parents, Generation X, digital natives are not satisfied with the world around them and are ambitious and want to achieve their goals. However, the millennial generation is labelled as being lazy, narcissistic and spoilt. In fact, in 2014, Time magazine labelled them as the me-me-me generation. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE Z OR CENTENNIAL GENERATIONAged between eight and 23 years old, generation Z or the post-millennial generation will take the lead in a few decades. Also labelled as centennials, for having been born into the world at the turn of the century — the oldest were born in 1995 and the youngest in 2010 — they arrived with a tablet and a smartphone under their arms. But what is Generation Z? It is a group of people that is marked by the Internet. It is part of their DNA: it storms into their homes, their education and their way of socializing. And if Generation Y has difficulty finding a job, the situation for post-millennials is even worse. Their mastery of technologies may make them neglect their interpersonal relationships to a greater extent, but they are the ones who give more of a voice to social causes on the Internet. They like to get everything they want immediately, a fact fostered by the digital world in which they are immersed, and their lifestyle is also influenced by youtubers. They multi-task, but their attention span is limited. They are independent and demanding consumers and will have jobs that do not exist in today's world. Despite today's social diversity, generations Y and Z predominate. According to the study New Kids On The Block. Millennials & Centennials Primer by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, today there are 2 billion millennials and 2.4 billion centennials, representing 27% and 32% of the world population, respectively. As for the current generation, those born after 2010, they have been termed the Alpha generation. What will their behaviour be like? In a couple of years, we will see if we notice the generation gap! Several studies have compared Millennials with Baby Boomers. The main reason for this is that Baby Boomers are in many instances parents of Millennial Generation individuals, and readers can understand the relationship between parents and children (Parment, 2013). Both cohorts have different characteristics; that is to say, many of the things that Baby Boomers do not do, the Millennial Generation do. Additionally, the Millennial Generation also differs from Generation X. Generation X is independent and survival oriented, while the Millennial Generation is sheltered and team oriented (Keeling, 2003). Sa’aban, Ismai and Mansor (2013) and Brown et al. (2009) propose and describe the following characteristics of the Millennial Generation. Technological Savvy/ImpactThe Millennial Generation is in contact with a lot of new technology, such as the Internet, cell phones, television, and so on. This generation’s lifestyle is also influenced by these technologies. Because Millennials grew up with these new technologies, they depend on technology more than Baby Boomers and Generation X do, and the technology even becomes part of their life. Additionally, they use online social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and so on (Sa’aban et al., 2013). Based on these social networks, Millennials easily communicate with others and obtain information quickly (Brown et al., 2009). Cultural AcceptanceThe Millennial Generation can accept novel things. Hence, Millennials are able to work with other people easily and accept diverse cultures. Unlike previous generations, the Millennial Generation is more tolerant of different races, religions, and cultures (Sa’aban et al., 2013). Additionally, the Millennial Generation is less likely to have a sense of cultural superiority than older generations (Brown et al., 2009). Flexibility and MultitaskingAs already mentioned, the Millennial Generation is able to accept different cultures. Hence, flexibility means that Millennials are able to work with new people, places, and situations. Although they do not expect to change, they are ready to accommodate to new things and people. On the other hand, technological development help Millennials to multitask. Therefore, they are able to deal with multiple tasks at the same time. Moreover, they use technology to develop the ability to multitask (Sa’aban et al., 2013). Being IndependentThe Millennial Generation is likely to do things according to their own approach but this does not mean that this generation prefers to work alone, or that they do not want to propose ideas and thoughts about the task assigned. Millennials consider themselves as being confident in dealing with tasks with the help of technology. That is to say, technology is the reason they are independent (Sa’aban et al., 2013). TeamworkAlthough Millennials tend to show independence, they also prefer teamwork where they are working together in a group to implement a certain task. The reason for this is that they are happy to join in a group, and they can finish their work earlier and get more opinions from discussion or brainstorming. Hence, the Millennial Generation prefers collaborating and working as a group to working alone (Sa’aban et al., 2013). EntitlementThe Millennial Generation is considered the entitlement generation. In the workplace, sense of entitlement refers to this generation’s hopes of climbing the career ladder at a rate considered unreasonable by colleagues of other generations. When their expectations are not attained, the Millennial Generation will search for new opportunities, and they want to move quickly up the career ladder (Brown et al., 2009). How are Millennials different from previous generations?Cultural Acceptance
The Millennial Generation can accept novel things. Hence, Millennials are able to work with other people easily and accept diverse cultures. Unlike previous generations, the Millennial Generation is more tolerant of different races, religions, and cultures (Sa'aban et al., 2013).
What is post millennial generation?Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years.
How are Gen Z workers likely to be different from previous generations?Gen Zers put job security higher up on their wish list than previous generations. This makes them more likely to look for a job for long term, rather than fleet around short term jobs. Being more risk-averse has its advantages for employers as they are more likely to look for stability over financial gain.
How are Millennials different from boomers?When each generation was born. Generation X is anyone born from 1965 to 1980. Baby boomers are anyone born from 1946 to 1964. Millennials are anyone born from 1981 to 1996.
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