Millenials In The New Millenium

A Generation Driven By Instant Gratification And Praise
By Lindsay Cooper

A generation driven by “immediacy” and “praise”--- yes, that would be the Echo Boomers, the generation of young people born between the years 1982 and 1995, as highlighted in the 60 Minutes report, “Echo Boomers.”

Since our parent’s generation, new and faster developments of technology have been made that grab our attention instantaneously. Many of us rely so heavily on our high tech gadgets -- Ipods, blackberries, mini laptops, we just can’t seem to really function without them on a daily basis. Why worry about the steps we need to take in order to accomplish a task when nowadays you can get the job done much quicker and even with less effort too!

There is an automatic expectation to be connected to our friends, family, professors, and even the warping consumer world the minute we wake up. While even having the option to do things tediously without modern technology or buying a product that might not be the latest high tech trend -- many of us would gravitate, or at least try to towards the latest hot item on the market. Otherwise, we would feel completely alienated from everyone else.

Most of us could also testify to those grueling weekday schedules as children filled with piano lessons, soccer practices, language lessons and all the other same activities that would make us appear “well rounded” to these competitive admission boards. This is especially true for those of us who grew up in New York City where many of the most renowned pre-schools and high schools are located. This growing trend of parenting in today’s society is getting ever more intense with some parents pushing their children to the limit where some are feeling inadequate and frustrated with the demands placed upon them.

It seems that the “quality time” parents are spending with their children is fading as more focus is being placed on how to make “today’s perfect” child. When children excel in school and become a star player on their sports team they are being “praised” by their parents but only momentarily it seems as parents are quickly thinking of the next big step their kids need to take in order to guarantee a “spot” in these institutions. For kids and even adolescents, the finish line just never seems to be in sight!

Today’s younger generation is so caught up in how their needs are being catered to in multiple ways that it does make it almost impossible for many of these young adults to work efficiently with many of the older generation workers. So many of us think that a paper degree from an approved college is a golden ticket to immediate financial success, but clearly this is not true as Dr. Mel Levine , who is considered one of the well known authorities in the country on how children learn, said in the 60 Minutes report. Many of us cannot deny the fact that CEO’s are right about our inability to think “long-range” we just never had to survive on this type of thinking.

Although we are a flourishing generation with all the pampering and modern products we have acquired, there is still time to improve the quality of our journey to success.