Subscribe to this blog 
Gen X, Gen Y & Community Involvement
December 5th, 2008 by Mike Knutson
The other evening, the residents of Faulkton, SD asked Lindsey, Joe, and myself what Faulkton could be done to get younger people involved in their community. They explained it doesn’t seem to matter what group is meeting or what activity is being planned; people under age 45 just don’t show up.
We assured them Faulkton is not alone is this. People being busy is a real issue today; but there are also some real generational issues also at play that impact involvement.
Generally the post-Baby Boom generations are referred to as Generations X (born roughly between 1965 and 1980) and Generation Y (born roughly between the late1970’s and 2000). They have very different expectations on life than older generations. If you want them involved in your organization, you may have to change your organization’s practices and behavior.
I’m going to start by providing two videos about Gen Y and follow up next with more detailed characteristics of both generations in future posts.
I’m sharing two videos for a purpose. One was definitely created by a Gen Y, while the other was probably created by a Gen X or maybe even a Baby Boomer. Can you figure out which is which?
Video #1
Video #2
Tags: community involvement, faulkton sd, Generation X, generational issues, South Dakota
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (
6 )
December 6th, 2008 at 9:50 am
That first video reminds me of something from clockwork orange. Not sure if that says something about the creators age, but it’s definitely disturbing.
I think Pollack gets right to the point though in her interview. Classic forms of organization and communication such as a weekly townhall meeting will not adequately engage a new generation of tech savvy, on-the-go youth. The base needs, wants, and desires of the multiple generations I think often overlap, but they often speak to different languages at 2 different speeds to get there.
December 9th, 2008 at 8:26 am
As a Gen Yer myself, I’m having some difficulty distinguishing which video would have been created by someone of my age and which was created by someone older…. The first seems to be more contemporary, and carries unique presentation and messaging (which would indicate to me that it is a video produced by gen y… or maybe by someone older who’s trying to hard). Though the heavy emphasis on destruction throws me off a bit…
The second video, while informative, seems to take a very traditional approach to sharing information. I get the sense that she is speaking about something she has very little personal connection to–as if she’s speaking about a generation other than her own (although she appears to be a gen Yer herself).
What’s maybe most interesting to me about these two videos is the way it’s making me think about my own generation, gen Y. There is a huge difference between those born in the early 70’s and the late 1990’s. As someone in between, I sometimes wonder if we place too much emphasis on our differences, rather than our commonalities. In the end, I think our communities will benefit from simply building relationships with those of all ages. Getting to know people as people will spur their involvement, I think.
December 10th, 2008 at 5:59 am
The two videos offer contrasting perspectives. The producer of the first video identifies himself as a 24 year old Brit on his YouTube profile, while the second list herself as a 28 year old Gen Y consultant from the United States. Both fit the category for Gen Y; but one’s message is presented in a vastly different way. I hadn’t looked at their profiles when I posted their videos, but their ages make sense to me.
I think both Dejon and Lindsey offer great points. First, Dejon identifies “weekly town hall meetings” (i.e. – the traditional way community groups operate) as a poor way to increase Gen Y involvement.
Lindsey then brings up a good when she questions the emphasis on generational differences. I agree that the differences melt away the more people of different generations interact. But I think understanding generational differences helps the initiation of those relationships.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Pretty positive the first one is the gen y vid. It has much more action going on, although the overuse of bombs was unnecessary. The second one is hard to watch, easily bored by it.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Shawn,
You are dean on with your analysis. As a Gen Xer, I have to say vid 2 was easier to watch, but I enjoyed the 1st one more. Not sure what that say. But the important question is how do we build rural communties that ALL generations want to live in? Perhaps you have ideas to share.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
…rural communities that all generations want to live in?
That is the question I’ve been trying to answer all year, or at least that young people will want to live in. Internet speeds competitive with larger towns and 3G phone connections would do wonders simply by providing an infrastructure younger people increasingly need for work. We still want a diverse collection of things to do in our free time though. I’ve got lots of ideas for my town, but no money to put anything into action.