Gen Y Characteristics

December 10th, 2008 by Mike Knutson

The videos I posted about Gen Y created some interest last week, and I need to follow up with more information. Let me begin with a couple follow points.

First, there is no perfect date for separating when Gen X ends and Gen Y begins, but I think it makes sense to say there’s a cross-over sometime in the late 1970s.

Second, there a ton of people out there who are billing themselves as Gen Y experts–not as many Gen X experts (but that shouldn’t be surprising since Gen Y’s were born with parents who have been lavishing them with attention their whole lives).

In fact, I haven’t found enough good information on Gen X to feel comfortable posting about them, but I’ll keep working on it. Until then, I’m going to share information about Gen Y.

Ages of Gen Y: late 1970s to 2000

Other names associated with Gen Y: Millennials, Net Generation, iGeneration, Echo Boomers, and Google Generation.

Characteristics of Generation Y

They want to change the world, and they think they can do it.
They want to tell you what they think and they expect you to listen to them.
Work means more than a paycheck. They also want to make a difference.
As the first generation to be born into the Internet Age, they are very tech savvy and like to use it while multitasking.
The environment is very important to them.
They feel their greatest contributions can be through their knowledge - not their pocketbook.
They are our country’s most culturally diverse generation and want to live in diverse neighborhoods
They think like entrepreneurs, but consider relationships more important than making money.

If you want to learn more about Gen Y, check out the following sources:

(More to come soon on ways to engage generation y in your organizations and communities.)

Update (12-15-09): Since posting this article, I have written several other posts about the characteristics of Gen Y and how it relates to rural communities. A few of the more popular posts include: