Generation Y - Terminology

Terminology

The phrase Generation Y first appeared in an August 1993 Ad Age editorial to describe teenagers of the day, which they defined as different from Generation X, and then aged 12 or younger as well as the teenagers of the upcoming ten years. Since then, the company has sometimes used 1982 as the starting birth year for this generation. "Generation Y" alludes to a succession from "Generation X."

Millennials are sometimes called Echo Boomers, due to the significant increase in birth rates during the 1980s and into the 1990s. In America, the birth rate of the Echo Boom peaked in 1990. Millennials are mostly the children of baby boomers or Gen Xers. The 20th century trend toward smaller families in developed countries continued, however, so the relative impact of the "baby boom echo" was generally less pronounced than the original boom.

William Strauss and Neil Howe gave their own version of this generation in their book Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 (1991). Howe and Strauss maintain that they use the term Millennials in place of Generation Y because they discovered that members of the generation preferred it. Almost a decade later, they followed their large study of the history of American demographics with a book devoted to the new generation, titled Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (2000).

William Strauss and Neil Howe use 1982 as the Millennials' starting birth year. In later writings, they use 2004 as the last Millennial birth year. They believe that the coming of age of year 2000 high school graduates sharply contrasts with those born before them and after them due to the attention they received from the media and what influenced them politically.

Millennial characteristics vary by region, depending on social and economic conditions. It is generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communication, media, and digital technologies. In most parts of the world its upbringing was marked by an increase in a neoliberal approach to politics and economics; the effects of this environment are disputed.

The 2007–2012 global financial crisis has had a major impact on Millennials because it caused historically high levels of unemployment among young people. The problem is particularly acute in Europe, and led to speculation about possible long term economic and social damage.

Several alternative names have been proposed by various people: Generation We, Global Generation, Generation Next, and the Net Generation. The name "Echo Boomers" refers to the size of the generation and its relation to the Baby Boomer generation.

One author, Elwood Carlson, locates the American generation, which he calls "New Boomers," between 1983 and 2001, because of the upswing in births after 1983, finishing with the "political and social challenges" that occurred after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, and the "persistent economic difficulties" of the time. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe make a distinction that each generation has unique characteristics. Millennials are more like the "civic-minded" G.I. generation than a repeat of their Baby Boomer or Gen X parents.

In Australia, there is debate over Millennial birth dates. It is generally accepted, however, that the first "Gen Y" members were born in 1983. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, use 1983–2000.

In Canada, 1983 is generally thought to be the starting birth year for Generation Y, ending in the late-1990s or 2000, even as late as 2004.

In China, Generation Y does not exist, as the rapid rate of change in that country since 1983 has caused generations to be classed by decade. While in most of the developed world, a person born in 1983 and a person born in 1990 are considered the same generation; in China, those born in the 1970s are called the "post-70s" generation, those born in the 1980s the "post-80s" generation, and those born in the 1990s the "post-90s generation".

Like members of Generation X, who were heavily influenced by MTV, early members of Generation Y are also sometimes called the MTV Generation. This term can also be a catch phrase for youth of the late 20th century, depending on the context.