Generation Y is a term used in demographics to describe a generational cohort in western societies. The cohort comprises those born in the 1980s and 1990s although no consensus has emerged specifying exact dates. Many in Generation Y are the children of Baby Boomers, and the generation is also known as the "Echo (Boom) generation," because it is, in some areas, the largest demographic grouping since the baby boom that immediately followed World War II (the U.S. birth rate per 1,000 population, however, declined for seven consecutive years starting in 1991 — the second longest such streak on record, exceeded only by the eleven-year baby bust of 1958 through 1968).
Many labels have been attached to this generation, although none has been overwhelmingly accepted yet. The generation is also called the Millennial Generation. The name "Newmils" is popular in the UK, as is the term "Thatcher's Children." The term "echo" is most popular in Canada, inspired by David K. Foot and Daniel Stoffman 's book Boom, Bust and Echo . The Y in Generation Y comes from the name Generation X sometimes given to the previous generation (Y immediately following X in the alphabet). In the Generations system of authors Strauss and Howe, the Millennial Generation, as they call it, is the generation of Americans born from 1982 to 2003.
Perhaps a good way to define the boundaries of this generation in the United States are by the September 11th attacks; people who were not yet born in 2001 or were too young to remember and/or understand what happened on that infamous day would be grouped into Generation Z, while people who were solidly of age, out of school, and into adult life would be grouped into Generation X. This would correspond to approximately 1978 to 1993; coincidentally, many actually do consider these to be the boundaries of Generation Y. This same thinking is what leads many people to deny that those born from 1958 to 1964 are Baby Boomers, since they would be too young to remember the Kennedy assassination as well as having been obviously too young to possibly have been drafted into the Vietnam War.
Generation Y in the United States
60 million people were born between 1979 and 1994 in the United States [1]. Some demographers define those years as constituting the large baby bulge of the late 20th century in that country, and define people born between those years as the "echo generation." Those numbers mark the echo as slightly smaller than the Baby Boom (72 million), but much larger than Generation X (18 million). Birth rates in the United States peaked around 1989-90 and have dropped considerably since then, but remain higher than in the 1960s–'70s. Most families with children in the 1980s and 90s had only a few kids, leading to smaller families than in previous generations, although this was merely the continuation of a trend that began earlier in the century.
They were the first to grow up with the Internet at its peak, music downloads, instant messaging and cellular phones. The term Screenager was coined in 1997 by Douglas Rushkoff in his book Playing the Future to describe this techno-savvy generation.
Characteristically, they tend to be highly pressured to "succeed" and have had many aspects of their lives scheduled for them by parents and schools. Overall, people in Generation Y are carefully watched and are generally very tolerant towards multiculturalism and internationalism. It is also not uncommon for post-1970's born children to grow up dating people outside their own race or ethnic group.
Source: [2]
The effect of the higher birth rates was felt first in schools. Higher enrollment, which was sometimes up 50–60% in a decade, made school budgetting difficult. Cut backs were made in many areas to maintain basic services.
While the echo was much larger than the previous cohorts, except the Baby Boom, the relative size of this generation is much smaller that the Baby Boom. The American population was much larger in the 1990s than in the 1950s or '60s. From 1946 to 1964, the U.S. total fertility rate averaged 3.3 — high enough to double the population every two generations. Since 1980, it has averaged 1.9, which is below the so-called replacement rate. Families continued to get smaller than in previous decades, usually with only one or two children.
Americans Under Age 18
| Year | Millions | Percent of Population |
|---|
| 1950 | 47.3 | 31.1% |
|---|
| 1960 | 64.5 | 35.7% |
|---|
| 1970 | 69.8 | 34.0% |
|---|
| 1980 | 63.7 | 28.0% |
|---|
| 1990 | 64.2 | 25.7% |
|---|
| 1998 | 69.8 | 25.9% |
|---|
Source: [3]
Generation Y elsewhere
In many rich countries, the 1980s and 1990s were a period of rapidly falling birthrates. In Southern Europe and Japan, and less markedly in Northern and Eastern Europe, Generation Y is dramatically smaller than any of its predecessors, and their childhood was marked by small families, both immediate and extended, small classes at school and school closure. In the Soviet Union during the 1980s, there was a "baby boom echo" similar to that in the United States, and Generation Y there is relatively large; however, birth rates fell through the floor in the 1990s to extremely low levels. This meant a lot of individual attention from parents in a period in which society was becoming intrinsically more risk averse.
The child poverty rate was still relatively high in many western countries throughout the 1980s and '90s.
The increasing stratification of wealth in many societies has led to an increase in the societal differences between poor and rich members of this generation. Although many middle class and wealthier families arrange many extra curricular activities for their children, less affluent families cannot afford such extras, increasing the pressure on their own children.
In Eastern Europe, Generation Y is the first generation without mature memories of Communism or dictatorship. In newly rich countries such as South Korea or Greece, Generation Y has known nothing but developed world standards of living, while their grandparents often grew up in developing world conditions, causing considerable social changes and inter-generational difficulties as the young reject many traditional ways of life.
Cultural Endowments
Major cultural endowments by members of Generation Y :
Famous members of Generation Y
A listing of famous members of the Millennial generation with birth dates from 1980 through 2003 (and death dates for those that have died) includes the following:
- 1980 (overlapping with Generation X)
- Christina Ricci, February 12 actress, Sleepy Hollow
- Chelsea Clinton, February 27 - first daughter
- Venus Williams, June 17 tennis player
- Macaulay Culkin, August 26 actor, Home Alone
- Yao Ming, September 12 NBA center, Houston Rockets
- Ashanti Douglas (a.k.a. Ashanti), October 13 vocalist
- Christina Aguilera, December 18 vocalist
- Jake Gyllenhaal, December 19 actor, Donnie Darko
- 1981
- Alicia Keys, January 25 vocalist/songwriter
- Elijah Wood, January 28 - actor, Lord of the Rings trilogy
- Justin Timberlake, January 31 - singer
- Paris Hilton, February 17, actress/model/singer, heir to the Hilton fortune
- Natalie Portman, June 9 - actress, Star Wars prequels
- Beyoncι Knowles, September 4 vocalist
- Serena Williams, September 26 tennis player
- Britney Spears, December 2 vocalist
- 1982
- Jessica Biel, March 30, actress
- Kirsten Dunst, April 30, actress
- Prince William of Wales, June 21
- Anna Paquin, July 24 - actress
- Brad Renfro, July 25, actor
- LeAnn Rimes, August 28 - vocalist
- Andy Roddick, August 30 - tennis player
- Elisha Cuthbert, November 30 - actress
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987
- 1988
- 1989
- 1990
