You could also call them the internet generation, echo boomers, igeneration, the mypod generation or the millinials. They have become almost a household name!
The exact years are a subject of debate however I can provide some insight into the reason why Generation Y do what they do.
Now if another Generation provided this information it may be how they are viewed from the outside. Today I would like to give you some of the inside scoop for Gen Y.
So what makes them tick? How do we recruit them? More importantly, how do we retain them?
Firstly well look at what factors influence this generation, so we understand where they are coming from.
COMPARING GENERATIONS
Baby Boomers were influenced by the dawn of the TV, Rock and Roll, the Cold War, Vietnam War, the danger of nuclear war. Xers saw the Personal Computer, AIDS, single parent families, the growth in multiculturalism, and the downsizing of companies.
Gen Y have lived through the age of the internet, cable television, globalisation, September 11 and environmentalism
PEER PRESSURE
Unlike previous generations before them, peer pressure has become a major influence on Gen Y.
They wont listen to the media and are less likely to listen to their parents. But they will listen to their friends.
Unlike the pen-pal relationship that teens of the 1970s enjoyed, Gen Y no longer need to wait for letters in transit.
Gen Y are also communicating with one another using different communication mediums than previous generations. Instant messaging technologies and mobile phones have become very popular with Gen Y.
Online communication affords instant gratification for the users involved. Messages appear on the screen mere seconds after they are posted, allowing conversation-style communication between friends.
TECHNOLOGY
Ask any Gen Y What/who has a lot of influence on your thinking and behaviour? and most of them will likely say TV and movies.
Research shows that Aussie teenagers are now spending more time watching TV today then compared to four years ago, up from 2 hours 16 minutes per day to 2 hours and 20 minutes, a growth of 3.6%.
In addition to the growing Internet and video games use, they are now approaching 4 hours screen time per day.
Ease of access to a computer with internet connection and portable devices such as IPhones which can connect to the internet mean that Gen Y spend a great deal of time online and on social networking mediums such as facebook.
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC & POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Gen Y have also experienced different economic, social and political conditions than previous generations. Before the financial crisis occurred, most Aussie gen Ys had no idea what impact a recession has on society.
Which partly explains why most of Gen Y are still living at home.
Although they are the most materially endowed, and entertained generation of teenagers ever, they have been seriously affected by the economic climate.
Economic crises, including the dot-com bubble in 2000, and the United States housing bubble that resulted in the financial crisis have made paying any rent, hard for this generation riddled with high unemployment levels.
Theyve also seen the costs of their parents success in terms of broken marriages, absentee parenting, and an epidemic of stress related illnesses.
Matthew Coppola 
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