The Generation Game

I am not sure if they are the current generation or the next generation.

They are termed the Millenials or those in our population who were born between 1980 and 2000.

My indecisiveness is borne out of mixed feelings of concern and anticipation.

The first is based on the fact that the Millenials already seem too stressed to partake in their role as the current generation and the second that they have so much untapped potential and compassion that when assuming their rightful place in the world it can only become a better place.

It is quite a balancing act between the two, well, I suppose I should call them, fates.

I am in my 50's and according to popular belief I grew up under the label of Generation X, that demographic after the post war baby boom in the West covering the years 1960 to 1980.

In comparison with what the Millenials are faced with now I do believe that I had it a bit easier although at the time there were equivalent political, social and economic forces in play.

Do not forget that in the 1970's this country was on the brink of a full scale potential military coup against the Harold Wilson admininstration, almost in a state of civil war through a break down in the class structure from unrest and strikes in the workforce and not to forget that overlying all of the above was the fact that we were being briefed, in a pamphlet, by Government on what to do in the event of a nuclear strike.

To the Millenials the world does not seem any safer but then again they are the generation who can spend up to 18 hours a day immersed in social media on various screens and are easily overloaded with news and events which my contemporaries would have to seek out in print or by word of mouth in a less technological era.

Why are the Millenials so stressed?

In some respects they feel cheated by an indifferent Government and have developed a deep rooted envy , bordering on hatred of the baby boomers, who let's face it are their grandparents, or other senior relatives who seem to have hit a rich vein of property, other asset and personal savings that allow them to enjoy the times of their lives.

To a Millenial the baby boomers are guilty as charged for sitting on pricey houses, depleting the ozone layer, exhausting global resources from fossil fuels to fish and just living for longer and healthier.

I am closer to the boomer generation, which includes my parents, and have a strong respect for the hard work and sacrifices that they had to put in for their justified rewards in retirement and the expectation of an increasingly healthy longevity.

My own life-path was already marked out in my twenties with an assured career in just the single occupation, a ready availability of mortgage monies and cheap property prices. Importantly I was not compelled nor was I attracted to a London-centric existence in order to establish a decent income and standard of living. I am aghast that the average purchase price for a first time buyer in and around the Capital is half a million pounds but at the same time this sum can go a great deal further in other parts of the country.

Are Millenials just greedy or working towards what social media deems as the ideal existence from owning and living in a Grand Design calibre of property to having a beach-ready body, swanky car, gym membership and what I have come to realise is a fallacy, that life and work balance?

There are conflicting messages milling about on the airwaves that the smart phone and tablet toting Millenials cannot but absorb and assume as the norm. Health consciousness conflicts with a respect for any body shape, celebration of personal appearance cannot be at all narcissistic, women are over sexualised and yet a naked woman can be a potent symbol of empowerment, a man can pamper himself but must also conform to the stereotypical image and expectations. Confusing indeed.

Perhaps I should not mention other Millenial concerns over job security,student debt levels, global warming, terrorism, immigration and relationships. Many Millenial job roles could I daresay be easily given to a machine or robot so that does not really give confidence.

I dare not even touch on the subject of saving up for a deposit for a house purchase or the fact that it may be necessary to work through to the age of 80 in order to accumulate a sufficient pension pot.

What can be done to help the Millenials?

As role models and those who have been there, done that and come away with the era-suitable item of souvenir clothing we of the older generations do have some responsibility to reassure and encourage the Millenials.

It is in our own interests of course in that a happy and productive younger generation pays into the economy to provide our own retirement fund.

We must also start to spend our savings and liquidate some of that asset based wealth so that it too percolates through the social strata and oils the Millenial trainer wheels, as they say.

There is much talk about lost generations and if we are not careful then we run the very real risk of missing out on the talent, humanity and general niceness of this particular one. That would be a great shame, not to mention a complete failure on our part to perpetuate a good and compassionate social framework. 😿 😐