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Is it our fault?

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NanaandGrampy Thu 18-Feb-16 16:10:06

A while ago at an evening event the keynote speaker was Lucian Tarnowski.

www.londonspeakerbureau.com/uk/speakers/lucian_tarnowski

He was talking about Generation Y the children of parents born during the baby boom (the “baby boomers”). Children born during this time period have had constant access to technology (computers, cell phone etc ).

In fact , another reason for calling them the Y Generation is that they are always asking 'why can't I have that?' or 'why can't I do that'?

They have never used a telephone that has a dial, never had a TV without a remote control and never known a world without mobile phones and the technology that comes with that.

They were brought up by parents who constantly told them they could be anything they wanted.

The problem has arisen that although they were told they could be anything they wanted they weren't told they had to start at the bottom of their chosen career ladder or even that they would have to work for what they wanted. In effect a generation has been created who feel a real sense of entitlement.

My question to all of you is - Is this our fault as mothers? Is this a load of 'tosh' -as my Dad would have said? Or was it an inevitable consequence of technology progressing?

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Wendysue Sat 20-Feb-16 18:41:00

I don't like sweeping generalizations like this either. And I remember a lot of people in our boomer generation asking, "Why can't I do this?" and "Why do I have to do that?" In fact, many boomers took pride in this, as I recall, believing it was important to question society/ask the question "why." And feeling that we needed to assert our "rights" and make sure they weren't being violated. Not all, of course - again, I don't want to make a generalization. But it was very common, as I recall.

I also remember some college graduates in the 1970s being frustrated and disappointed if they couldn't get the job they wanted and many of our parents' generation being critical of that. Again, not all. And my timing may be different cuz I'm in the States. But I can't blame anyone for feeling that way after working hard/studying for a certain degree, only to find that field is already glutted w/ applicants or has closed off, for some reason.

Some of the parents who were critical of that had just taken the first available job when they were young and never really planned for anything specific. So there's no way they really could have understood how their disappointed sons or daughters felt. They could talk about "reality" all they wanted, but this was a reality some of them had never faced, if you ask me. (Not saying the situation was the same elsewhere or later on.)

As far as Gen Yers wanting to start at the top, I've heard of that before but haven't seen it in my own DDs or any of their friends. So it may not be complete "tosh," but I don't think it's true for everyone or even a wide majority.

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