JIGSAW GENS

Generation Y — A Legacy of Courage & Creativity

Members of Gen Y (“EchoGens” or “Millennials”) have expanded the blueprint for progress while resisting malaise

The importance of intergenerational literacy is understanding historical conditions and prolonged trends experienced by members of different generations. Through my “Jigsaw Gens” series, I hope to foster this knowledge and clarity. When political actors and media gatekeepers seek to keep fanning the flames of American division based on age, they will be more likely to continue getting away with their corruption.

My first five installments profiled:

Hemingrebels (aka “the Lost Generation”)

GI-Gens (aka “the Greatest Generation”)

Traditionalists (aka “the Silent Generation”)

Baby Boomers (aka “Leapers” or “Generation Jones”)

Generation X (aka “Xers” or “Catalanos”)

Next up: Generation Y (aka “Millennials” or “EchoGens”).

Who They Are

Millennials were born approximately between 1983 to 1993 — give or take a few years on either end. Generational historians William Strauss and Neil Howe coined the term in the early-1990s, referring to the fact that Gen Y kids would become the first modern cohort to be raised in the new millennium as the Twenty-First Century began. By the early-aughts, mainstream media sources began using the term with greater frequency; it really caught on during the 2010s.

Other nicknames for Millennials could include: EchoBoomers (or EchoGens), in order to draw upon the consumer habits their Boomer parents instilled in them; Curlers, since Millennials in Sweden have been named after the fast-paced sport in which ice is swept out of one’s way; Boomerangs, because so many Millennials are moving back in with their Boomer parents (often out of necessity) and trying to find their way in a depressing new world; Digital Natives, seeing how (as coined by educational consultant Marc Prensky in 2001) Gen Y was the first generation to fully emerge from K-12 schooling with Internet proficiency; or OTGs (“The Oregon Trail Generation”), in reference to the iconic computer game in schools that the youngest of Gen X and a majority of Gen Y enjoyed playing as computers became more prevalent.

As of the date of this writing (August 2023), there are between 49–72 million Millennials in the United States (depending on where you draw the boundaries of their generation’s birthyears).

What They Went Through

It’s safe to say that Millennials are tied with Baby Boomers as being the most unfairly-stigmatized generation. Philip Bump explores many of the layers to this problem in his 2023 book The Aftermath, which focuses on the Boomer cohort.

Heads in the clouds? Naïve idealism? Boomer-enabled narcissism? Ignorance when it comes to American history and financial literacy?

Why has Gen Y been saddled down with so much of this hyperbole?

A good starting point would be to check out Anne Helen Petersen’s book, Can’t Even: How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation —

Petersen points out how the negative stereotypes of egotism and entitlement associated with Millennials only applies to a small cross-section of Gen Y’s overall population. This is true of any generation.

Overly-zealous ambition and fragility via “helicopter parenting” were taught to Millennials by their parents and grandparents from the Traditionalist (“Silent”) and Baby Boomer generations. Ironically, it was power players from those generations who also initiated the deregulation and outsourcing that have spawned “burnout culture.”

Of course, Gen X and Gen Z have experienced this downward mobility much the same way Gen Y has. But, for some reason, Gen Y is the main cohort to whom it gets lectured that they must “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”

As a GenXer, Medium’s Mike Goldberg has empathy for how Millennials have been mistreated by GI-Gens, Traditionalists, and Boomers — many of whom did the same type of thing to his generation! It predates even those generations, he says; when older folks feel threatened, many of them will allow their nostalgia to romanticize the past. They undervalue the role of modern technology due to their fear of becoming obsolete.

Meanwhile, speaking from a Zoomer’s perspective, bhw views Millennials as victims of circumstance because so many of them were entering the workforce during The Great Recession. College expenses have skyrocketed, and copious academic degrees achieved by graduates oversaturate the labor market. As a representative of Gen Z, this author doesn’t look forward to the wage stagnation and faux-meritocracy that almost certainly awaits Zoomers, upon seeing how Millennials have been scapegoated.

How They’re Misunderstood

Reflecting on his Millennial upbringing, Jude Ellison S. Doyle remembers 9/11 and the Iraq War causing Gen Y to naively believe it was their time to change the world. Then, a decade or two later, Millennials would be criticized by Zoomers for having too much hope, optimism, and emotion. Mr. Doyle recalls a similar pattern developing between Baby Boomers and GenXers — members of the former pivoted away from hippie beliefs and began criticizing the latter for their independence. Xers retorted with sentiments of anti-consumerism and humorous irony.

Soon, GenXers and Millennials began to fight over what was superior: caring or not caring. Millennials inherited idealism from their Boomer parents, while Zoomers inherited cynicism from their Xer parents. Mr. Doyle implicates all sides in continuing to overcorrect. If we don’t end this cycle, he says, Zoomers will soon be on the receiving end of such spite from their own children!

But what does Gen Y really want? In an op-ed piece from July of 2018, Ye Chen credits Millennials with valuing progress, mentorship, collaboration, flexibility, and balance. These elements will make the business world more sustainable for everyone. Other generations mistakenly interpret such empowerment to be “entitlement.”

Stela G. echoes Petersen’s point about wage stagnation — adding how Millennials were sold false promises by older generations about hard work and intensity leading to wealth or prestige. On top of that, housing prices are becoming a lot more expensive even in “cheap” areas; real estate cannot keep up with the value of the dollar. Timothy Cook makes a similar case in his 2020 book for which I recently wrote a review.

Why They Matter

Speaking boldly on behalf of my generation, here: We may not be able to relate to Boomers and Traditionalists in the same way that some GenXers can, but we can relate better to Zoomers and Alphas than can the generations from the first half of the Twentieth Century.

In a personal essay, Medium’s Judy Derby writes about her youngest son, Jonathan, who has moved back in with her during his adult years. Jonathan is gainfully employed, drives a secondhand Prius, does yardwork and gardening, lends his skills as a mechanic and a tech whiz, and loves watching Star Trek with her. On a similar positive note, Rui Alves talks about how being open and expressive has made Gen Y writers stand out with unique value.

In a September 2021 editorial, Tim Denning attributes Gen Y’s financial anxiety and stress to what he dubs as “The Dan Bilzerian Effect.” That is, a myth gets created that young folks can “have it all” by the age of thirty. Mr. Denning reminds us that many financially-successful people are miserable because they missed out on so many life experiences while hustling. He urges our fellow Millennials to give ourselves patience, in that regard.

Along with Xers, Millennials have cobbled together a smorgasbord of important traits. We took the commercialization valued by our Baby Boomer parents and combined it with the rebellious nature of our big siblings from Gen X. We broached many topics of social consciousness — which Gen Z has now elevated to the next level. Whereas Gen X demanded that LGBT+ Americans have a place at the table, Gen Y began to ask queer folks what should be on the menu.

Two dynamic “microgenerations” sandwich the main cohort of Millennials.

“Xennials” (born approximately between 1978 to 1982) bridge the gap between Gen X and Gen Y. We embody the edginess of GenXers while showing early signs of the adventurous nature for which mid-to-younger Millennials are known.

Xennials include numerous public figures who are widely admired — including Beyoncé, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sharice Davids, Kim Kardashian, and Kobe Bryant.

At the other end of the Gen Y rainbow, “Zillennials” (born approximately between 1994 to 1998) have taken Gen Y’s tech-savvy proclivities and fused them with social justice advocacy embodied by younger members of Gen Z.

Zillennials feature talented voices belonging to the likes of Gigi Hadid, Simone Biles, Rico Rodriguez, Dakota Fanning, and James “MrBeast” Donaldson.

Some of the most iconic figures of Generation Y have been Rihanna, LeBron James, Ronan Farrow, Colin Kaepernick, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In addition, legions of Millennials have just gotten their feet wet with accomplishing some pretty amazing things. Millennial athletes have revolutionized the sports world very similarly to how GenXers revolutionized entrepreneurship, Boomers revolutionized political service, Traditionalists revolutionized music, and GI-Gens revolutionized acting.

A list of historical figures who’ve been a part of Generation Y:

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