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Different Perspectives of Generation Y

Summary/Abstract: Aim. Generation Y will become the largest generation of seniors in 30 years. There are numerous articles in the marketing and labour market fields that seek to identify common characteristics of Generation Y. However, there is a lack of scientific sociological analyses concerning this generation. The aim of this article is to review the leading academic concepts related to Generation Y. Methods and materials. The article employs a comparative analysis of concepts. It draws on the research of Neil Howe and William Strauss, Jean Twenge, Witold Wrzesień, and Wiesław Wątroba. Results and conclusion. Contrary to the predictions of Howe and Strauss at the turn of the century, the Millennials (as the authors called Generation Y) did not succeed in renewing institutions. More than twenty years after the authors of the generational cycle, Jean Twenge defines Generation Y as an individualistic, self-focused generation that struggles to form lasting bonds. According to the Polish researcher Witold Wrzesień, those born in the 1980s constitute a separate generation, which he refers to as European seekers. Like Jean Twenge, Witold Wrzesień emphasises the individualistic nature of Generation Y. Wiesław Wątroba, similarly to Wrzesień and Twenge, points to the belief in one’s uniqueness held by many members of Generation Y. However, Wątroba also observes strong peer bonds and a capacity for cooperation among the oldest representatives of Generation Y, born in the 1980s. These traits are consistent with the concept proposed by Howe and Strauss.

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