The Impact of Generation X - Essay Example

Generation X Faculty Baby Boomers, Generation X, Baby Boomers II all were born in a specific period of time. Thepopulation of these has impacted the fashion, culture, media, social structures, trends and all the aspects of a society. This paper is briefly analyses the impact of Generation X. There are various definitions of Generation X. According to one definition Generation X is a generation born between 1965 and 1980 after the baby boomers while other states that Gen-X is the generation of people reaching to their teens in 1980s. They form important section of the society as they are 20% of the total population of US. At one point of time like Baby Boomers they have been center of the strategies of marketers and business strategists. According to Morton (2003) population of Generation X is approximately 46 millions and they have $125 billion spending power. The ethnic representation of various ethnic groups in the Generation X is as follows: American Indian 1% Asian 4% Hispanic 12% Black 13% White 70% Generation X had been different in the way it had reared, the kind of education they got and the socio-cultural changes they bought within the US society and are still bringing. At the time when Generation X was growing up, majority of them had experienced the pain of broken families. This lead to several changes in behavioral and cultural aspects of the society with Gen X. Generation X had less emotional dependency on their parents or family members. They had learnt to live in an emotionally independent environment where they had to live in stepfamilies, broken families or in a family where both the parents were working. The parents of their generation had less time and took less effort to provide emotional support and security to the children. Spending most of the time alone, individual of this generation had developed a mind set where they did not have trust on any kind of institution be it family or other social structures. Generation X was the first generation which stayed back home alone, in front of television sets. The programs of those days were full of violence, crime and pop culture. These impacted the mind of this generation which took the violence as a normal thing of life. There had been various stigma attached to Generation X. They had been stereotyped to be slackers etc. Although Generation X often is referred to as a homogenous group, it is actually comprised of many different subgroups of individuals, with differing backgrounds, outlooks, and beliefs. Members of the generation often are derided by a stereotype that casts them as "slackers" (persons who lack drive and ambition) or as "whiners" (those who complain without reason). While such individuals undoubtedly exist in the Generation-X population, this description does not characterize all of its members.” (Pauline and Riordon; 1998) The general perception about the Generation X was that they spent more time in watching Television than in schools and were drug addicted. There were other issues associated with the Generation X. The violence portrayed by media supported their school of thought which supported violence on the streets. Contraception offered more free sex. Generation X was warned about the sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. There were various other factors associated with Generation X. There have been various achievements in the society which resulted due to the efforts of Generation X. At times writers and academicians have been criticized for misrepresenting the Generation X. “On the other hand, "they grew up in a time of peace and relative material prosperity," a time when technology, science, and medicine made tremendous progress." They grew up enjoying the fruits of their Boomer parents social causes: civil-rights, womens-rights, and environmental-conservation.” (Morton 2003) The efforts of baby boomers have supported the life of Generation X in various ways. The freedom of life, independence of thinking and decision making were the efforts of the generations of Baby Boomers which Generation X got. The Baby Boomers had provided independence to Generation X. They offered an environment where Generation X was decision makers by themselves for variety of issues. They could have their own judgment system to judge people from different race, gender or ethnicity. Gen X has taught to think about them even if their elders disapprove that they could take decisions. They do not believe in institutions like family, company or traditions. They do not abide by the moral boundaries. They were least bothered to share their feelings and issues with peers or family. Although most have rejected traditional established religion, they do consider spirituality important. "They are not searching for truth, rather they are searching for meaning ... They believe in the supernatural, ... transcendence and mystery." (Morton 2003) Most of the Generation X after having children felt reconnected with religion and family. Generation X formed a group of people with similar age group, choices and preferences. Each individual in Generation X wanted to be different from the other. The pop culture was influencing the fashion. Various new spiritual and inspirational themes have influenced the generation X. They were more inclined towards the branded products as it was considered acceptable behavior. Spending more on the branded products encouraged the companies to create new brands for the market. The baby boomers on the one hand offered a huge opportunities to the marketers to target as the large section of the society formed a good customer base for long period of time. From the childhood products to the products for young generation than older generation, business could benefit by serving Baby boomers at each and very level of their life. The life time value of customers and the volume was high. In the case of Generation X, the population was not as big as baby boomers but still Generation X provided good opportunity to various business segments. The free thinking and independence influenced the fashion, lifestyle products and services they were receiving. It influenced the evolution of fashion and markets. Generation X tends to distrust institutions. They adapt poorly to the hierarchical systems common in family business, often preferring to create their own employment or even forming their own companies. Older style management tends to react badly to them, considering them to be ‘spoilt’ or ‘arrogant.’ (Bray;2005) Generation X preferred working independently and was criticized for lack of loyalty and trust towards the company they were working with. Traditional managers failed to understand the mindset of Generation X and working for them with these people was challenging as no incentives and commissions worked on Generation X well. Generation X had got freedom of expression, thoughts and decision making as compared to their earlier generations. These have influenced Art, culture and philosophical growth was possible in the period where people were freer to interact and express. This freedom contributed in the growth of literature, fashion and other segments of art and culture. Reference Jochim, J (1997) Facts and figures give clue to Gen X retrieved on 7 November 2006 from Jochim, J (1997) Generation X defies definition retrieved on 7 November 2006 from Morton L. P.(2003) Targeting Generation X, Journal Title: Public Relations Quarterly. Vol.48. Iss.4.,COPYRIGHT 2003 Public Relations Quarterly; COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group Lasorsa D. L., Poindexter P. M. (1999). Generation X: Is Its Meaning Understood?. Journal Title: Newspaper Research Journal. Vol. 20. Iss: 4. Page Number: 28. COPYRIGHT 1999 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group OBannon G (2001) Managing Our Future: The Generation X Factor, Journal Title: Public Personnel Management. Vol. 30. Iss. 1.Pg No 95. COPYRIGHT 2001 International Personnel Management Association; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group Paulin G. and Riordon B (1998) Making It on Their Own: The Baby Boom Meets Generation X. Journal Title: Monthly Labor Review. Vol.: 121. Iss. 2. COPYRIGHT 1998 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group Bray S. Managing Generation X retrieved on 7 November 2006 from Read More