How are Millennials resetting the cultural agenda?

[Denkt]

Zard's response was a total non-sequitur based on his complete misunderstanding of what I pointed out was boomer behaviour. Hence, my desire to react by laughing.

What is a boomer behaviour, do like I've boomer behaviour?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Zard's response was a total non-sequitur based on his complete misunderstanding of what I pointed out was boomer behaviour. Hence, my desire to react by laughing.

As I recall, it was about people being more idealistic when younger and more pragmatic when older.

I've noticed that tendency, with family, acquaintances, and myself, so I have no idea why you're arguing about it. Most of the people I've ever known in RL have been baby boomers, or at least born in the 1970s.

 

[aelf]

As I recall, it was about people being more idealistic when younger and more pragmatic when older.

I've noticed that tendency, with family, acquaintances, and myself, so I have no idea why you're arguing about it. Most of the people I've ever known in RL have been baby boomers, or at least born in the 1970s.

Lmao no. The boomer behaviour was stubborness in the face of facts and telling kids to get off their lawn instead of admitting their mistakes.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Lmao no. The boomer behaviour was stubborness in the face of facts and telling kids to get off their lawn instead of admitting their mistakes.

Got a link? I'm not willing to re-read the thread.

 

[Narz]

Lmao no. The boomer behaviour was stubborness in the face of facts and telling kids to get off their lawn instead of admitting their mistakes.

Its normal, we all have resentment towards mommy & daddy but why are you taking it out on Valka?

 

[Denkt]

From what I can tell, it don't seems like younger people have all that different views from older people.

 

[r16]

younger people invariably get old . And they get to own a lawn .

 

[Valka D'Ur]

From what I can tell, it don't seems like younger people have all that different views from older people.

Some mixed views from various generations of my family... ohboy.

I bumped into my mother's parents once at the mall and we ended up going to the Chinese food place there for an afternoon snack (I was on my weekly book hunt and usually had an egg roll and juice there). Of course my grandmother gave me the third degree about boyfriends - was I seeing anyone? I said I had a friend who was a guy, but it wasn't serious like she was hoping.

The next thing she said floored me: "When you think you've found the right one, you should live together first, to make sure."

This, coming from a woman 40 years older than me?! It floored my mother as well, when I told her: "Grandma told you this?!"

Upon reflection, I think the reason was that all three of her own daughters had gone through divorces and had unfaithful husbands. She didn't want that for me as well, so she figured it was better to find out before any wedding happened.

My other grandmother - the one who raised me - would have had a fit over advice like that. She was over a decade older than my mom's mother, though.

 

[Farm Boy]

From what I can tell, it don't seems like younger people have all that different views from older people.

They don't. The most powerful have the most ability to inflict malice and will, so the very worst trend old. But the young are primarily different in that they trend to having more hungers and less self reflection.

Brain finally grows up around 25. Homicide perpetration plummets in the 30s.

 

[aelf]

Its normal, we all have resentment towards mommy & daddy but why are you taking it out on Valka?

I'm not?

 

[emzie]

I think that Gen Z is uniquely connected. You know, in a lot of age groups, we saw that, you know, voters in certain states voted in a certain way, but Gen Z is connected. We feel empathy for our generation and members of our generation in other states. So, you know, I live in New York where we're lucky to have abortion rights enshrined in our constitution. But I voted because, you know, my peers in other states do not have those same rights. I voted because although in New York we have gun violence restrictions that keep us safe, my peers in other states don't have those rights. So I voted to - for democracy. I voted for abortion rights. I voted for our future.

Young voters turned out for the first time for the 2022 Midterm elections

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Jack Lobel of Voters of Tomorrow, an organization focused on engaging and mobilizing Gen Z voters, about election results.

www.npr.org

When I read this, I thought of this thread. While the quote is about Gen Z, it's an extension of a trend that started with the internet. I was 8 when my parents got a PC and AOL, and the first thing my mom told me about it was how she was able to have a conversation with a stranger, from Florida! From that novelty, I would go on to meet my wife and my closest friends online (including this site!). Projecting this trend, I see a new national and international identity being knitted together along generational lines, alongside region and class.

 

[RobAnybody]

During this thread drift, I'll weigh in on the various generations (oh boy) - what I've observed (just in case - you always think people know you, but then someone will inevitably be like "who are you?" - I'm Gen X) is that "the younger generation is super liberal!" has always been a thing. Also "people get more conservative as they age" has always been a thing. But I don't think the latter is actually true (the former is). I'm only gonna talk about this in the context of social views, not fiscal.

What happens is that society changes over time (duh) - it shifts Left & Left & more Left. But... people don't change very much as they age. So if you start out Leftist in the 50's or 60's, by the 80s or 90's you really haven't changed a whole lot, but society has. And now you are more Right compared to society. Same for people who were liberal in the 80s or 90s - they quite often get perceived today as conservatives, even though their actual views 1) were liberal when they were younger & (perhaps more importantly, just to explain this phenomenon) 2) haven't really changed all that much, but society has.

The Overton Window, I've heard it described as. But I don't know much more about that than I learned watching the show Billions on Showtime (pretty good first couple seasons - I'd recommend it, but then it started spinning its wheels - bail after season 2, maaaybe 3, I'd say). People that frankly spear-headed social change in their 20s & 30s get a little/a lot uncomfortable with the new version of social change when they are in their 50s & 60s. And they react in different ways - some adapt, some say "I'm ok with this, but not that", some dig their heels in from where they were. And so the whole generation appears to slip Right when viewing voting patterns or polls. But it's not because their views changed. It's rather because their views became conservative rather than liberal over time.

As an example: I remember when "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in the US Military was viewed as a liberal policy proposal that the conservatives actively campaigned against.

 

[Joij21]

Generations have the opportunity and or size to rewrite he cultural agenda of society and change the direction of previous thinking in many different ways. Some previous installed ways of looking at the world are preserved, but new ones frequently added.

How do our CFC Millennials see the world they are shaping in the arts, music, language, worldview, politics, globalization, climate, environment, etc. ?

How do older or younger folks see their impact?

We'll never know for sure their impact until they approach retirement age.

Unfortunately the only real reason anyone wants to know beforehand is because those particular people (and you could be such a guy IDK) who pose such questions are corporate managers. All trying to desperately sell a product before the current generation becomes old, useless, and doesn't buy as much things anymore. But since impacts can not be accurately gauged while they're still actively happening, many sales attempts will fail and be botched. Such is life.

As far as culture is concerned/political power, a lot of it is imposed on the generation rather than the generation actively creating it. Music taste for instance is often times pushed on the generation in their youth by record label managers from an older generation who preselect the next big name in music.

Generations are far too complex and no single individual can be shoehorned into a singular age bracketed stereotype. Many smaller archetypes and sub-archetypes exist and the reason for individuals being part of certain subgroups is unique to each person. There is no such thing as the same person cloned within an archetype. Chaos and therefore incalculabilty exists as a result (just like long term weather forecasting (although not exactly, especially if one believes souls are at play)).

Very disappointing if your job depends on predicting the future, however I believe the very idea of separating people into generations a crudely reductionist construct invented by corporocrats to make money in an attempt to turn society into bracketed spreadsheets. If everything was a spreadsheet you could easily predict stable revenue streams, so I see why it's alluring to them but it simply won't work (or at least not in any long-term and sustainable way. It only works short term and in a dehumanizing way/get rich quick scheme/nostalgia bait). The consumer will eventually get burned out and revolt. CEOs need to take more risks and stop worrying about losing a little money, they all ready have way too much! They could retire or something, they don't have to do what they do forever!

Also remember many people don't exactly act their own age. The aging process burns and stresses many people out, at some point if they ever get enlightened they'll begin to care less and see it more as a construct (where legally permitted ). The mind tends to be separate and perhaps more unpredictable then the body. I would also say people's views on success and wealth are very similar. At some point if you can't achieve your society's cookie cutter definition of success at around exactly the prescripted age, people get burned out and give up. If they don't kill themselves from depression by feeling inadequate, then their definition of success will be altered in order to conform with their desire for survival and or personal growth.

 

[Birdjaguar]

We'll never know for sure their impact until they approach retirement age.

Unfortunately the only real reason anyone wants to know beforehand is because those particular people (and you could be such a guy IDK) who pose such questions are corporate managers. All trying to desperately sell a product before the current generation becomes old, useless, and doesn't buy as much things anymore. But since impacts can not be accurately gauged while they're still actively happening, many sales attempts will fail and be botched. Such is life.

As far as culture is concerned/political power, a lot of it is imposed on the generation rather than the generation actively creating it. Music taste for instance is often times pushed on the generation in their youth by record label managers from an older generation who preselect the next big name in music.

You are not very skilled in reading minds. Stick with your day job. I am retired and haven't been in the business of selling products for 20 years. I have nothing to sell or even any "information" to collect to sell to someone who does have something to sell.

We lump groups of people into generations because it makes it easier to talk/think about groups that have undergone similar life experiences. Such groupings certainly are not firm and not every one tagged as a Millennial or boomer or Zoomer has the same live experiences, but for many/most members of some group their experiences are more similar than trying to compare them to a different group. As a person with a relatively long set of life experiences that have encompassed serious changes across many aspects of life, I have seen marked changes that have had big impacts over time, as well as, events or actions that left little or no trace. My question and the purpose of this thread was to see how the current group of posters (most of whom can be tagged as Millennials) view themselves and how they might be both actively or even passively changing the world. It is a reflective question that takes a broader look than our usual narrowly focused threads. As is evident from the posts, 30-40 year olds do have thoughts on the issue. This thread is less about predicting the future as it is about observing changes that are often not immediately obvious.

By the time a person gets into their 30s lots of things are fairly well set and their outlook on their world is established (baring some major life or world event that changes it). Of course people change over time and they do so for many different reasons (children, wives, people dying, job changes, physical moves, local events, national events etc.). They may even change what they think is important in life. Nonetheless, social and cultural change happens and those changes are driven by groups of people from 20-40 years old. It may take a long time, but they do arrive. At the same time many of those over 50 are resisting the radical new thinking that is creeping into their "comfortable" existence. It is a losing game for those of us at the upper end of life.

 

[Farm Boy]

I'm not sure what new thinking is new. The kids look young, not different.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I'm not sure what new thinking is new. The kids look young, not different.

The experiences of the younger, than their parents, change attitudes and practices along with priorities. Old ideas can be refreshed; fresh perspectives can be embraced; and new technology enliven discarded possibilities.

If you are talking appearances, while most of those under 35 today do have the fundamental configuration of those of my generation, they certainly do look different than the people living in the 1950s and 60s. But that would be a different thread.

 

[Samson]

What happens is that society changes over time (duh) - it shifts Left & Left & more Left. But... people don't change very much as they age. So if you start out Leftist in the 50's or 60's, by the 80s or 90's you really haven't changed a whole lot, but society has. And now you are more Right compared to society. Same for people who were liberal in the 80s or 90s - they quite often get perceived today as conservatives, even though their actual views 1) were liberal when they were younger & (perhaps more importantly, just to explain this phenomenon) 2) haven't really changed all that much, but society has.

The Overton Window, I've heard it described as. But I don't know much more about that than I learned watching the show Billions on Showtime (pretty good first couple seasons - I'd recommend it, but then it started spinning its wheels - bail after season 2, maaaybe 3, I'd say). People that frankly spear-headed social change in their 20s & 30s get a little/a lot uncomfortable with the new version of social change when they are in their 50s & 60s. And they react in different ways - some adapt, some say "I'm ok with this, but not that", some dig their heels in from where they were. And so the whole generation appears to slip Right when viewing voting patterns or polls. But it's not because their views changed. It's rather because their views became conservative rather than liberal over time.

As an example: I remember when "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in the US Military was viewed as a liberal policy proposal that the conservatives actively campaigned against.

It seems to me that society has shifted very hard right economically over the last few decades, even if it may has shifted left socially in some areas.

 

[Zardnaar]

It seems to me that society has shifted very hard right economically over the last few decades, even if it may has shifted left socially in some areas.

Neo liberalism is sort of the new normal now. You can tweak it in the edges eg tax rates or employment law but the overall trend is broadly the same.

Encountered it today when a far left type I know was claiming Labour was neo lib but neo libs don't put up tax or regulate employment law much etc.

 

[Joij21]

You are not very skilled in reading minds. Stick with your day job. I am retired and haven't been in the business of selling products for 20 years. I have nothing to sell or even any "information" to collect to sell to someone who does have something to sell.

We lump groups of people into generations because it makes it easier to talk/think about groups that have undergone similar life experiences. Such groupings certainly are not firm and not every one tagged as a Millennial or boomer or Zoomer has the same live experiences, but for many/most members of some group their experiences are more similar than trying to compare them to a different group. As a person with a relatively long set of life experiences that have encompassed serious changes across many aspects of life, I have seen marked changes that have had big impacts over time, as well as, events or actions that left little or no trace. My question and the purpose of this thread was to see how the current group of posters (most of whom can be tagged as Millennials) view themselves and how they might be both actively or even passively changing the world. It is a reflective question that takes a broader look than our usual narrowly focused threads. As is evident from the posts, 30-40 year olds do have thoughts on the issue. This thread is less about predicting the future as it is about observing changes that are often not immediately obvious.

By the time a person gets into their 30s lots of things are fairly well set and their outlook on their world is established (baring some major life or world event that changes it). Of course people change over time and they do so for many different reasons (children, wives, people dying, job changes, physical moves, local events, national events etc.). They may even change what they think is important in life. Nonetheless, social and cultural change happens and those changes are driven by groups of people from 20-40 years old. It may take a long time, but they do arrive. At the same time many of those over 50 are resisting the radical new thinking that is creeping into their "comfortable" existence. It is a losing game for those of us at the upper end of life.

Still not exactly helpful of a perspective. Perhaps rude even. Your response seems a bit riddled with ageism sprinkled with a tad of pushing others too hard to do what you want them to do.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Still not exactly helpful of a perspective. Perhaps rude even. Your response seems a bit riddled with ageism sprinkled with a tad of pushing others too hard to do what you want them to do.

Well then, you should just ignore it. Ageism is part of life. People change and adapt to those changes as they grow older. As people age, their perspective changes along with their goals and how they spend their time and energy. Evaluating the actions of those both older and younger than you is part of that process. The old die off and disappear; the young establish themselves only to age out of relevance as they to advance in years. I do think it is important for people to consider all the ways that their cohort in life has/is/will affect those around them.

I've hardly participated in this thread beyond starting it and have not been pushing anyone to do anything.