Where Generation Y Is Headed

Should Generation Y stay and help rebuild Michigan? Why should they. Prior generations failed to succeed in creating a prospering state, leaving young natives with a huge, unfair burden on them. While the boomers and Generation X enjoyed the luxury of a booming auto industry, failure to stay up to current trends has left the next generation with nothing but broken down buildings, and one of the worst economies in the nation. Perhaps some ultra motivated entrepreneurs will have a go at the rebuilding of the state, but it is not a burden Generation Y should be forced or expected to carry. My friend Joe just graduated from Oakland University with Bachelors in accounting. What happened then? He works for a debt collecting firm where he sits at a desk and calls old people asking them for money they don’t have (and makes less then what I do waitressing). Joe hates his job and has told me numerous times that he has to leave the state if he wants to get a good job. I said to Joe, “DO IT.” Michigan needs help. No doubt. But it should not be at the expense of future generations.

Agree with you completely. You made your bed now lay it in. Why is it my job to clean up the mess you made? Your short sighted thinking created this mess, you reaped the profits and I get the bill when all is said and done, GREAT DEAL!

I have lived other places and all have been better than Michigan. If the state is not serious about retaining you then why stay?

Only half of the graduates leave? While that sounds high, my perception was that this number was much higher. An interesting pivot of this data would be looking at what majors are more apt to leave. My guess is that graduates with science, technology, or business degrees leave in much higher percentages than the rest. If you have the numbers, please post them.

I always thought old folks made up "Generation Why?" to make fun of our generation. They think we are lazy. Why do I have to work? Why do I have to do this? I went to school so why am I not making money? At least that's what I've always heard. "Entitlement generation," is another favorite of mine.

I left for CA and it was the best choice I ever made. All positives and no negatives. Great weather, smooth roads and an actual young professionals crowd? Weird and awesome at the same time!
Married and kids before 30, why?

I hate when people keep perpetuating the name of this generation as "Generation Y." Generation X is not etymologically derived from "Baby Boomers," there's no reason to do the same for the current generation. "The Millennials" tends to be the going term.

It's true that young adults today deserve to be considered in their own right, but I think there are multiple meanings behind the "Generation Y" idea. Firstly, people reaching adulthood today were becoming teenagers when Gen X created important music and movies: Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead, Tool, Bill Hicks, Fight Club, etc. We have been heavily influenced by that.

In other words, we are related to Generation X as a sort of continuation (these "generations" are merely compromises anyway, used as a short cut to describe changes in society). But instead of being defined by sarcasm and angst, I think Gen Y will be more defined by the questions we raise about the world, the way it works, and how we can improve it. So it's a double meaning... Y can mean "Why," as in "Generation Why?"

"The Millennials" doesn't have the same weight.

We may be able to *invent* "multiple meanings behind" the label Generation Y, but the fact is that they are simply that: inventions. The label was simply used as shorthand to refer to "That Generation Consequent to Generation X." Generation X is just as "related" to the Baby Boomer generation that preceded them as "GenY" is related to X.

"Generation Why" as a meaning would not have even been thought of without the arbitrary "Generation Y" being thought of first. This generation of young people is not any more defined by "questions raised about the world" than previous ones.

So on the contrary, "Generation Y" has zero weight. I'm not particularly partial to the label "The Millennials," but at least this moniker references a generation raised in the turning of a century, which can imply all the new technology and such. One of the defining points about this generation is that it is the first generation where cell phones and home computers are standard, which is obviously much more significant.

I don't care what label is used, it doesn't have to be "Millennials." But let's stop perpetuating the shorthand "Gen Y" as if it had some kind of significant thought behind it.

Either name is an invention. If the Millennials refers to those who become adults after the year 2000, that is in no way more appropriate than Generation Y referring to the same people becoming adults after Generation X (a term that is ubiquitous enough to be understood).

The meaning or significance of either is not invented -- it's INTERPRETED. Unless you're suggesting that it's inappropriate or impossible for us to summarize how young adults today are different than those who came before them.

Technology is a standard today, but unless you INTERPRET what that means for us as a society, the term Millennials is still an empty label. I'm not a huge fan of any such labels (like genres in music that don't really describe anything), but I also don't buy your argument.

And you're arguing on a website that used the term "Generation Y" for a very specific purpose, with two meanings. WHY would the current generation of young adults (i.e. Generation Y) stay in, leave, or move to Michigan?

That doesn't mean it's the only term that can be used, but it was the most fitting here. No one is trying to be all-encompassing, and I would argue that smaller cohorts can be described by other generational names (for example, I identify with the "Nintendo Generation").

If you don't like "Generation Y," start building a better defense for another term, Millennials or whatnot. Perhaps you'd like to submit a guest essay to make the argument: http://generationymichigan.org/guest-essay-subm...

UPDATE: I think this generation is asking different types of questions, and it does add to who we are. To name a few: Why get married/have kids as young as some of our parents did? Why drive a car when I can live in a place with better mass transit? Why send things to a landfill that can be recycled or composted? Why settle for anything that seems incomplete instead of wandering, learning and discovering?

Like I said, I have no stock whatsoever in the term "Millennials," either. And of course there are the subsets such as the "MTV generation" and such.

But the fact still stands that the name "Generation Y" was used simply as shorthand to mean "The Generation Subsequent to Generation X," and has absolutely no meaning other than that whatsoever.

If the name of this site is using the label GenY to mean "WHY are people leaving Michigan," then that is not an interpretation of the name GenY but rather simply a *pun* on the name. (I like puns, by the way, so that's not a bad thing ;-).)

The label "Millennials" falls victim to the same point: the moniker only reflects a generation that hovers around the shift into a new millennium. My only point was that at least this label can perhaps convey the dramatic shift in the informational-technology revolution that accompanied this timeframe. But I'm not particularly partial to that label, either though =).

Perhaps rather than writing a suggestion for an alternative name, I will submit a prescription as to the need for sociologists to promote a better name ;-). I'm not a sociologist (I'm a senior majoring in philosophy, hoping to do graduate study in political or social philosophy). However, I definitely feel a legitimate case can be made as to the need for us to not use "GenY," ;-).

Regarding your UPDATE: Perhaps "Generation Why," then, would be the better term ;-D. But I think it is fair to say that many generations would fit the similar scenario of questioning the status quo of the previous generation, just in different circumstances---wouldn't you?

Maybe a better case would be to argue against the use of any term, since it allows laziness in the media, misconceptions in the public, and philosophical arguments on website comment forums.

Or even better... an exploration of why we're so inclined to describe an entire generation using a single title and not just "young adults" or "those born in the '80s."

Agreed =D.

I'm a Michigan State University alumnus and first experienced this phenomena when I graduated in 1995. Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Michigan was literally a breath of fresh air (except when they fertilized the fields in the Spring). While I could do my share of complaining, there was a lot about living in the state that I didn’t take for granted like many of my peers (e.g., cheap cost of living, access to nature, low crime, being able to see the stars at night, solitude if you wanted it, slower pace of living, etc.). But, and I heard this time and again, almost everyone from Michigan couldn’t wait to get out of the state after graduation. And it seemed like 99% of the time, Chicago was the destination. A “big city” lifestyle simply can’t be had in the state of Michigan—sorry Detroit and Grand Rapids. Of course, most New Yorkers would laugh at calling Chicago a “big city,” but they leave Ann Arbor after graduation and never return, so they’re opinion doesn’t mean much. The thing is, and I still see this today, a lot of these kids do come home. Eventually, the noise, the pollution, the crime, the taxes, the idea of paying $250K for a tiny condo when you could have a home on an acre in Michigan just doesn’t make sense to a person with his/her head on straight. Sure, I went back to Chicago after a year in Royal Oak and bought a home just outside the city limits, started a family and a business, but I never forgot about Michigan. In fact, I moved my family and business back to the state in 2006. The sandy beaches, the Verve Pipe, Bell’s Beer, Bilbo’s Pizza, the Red Wings, El Azteco, The Ark and all of the State Theaters hold a special place in my and my Detroit-raised wife’s heart. We, as a state, do need to exercise some tough love because rednecks, fundamentalists and anti govt. crazies seem to define us outside our borders, but thoughtful development, sustainable growth, an appreciation of the arts, stewardship of the environment and a value for family and community can make Michigan something special in the Midwest. Communities like Kalamazoo that refuse to go gently into that good night can be the standard-bearers of the new Michigan. The Boulder of the Midwest? The Madison of Michigan? Maybe not yet, but my family has found that our new city craves and values involvement. And I know that Kzoo isn’t unique in this regard. If you stay in Michigan—or come back to it— you matter, you can make a difference and you can make a hell of home for yourself.