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Oh those Millennials. Lots of links to articles about trends in youth culture brought on by the rising Millennial generation. Ross Fadner at MediaDailyNews reports on marketing to them, noting that there has been a drastic decline in TV viewership by young males. Georgia Pabst at The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and O. Ricardo Pimentel at The Arizona Republic both discuss the large group of second-generation Latinos among the Millennials. Allison McCook at Reuters and C.W. Nevius at SFGate.com both have something to say about their dating habits, which I won't even try to fathom. There's also a survey published recently by Harvard University's Institute of Politics, worth checking out. You can find an announcement and the findings linked from the main page; they are in PDF format. Posted by Steve Barrera at 3:10 PM
The red and the blue. Speaking of blogs and wars, I can't help but see a similarity between today's webloggers and the pamphleteers of the Revolutionary War era. Turns out I'm not the first to do so - this comparison has been made by Dan Bricklin on his web site, and by Emily Eakin, writing for the New York Times. I'd just like to add the thought that if the color schemes must match between the 1770s and the 2000s, then today's red zone bloggers are the Loyalists supporting King George, and today's blue zone bloggers are the Rebels, aided by France! Posted by Steve Barrera at 2:48 PM
The dark side. There are some disturbing signs of the Crisis era visible. Anti-war and anti-Bush protestors have, with some justification, claimed that their voices are being censored. In the perpetually furious blog wars and flamefests on the Internet, one often encounters folks on the right accusing those on the left of treason. This has ugly implications, should there be a Bush landslide in '04. Posted by Steve Barrera at 11:06 AM
The shape of things to come. According to the generations and turnings theory, the Unraveling era of the saecular cycle is a period of declining social order, in which people pursue individual needs with little concern for long-term consequences. Trust in institutions is low, and their failures just reinforce the public's desire to do without them. This is an era for postponing the inevitable, in which the bombing of an office tower results in no significant reaction. Eventually the generations age, and reach a point at which they are more receptive to a shift in social mood. An event occurs which is a catalyst for this tranformation, and the Crisis era begins. So, the obvious question is - was the attack on and destruction of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11/2001 just this catalyst event? We can hardly answer this question for certain while in the midst of living the aftermath. At best we can make note of what has changed and what hasn't since that fateful day. We might be in a Crisis era, because... There has been an increase in patriotic sentiment.We might be in an Unraveling era, because... Celebrities are prominent in the public eye; their crimes and personal problems often hog the headlines. Posted by Steve Barrera at 6:44 PM Executive Boomers. So far, the Boomer generation has given us two presidents, both of whom have attracted considerable derision from the opposing camp in the culture wars. The first was impeached by the other side, and the second is resented by the other side for having been elected without a popular majority. Together, they create the impression that their generation is not quite ready for national leadership. Don Erler, writing for the Star Telegram, contrasts their presidencies. In the article, Erler makes the point that Clinton's presidency was friendly to conservatives, with taxes cut and welfare reformed, while Bush has increased federal government responsibilities and imposed a tariff, which should be anathemas to Republicans. It is possible, however, that this difference has less to do with party politics and more to do with a social cycle driven by generational change. Posted by Steve Barrera at 5:17 PM
Recall election data. The Washington Post gives us a table of California recall election exit poll data to study. If you look at the row "Age (Age-65)" you'll see a good breakdown of the vote by age bracket. Some interesting points:
Posted by Steve Barrera at 10:43 PM
Generations and the California recall election. Sarcasm aside, the recall election is to a considerable degree a generational revolt. Gray Davis has the support mostly of his generation, the Silent, while Arnold Schwarzenegger owes his success to the disaffection of Generation X. The Mercury News describes a poll which indicates as much. It's among Californians like Sanders who are age 39 and younger that Davis is doing particularly poorly, with nearly two-thirds of voters in that age range wanting to recall him, according to the poll. He has a majority of support only among voters 65 and older. Posted by Steve Barrera at 8:38 PM
No, I don't write for the Onion. But I just couldn't resist authoring this satirical treatment of the CA recall election. Note the generational message.
Posted by Steve Barrera at 4:48 AM |
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| Lost | 104+ |
| G.I. | 80-104 |
| Silent | 62-80 |
| Boomer | 44-62 |
| Gen-X | 23-44 |
| Millennial | ?-23 |
| Homeland | ? |
| High | 1946-1964 |
| Awakening | 1964-1984 |
| Unraveling | 1984-? |
| Crisis | ?- |
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Where noted, background information on generations theory is copyright 1996 Broadway Books. All other content on this web site is copyright 2002-2005 Generation Watch and Steve Barrera. All rights reserved. |