Are we a useless generation?

by Brandon on 17 August 2011 16:53

I was talking to some older people in their late 40's or so that suggest Gen-Y have nothing to offer in this world? I came across graduate-jobs.com blog article about Gen-Y and it got me thinking - what is it we have to offer this world? I guess from the recent riots, many look down upon Gen-Y so I am interested to know what everyone else thinks!?

by Andrew Williams on 01 July 2014 19:40

No more useless than any other generation. Comparisons are always tricky things because every generation has a different set of circumstances. No previous generation has had the same level of internet connectivity, or experienced growing up with social media. Very few people used to carry a camera on them all the time - these days, almost everyone has one in their pocket and can upload their pictures instantly.

Society is becoming ever more efficient and automated, however. There's less traditional work available. These days, content creation and social skills are more important, because that's the sort of stuff computers can't do... yet. And that means the loss of many traditional jobs.

Our careers are more fluid than they used to be. The concept of a job for life is virtually dead; you could easily have a dozen jobs in your lifetime, and probably more. Perhaps that's part of the problem. We're not easily defined any more as plumbers or carpenters or writers or whatever - in a few years, we'll be doing something different. And for older people, for whom their job was a crucial part of their identity, this suggests we don't really do anything.