(via the lovely Melle)
A GenX call to arms against Millenials.
One need look no further than the local newsstand to see the favoritism the Millennials have received. Whereas Generation X was routinely denigrated by the press, the Millennials have been compared to World War II’s Greatest Generation. In Robert Strauss and Neil Howe’s Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, the authors state authoritatively that “over the next decade, the Millennial Generation will entirely recast the image of youth from downbeat and alienated to upbeat and engaged.”
Sure, Generation X survived AIDS, Reagan, the Cold War, Tipper Gore, and A Flock of Seagulls, but those adversities, suggest Strauss and Howe, pale in comparison to what Millennials face today. Consider the stress of having to juggle a 30-hour work week while simultaneously maintaining Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr accounts. It’s enough to make your head spin! And maybe the Millennials never faced Hitler’s forces on the beaches of Normandy, but had they been around in 1944 (and had the technology existed), you can bet they would have blogged about it.
This is excellent! One thing that is particularly noticeable right now is how many discounts there are for 29-and-unders to attend any arts event. Gen X paid full price, because the boomers weren’t retiring yet and organizations weren’t as freaked out about dwindling audiences. then there’s Teen Vogue, Elle Girl, etc. — an entire focus on youth culture that was almost entirely absent in the 80s/90s when all marketing and culture was still dominated by the boomers, then at their spending peak.