Ask Y

Demographer Hazel Reinhardt of Northwestern University says Generation Y is our best hope for the future. The daughters and sons of baby boomers, Generation Y includes those from ages 4 to 22. Reinhardt's studies show that this group likes to read, and they are earnest. They have a peculiar sense of humor, but they are not afraid of responsibility. And they care about the environment.

When I was a teenager, my parents used to look at me and say, "We just don't understand you." They didn't understand the value of songs such as "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" by The Beatles. To them it sounded like noise, and they referred to it condescendingly as yeah- yeah-yeah music.

And they were great parents. They made sure my brother and I got good grades, led a healthy social life and went to college. They were concerned about the length of our hair, the volume of our music and whether we were taking drugs. We knew that they loved us even though we drove them crazy at times.

But my parents, like my friends' parents, never asked us why we were so defiant in asserting our independence. Or, what we found valuable in the yeah-yeah-yeah music; or in the relationships we built with our friends.

There was a link missing between the loving parents and rebellious kids of the '60s and '70s. Some headline writer called it the Generation Gap and the name stuck. It was overanalyzed by the great minds of the time but I haven't heard that phrase used in years.

Now we have a promising new generation coming along. But what do we really know about them? And how do we keep from falling into the Generation Gap again?

Today's Perspective page presents the first report in a yearlong effort to better understand Generation Y. Editors at the newspaper have held several informal exchanges with Gen Y types over the past few months. Two weeks ago, we had our first formal meeting with a group who will guide us through the year.

The group is engaging, serious and funny. They talk openly about the things they value and what issues are important to them. They are articulate and can be disconcertingly direct. They are very much like the boomers who are their parents, yet very different in some of things they value.

We plan to find out more about these promising young people, and we promise to share it with you in the coming year.

Copyright 1999 Cowles Publishing Company
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