Ms. Palmer:
That I would take the time to write you about such a trivial matter reinforces all sorts of negative stereotypes of my generation, I’m afraid. Yet I feel compelled to correct the historical record, as it is increasingly limited to that which appears on the first page of Google search results.
In your articles in U.S. News & World Report, you have in the past referred to my generation as “Generation Y.” I believe the terminology is at best uncreative, and at worst incorrect. I ask you to consider my argument below, and perhaps change your terminology going forward. Forgive my self-importance.
My generation, roughly comprised of people born after 1980 and before 2001, should be referenced by the term that has gained increasing momentum throughout the last decade: “Millennial.” We came of age during the first decades of the new millennium, and our experience/comfort with new technologies has defined a type of human reliance on digital machines that will extend well into the future. That such developments are associated with the turn of the new century bolsters the arguments that we should be linguistically connected with these developments.
The term “Millennial” is one people my age often use to reference one another, yet older individuals still insist on using the term “Generation Y.” That denotation has always annoyed me, because it (a) sounds as though it were designed to be a temporary label, (b) defines my age group in relation to the one before it—Generation X—which has been widely derided for a whole variety of reasons, (c) it denies the fact that people of this demographic have already proven themselves to be fantastically creative entrepreneurial forces, and (d) belittles the very serious problems we must address, and which we have inflicted on ourselves.
Indeed, the alternatives just don’t fit. Generation Y says so little about us; it’s often wielded by people who don’t understand our situation. Generation Next was a marketing campaign, utilized by the same soft drink companies responsible for fattening my peers up. Generation Net refers to only one element of our existence, important though it might be. Only “Millennial Generation” truly captures the full range of issues with which we’re confronted at this stage in history, while simultaneously pinpointing our place in the historical timeline.
I cite Wikipedia here solely because the included references are legit. Please forgive me for such stereotypically lazy research work here. I am, after all, a Millennial.
Generation Y
Note how the first use of “Generation Y” was first used to denote people born as early as 1974. These people were WELL into adulthood by the time the two-thousand-aughts rolled around. Also, look into the book discussed in this entry: Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, by William Strauss and Neil Howe, which use the start year as 1982 and end year of the generation as 2001.
I urge you to be a part of the solution. Thanks so much for your tolerance and attention.
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