Pettus 1

Christal Pettus
Deanna Nall
Composition 1
9 October 2014
The Millennials
Every person belongs to a generation and you associate yourselves with a particular set of
people usually based on age such as Baby Boomers from 1946 to 1964, Generation X from
1965 to 1979, and Millennials from 1980 to 2000 (Smola 364). My parents, separated by two
years, are both considered Baby Boomers, and my sister and I, also separated by two years are
both considered Millennials. Generation X separates our generations, and as you can assume
there are many differences between the two: Baby Boomers experienced the immense
development of the economy and education (Kupperschmidt 4).
There is a significant difference between the childhoods of the two generations.
According to researchers, Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais in their book, Millennial
Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the future of American politics, one breadwinner supported
many of the Baby Boomer households: the men worked, while many of the women stayed
home, and that a majority of adults were married (Winograd 69). They also state that, during
the 1950s only a third of all women, and a quarter of married women, participated in the labor
force (Winograd 69). The Millennials however, had some differences. The average marrying
age began to decline after constantly rising for over thirty years, at the age of twenty-seven
(Winograd 71). The same researchers made Millennials the first to experience co-parenting in
the household; The Millennial Generation became the first one to experience the concept of co-

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parenting, with both fathers and mother playing an equal role in their childrens upbringing
(Winograd 71).
Throughout all generations where television was available, there have been television
shows that depict a particular generation as throughout their childhood into adulthood. Even
though, these programs are fictional and usually funny, they are very accurate portrayals of the
generation it is mimicking. Winograd and Hais, believe the show I Love Lucy and The Cosby
Show represents Baby Boomers and Millennials respectively. Both shows very different,
for one, I Love Lucy is in black and white, and The Cosby Show is in color. The researchers
explain the character of Lucy attempts and desires to work and then later realizing her true role at
home was common during the Baby Boomers era, he states, Perhaps no sitcom captured the
complete texture of the America into which Baby Boomers were born better than I Love Lucy.
The prevailing wisdom about the place of womens place in society was portrayed by Lucy
Ricardos consistently foolish attempts to enter the workplace (such as the iconic inability of
Lucy and her best friend, Ethel Mertz, to keep up with a chocolate candy factory assembly line),
and the recognition at the end of each episode that Lucys true role is that of a house maker
(Winograd 72).
The Cosby Show is a representation of the Millennial Generation, focusing on more
of the childhood aspects as opposed to the adulthood aspects like in I Love Lucy, where there
were no children. The show demonstrates two parents, Clair and Cliff, balancing raising their
children while having a job, the authors say, Although Cliff and Clair have high-powered,
demanding professional careers, they both devote a lot of time and attention to their children
(Winograd 77).

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The dynamic between the parents and the children is also different in these generations and the
television shows. Throughout the Baby Boomer-era, parents were seen, as the parental figure
only and there was a different thought- process about the roles of the mother and father. Fathers
were seen as the head of the family or boss, used for advice-type situations, Dad was clearly
the boss of the familya wise if somewhat distant figure to whom the kids turned for advice
(Winograd 72); however, mothers were more compassionate; Mom provided comfort, care, and
compassion (Winograd 72). During the Millennial-era, parents had not necessarily a closer
relationship with their children, but they were not considered just parents, but develop a
relationship that is very similar to a friendship, while keeping a parent-like respectful
relationship as well. The authors say, The parents have clear beliefs and set the standards for
family behavior, but they are friends of their children rather than the somewhat distant authority
figures of the Baby Boomers (Winograd 77).
Millennials are more likely to continue living at home with their parents for longer. A
study conducted by Statistics Canada in 2011, in article, Generation Y stays at home; 'much
better off'; Delaying marriage and kids, StatsCan says evaluated the percentage of Baby
Boomers who lived at home during their twenties, and the Millennials who currently still live
at home in their twenties, while employed. The studies showed that 51 percent of Millennials
still live with their parents, and twenty-eight percent of Baby Boomers continued to live at
home during the age period, (Abma n.pag). The deputy chief economist of CIBC World Markets,
Benjamin Tal, concluded that these results show the economic mind-set of the two generations,
stating that Millennials continue to live at home to save money and are more financially
savvy (qtd. Abma n.pag). This coincides with the notion that Baby Boomers prefer to spend
rather than save (Kupperschmidt 4), because many move out of the household early.

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Every generation is different from each other and there are both negative and positive
characteristics of every generation. It appears that mostly the negative aspects are associated with
Millennials. However, our generation has learned from the mistakes of our parents and
grandparents generations and has improved the community that the latest three generations live
inBaby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials, an most if not all of our actions and
decisions reflect on the teachings and mistakes of the previous generations. In the article, The
kids of Gen Y really are all right, the author Jane Fynes-Clinton says, They are also doing
what the generations before have not always done: learning from the mistakes of their parents
(Fynes-Clinton n.pag). She continues to say specifically about Millennials They are the
product of our handiwork, after all: we have told them from the start they can achieve anything
they set their minds to, that they should live a balanced life, to not let their job jeopardize their
ultimate happiness and that education is the key to success (Fynes-Clinton n.pag).

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Works Cited

Abma, Derek. "Generation Y Stays at Home; 'much Better Off'; Delaying Marriage and Kids,
StatdCan Says." The Gazette [Montreal] 13 July 2011, Final Edition ed.: A12. LexisNexis
Academic. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. .
Fynes-Clinton, Jane. "The Kids of Gen Y Really Are All Right." The Courier Mail [Australia] 15
Mar. 2012: 36. LexisNexis Academic &ump; Library Solutions. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. .
Kupperschmidt, Betty R. "Multigeneration Employees: Strategies for Effective Management."
Health Care Manager 19 (2000): 65-79. OvidSP. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .
Smola, Karen Wey, and Charlotte D. Sutton. "Generational Difference: Revisiting Generational
Work Values for the New Millennium." Journal of Organizational Behavior 23 (2002): 363-82.
JSTOR. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .
Winograd, Morley, and Michael D. Hais. Millennial Makeover [electronic Resource] : MySpace,
YouTube, and the Future of American Politics. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2008. DiscoverE.
Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .