Each generation defines itself not only by its politics, pop culture, fashions, slang and innovation. From the white picket fences of the mid-50s to the McMansions of the early 2000s, the striving and successful created the ideal aspirations that served as the benchmarks of achievement for their eras. So what is the American Dream for the Gen-Y/Millennial crowd?
The recession seems to have shifted the focus away from material possessions to personal fulfillment. Where once a loft decked out in the latest desirables from the IKEA catalog (circa the beginning of Fight Club at the turn of the century) would have been a noble goal, Millennials have warmed to the idea of boomeranging back to Mom and Dad. A new car may have been the symbol that one had arrived during the Dot Com Boom, but now it’s based around Facebook and Twitter friends.
The collapse of the housing market has made many wary of obtaining their own homes. Soaring unemployment rates have made job whoring to pay the bills socially acceptable. Digital communication has forever changed the way that people interact. And the American Dream, once a tangible obsession with material things, has undergone a metamorphosis.
Millennials aren’t looking for solace in the same things that their parents, grandparents, and even older siblings had. Instead of focusing on the external, the dream for Generation Y is internal. Though it’s still developing, their American Dream, their hopes and aspirations, are more personal. Concerns about keeping up with the Joneses are mitigated – it’s all about personal definitions.
And those definitions might lead this generation into a dream that no one has ever had before.
I loved this post – I almost am tempted to print it out and mail it to my father (another example of the digital divide between generations…) The dream has certainly evolved in ways I believe no one expected – particularly with regard to careers. I think that job whoring is an interesting way to put the experience – but you’re absolutely right. I really loved this post
I used to think objects showed progress…and now I’m not even in love with the objects! If I got rid of objects I didn’t really want and kept others, the things I would keep would have to do with people. So for example, I’d keep my Wii because playing games with friends or my mom is a blast! People and relationships are important to me now. I’m someone who changes my surroundings so much that I need a network of people, and social media is the heart pumping all those relationships.
Love it. I am currently teaching “The Great Gatsby” to a class of 10th graders who don’t really own the idea of the American Dream in it’s traditional sense. Maybe this will help bring it up to speed for a class of Millenials that are pretty far removed from the white picket fences and self-made men of earlier generations.
I agree on most cases. However I also look at 75% of the Millenials I know scrambling for the newest i-anythings and music players and techie toys. My friend recent pulled out a Razr (ugh…SOOO 2007!) and was immediately shunned.
I’d say that the American Dream for Millenials is to BELONG. So though we may not be “keeping up with the Joneses” if something will help us to stay in with the in-crowd, we’re probably going to do/buy it. We just have our own definitions and comfort levels with what the “in-crowd” is.