starMetro, sAruRDAy

Fl ECENILY, I've stumbled upon

ftf manv articles on Gen Y,
I \Milldnials, Echo Boomers

whatever you want

under 30 year olds
mainstream media.

to call those
in the

We are typically credited

as being disloyal, lazy, surgically attached to our phones as
well
as being self-indulgent.
ffiiiJJiil'"r"':ir:iildilt"."'"
Being a Gen-Y myself, I can
stomach all those generalisations, but
the one that really got my goat was a
write-up on the blog of an Australian,
radio station.

^,

It wrote that apparently not only

are we incredibly selfish, we also live

offour parents for almost everything.

The writer cites a study, which
notes that only a third of Australian
Gen Y rated their jobs as being'very
important" while 18- to 3g-year-olds

in the UK "expect" their parents to

cook and clean for them.
The ignoramus goes further to say
that these parents even lend financial
assistance for entertainment expens-

es or to pay off their child's phone

bills.

While the writer does not specifically state who commissioned these
studies, or gave any indication
on what the methodology used

it is rather disconcerting to see how people

attempt to categorise
our traits, hopes and
was,

ambitions

rather
incorrectly, I might add

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MAy

2013

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despite us being very

disparate individuals.
However, although I do appreciate
the need for stereotyping ater all, it
-

!s an important part of us trying to

break down the complexities of-the
world and life in general into bitesized pieces - there are oftentimes
that we get it wrong, and gives a bad
name to the individuals at hand.

For instance, I don't actually know

of anyone who "expect" their parents
to do chores for them, nor am I familiar with anybody who at this age

still

asks their parents for money to

watch a movie,or have a drink.

And

if the general election has

tion would tr have achieved after the

end ofthose years oflabour?
With no clearanswerin sightand no
real reason to stay, I left for greener
pastures. Gen Ywant a solid, long term

relationship with a company, but we

must also be certain that the organisation wants the same thing for us.

As Bruce Tulgan, co-author of

Mana$ng GenerationY puts it : "They're

very loyal. It's just not the kind of

blind loyalty you get in a kingdom
blind loyalty to the hierarchy.';

Myth #2:We are tech mvw.

No, actually, we are not. There are
many, many others out there who are
much more technologically inclined

it is that Gen y
are not as self-involved or apolitical as
we were made out to be.
So, I am hoping to debunk the many

., Take larry

monly typecast to be.

are both 40 and 57 years old respectively, as a case in point. There isilso

taught us anything

myths of what under-30s are com-

than us Gen-Y.
Page or Bill Gates, who

the brilliant Steve Jobs, who

passed

Myth #l: We are disloyal.

If I had a dollar for the number of
times I have heard this stereotype
being thrown about I would be a mil-

away at the age of 56.

I think what we are, though, is being
technologically dependent. There is a

lionaire.
We are not disloyal, we are simply

attached to our devices.

The Connected World Technolog
Reportby Cisco revealed that a third of

on the constant lookout for better

opportunities. And if a better prospect
comes by, logically, who wouldn't
snap it up?
I once had a boss that wanted me to
promise that I would dedicate the next
five years of my life to staying in the
company that I was then working at.
"Stay and you'll go far," he said. But
my question was, where would the
next five years take me? What posi-

'

difference

admittedly;

we

are

Australia's Gen Y crowd suffer with-

drawai symptoms when

separated

from their smartphones.

And it is true, we do love our gadg-

ets.

I am even guilty of texting

room.

t{.

activities and promoting positive corporate culture.

Employed adults between the ages
of 2'l to 35 prefer to work at companies that provide volunteering services, and tend to feel more loyal towards
organisations that offer ttiese opportunities.
An article in Bloomberg BuSinessweek

also notes that members of Gen y

have volunteered in their commun!
ties more so than any other genera-

tion in American history, aird

are

known to be the "most,civic-minded

generation since World War II".
But perhaps we shouldn't even be
termed as being a "generation" altogether.

Afterall, we're not just a category of

people, with stereotypical quirks, personalities and traitq.
We are more as Karen Foster, a

sociologist at Saint Mary's University

in Canada terms it, a "matter of
ideas", which shape, mould and grow
in response to various happenings in
society; be it the state of the economy, the fast'paced world of tectrnot-

ogy, or
politics.

the

ever-changing face of

my

housemates when they're in the'next

My!h- f3:
arc
selfish bunch.

But we'are not. In fact, according to

Deloitte's Volunteer lmpact Suitey,
there is an extremely stiong correlition between workplace volunteer

an increasingly

Joyce Au-Yong is a Malaysian who is a

relent Masters graduate the university

of Sydney, and rarcls in the many iois

(and idiosynrasies) that the city hds to
offer.