EYE on GEN Y – Is Gen Y “faux green?”

Posted by on Apr 12, 2012 in Generation Y, Marketing, Millennials | 0 comments

I want to plug an article by Joel Stein in Time Magazine (April 2, 2012) called: “It’s Easy Not Being Green:  Why Gen Y can’t be bothered to save the planet.”

Stein has some great one liners (I knew no one cared about the environment.  I knew it because people keep telling me how much they care about the environment.)

Stein refers to a study by San Diego State University professor Jean Twenge that states Gen Ys (30 and younger) are less likely than Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to cut down on driving and electric use.  True, Boomers (52-69) and Xers (31-51) are the two generations that care so much about the environment.  After all, Baby Boomers started the environmental movement.  Gen Xers made it practical … they stopped companies from testing cosmetic products on animals by refusing to buy those products.  And, Xers take their recycling seriously.

However, one generation’s strength does not have to become the cause that marks generations that follow.  History has a yin and yang rhythm that allows each generation to develop its own unique strengths and challenges.

Baby Boomers and Gen Xers deserve credit for raising awareness of environmental issues.  But, Gen Ys deserve credit for being stellar volunteers.  They’ve been volunteering since pre-K and throughout their young lives.  Tulane University has become a major force by tapping into this Gen Y characteristic.  TU requires a serious volunteer commitment from its undergraduate students before they can qualify for a degree, and Tulane is flooded with applications!

So, just read Stein for the humor (We own a Prius so producers I meet think I’m a caring person instead of a person who hasn’t sold a script for enough money to buy a Porsche.)  Or, read Stein for some insight into the Gen Y/Millennial mind.