Adding a wooden spoon.......... Who are generation Y?
In comparison to the 1960's surely this so called generation Y is a global phenomenon Why should it be about USA ........ ironically, planet earth can easily do without the the US.....! martin. On 8 Jan 2011, at 13:03, Simon Biggs wrote: > I'll stir the pot a little. ;) > > The call below is built on good intentions and it's great that a sense of > identity, built around shared experiences, might be emerging amongst a > generation. However, remembering what roads to difficult places are often > paved with, a couple of points. > > I am a middle-aged parent and remember well being a young person in the > early 1970's when unemployment (in Australia, but elsewhere too) was at its > highest levels since the great depression. Those levels have not been seen > since amongst most OECD nations (Spain and Greece currently have higher > levels, at around 20%). I was technically unemployed for the first ten years > of my adult life and that experience instilled the value of sharing > (communal living). Generation Y might find a lot of empathic middle-aged > people out there who have memories of sharing experiences similar to their > own. The neo-liberals are a group to which most people, of any generation, > do not belong and are generally hostile to. > > The advent of online communications is not something generation Y can claim > to itself. Generation X also had a lot to do with these developments, as did > the generations before that. Internet use across different age groups is > pervasive. It's good to share - with all... > > Why restrict this call to such a US centric context? What about the other > 95% of the world's population? > > Best > > Simon > > > On 08/01/2011 11:41, "info" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> I know many on the list may feel that this project isolates anyone 30 >> upwards, and yes - calling this mentioned 'demographic blah blah' "old >> people", is bordering on the offensive. Especially when we all know that >> younger people are just as likely to be 'old' in spirit and imagination, >> in contrast others who are older yet offer a kind of youthful agility >> via their own various, perspectives and creative endeavours. But, the >> context of this project does communicate a cultural sensibility which I >> feel is significant in respect of how Neoliberalist ideology is >> reshaping, socially constructing and re-engineering a whole generation, >> and research around these issues are important; whatever processes >> introduced. So, because of this I thought it a good idea to post it to >> the list. >> >> Wishing you all well. >> >> marc >> >> (from the P2P Foundation email list) >> >> ---------------------- >> >> Dear Commoners & P2P community, >> >> Below my signature is Shareable's call for pitches and submissions >> to an anthology we're putting together that's a how-to survive by sharing >> and making handbook for Gen-Y. >> >> We imagine an anthology written by Gen-Y for Gen-Y. Much has been >> written about this generation, but we want to give them a chance to tell >> their >> story, and to help their peers re-imagine the present and future as an >> opportunity for vastly more meaningful and constructive lives and world >> that what they may think lies before them. It will be a combination of >> analysis and how-to. >> >> Please forward this call to other individuals and forums. And we welcome >> your feedback and suggestions about our call. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Neal Gorenflo >> Publisher, Shareable.net >> >> -- >> >> Share or Die, Youth in Recession Call for Submissions: >> http://www.shareable.net/blog/share-or-die-youth-in-recession-call-for-submiss >> ions >> >> Contemporary American 20-somethings face a disorienting set of >> conditions. While only a few years ago pundits worried about the “me” >> generation, children raised in material abundance and cultural >> vacuity, even college-educated young people have come to face to face >> with hardship: >> >> - 85 percent of graduates move home with their parents (Twentysomething >> Inc.) >> - Official unemployment - a notoriously underestimating measure of a >> population’s immiseration hovers around 15 percent for young >> Americans, one-third higher than the overall population’s rate. >> (Bureau of Labor Statistics) >> - Self-employment, which is almost always precarious, shot up 27 >> percent between 1995 and 2005. With employers hiring fewer and fewer >> new employees, long-term secure employment is unrealistic for many >> young people. (BLS) >> - Youth has become such a material hardships that, for the first time >> ever, today’s college graduates face the same level of unemployment as >> the general population. (BLS) >> >> Just when young Americans seem to need advice the most, the older >> generation is least able to provide it. Having lived through >> post-World War II prosperity, most middle-aged parents have never >> experienced a job market this bad. For this generation of young adults >> - “Y” or “millennial” or what have you - the future is hazy and the >> present isn’t much clearer. >> >> At the same time, America’s young adults are well-educated and >> resourceful. They have spear-headed the rise of online communications >> technology, and lines of commonality that seemed impossible to draw a >> generation ago are only a click away. For all the drawbacks of social >> media (and it certainly has its share), it is a powerful force and a >> resource an otherwise poor generation can largely call its own. The >> current crisis presents a series of opportunities to break with what’s >> broken and build communities that are more self-reliant, sustainable, >> and democratic. We’re in the midst of a forced redefinition of our >> values, where “the good life” will be more about relationships and >> experiences than possessions and titles. >> >> A confluence of economic and social factors have composed a generation >> we do not understand - thus the now-iconic NY Times Magazine headline >> “What Is It About 20-Somethings?” Traditional forms of social >> organization (at the workplace, young nuclear families) are on the >> decline, while new forms develop in their wake. This shift presents a >> host of hardships, but an equal number of possibilities for young >> people to change the world we have been given. >> >> Its with all this in mind that we begin the Share Or Die project. Over >> the next few months, I will be collecting and editing an eBook about >> youth in recession for Shareable, and I need your help. Just as no one >> person experiences as a generation, no one person could write this >> collection. Rather than keep to the circle of established professional >> writers (a category that includes few young people), we decided to >> present an open call to our readers and their wider communities. >> >> Here’s what we’re looking for: >> >> Stories from the front lines: What is it like to try and get by in >> America as a young person these days? What is it like to try and do >> more? We’re not looking for simple stories of triumph or catastrophe, >> but productive struggle. There may not be easy solutions, but there >> are tactics and strategies, and we want to hear yours. These can be >> advice from experience (e.g. “What not to do as a freelancer”) or >> stories without an easy lesson. >> >> DIY How-to’s: If we can’t afford to buy stuff, we’re going to have to >> do a lot more making, repairing, and sharing. Share Or Die is supposed >> to be a useful guide for young people, so this section is going to be >> the core of the collection. These are practical tutorials, but they >> can be as material as building a backyard herb garden or as immaterial >> as starting a band. We’re concerned with the big stuff here: housing, >> transportation, food, relationships, non-traditional forms of work, >> travel, that kind of thing. >> >> Analysis: Young people get our lives explained to us by a lot of >> publications, now it’s our turn. How are we to understand our >> generational situation, and how can we use our common resources to >> improve it? We’re looking for ideas outside the traditional >> government-non-profit axis and beyond any partisan program. Possible >> topics include: youth and technology, common space, sharing and >> property, the contemporary workplace. >> >> Art: Although it’s a prose-centric project, Share Or Die would be >> incomplete without art. We’re hoping to include some cartoons, graphic >> art, and illustrations that address the above themes. We’ll look at >> graphics with or without pieces of writing, but combined is probably >> best. If you’re an artist or graphic designer interested in working on >> the project but without any particular idea, send some samples of your >> work anyway and we’ll see what we can think up. Cool (and relevant) >> data visualizations are especially welcome. >> >> We’ll be accepting pitches and completed pieces (1,000-3,000 words) >> during the month of January. Writers and artists from traditionally >> underrepresented communities are particularly encouraged to submit. >> Although youth is a perspective rather than a number, we’re >> predominantly trying to showcase writers in their twenties; old people >> with lots of great ideas about how young people should live are >> discouraged from submitting. We’ll be paying for selected pieces at >> average non-profit publication rates - not mind-blowing, but we know >> even writers and designers need to eat every once in a while. For >> legal reasons, we can’t accept already published material unless it >> was published under an open license (e.g. Creative Commons). Send >> questions as well as submissions and pitches, along with links to a >> sample or two and your online presence in any and all public forms you >> choose (Twitter, blog, tumblr, etc.) to [email protected]. >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > > > Simon Biggs > [email protected] > http://www.littlepig.org.uk/ > > [email protected] > http://www.elmcip.net/ > http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ > > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
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