Norman Orsette
4/27/2009
Microserfs Paper
What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says what generation are you from? Most people don’t even know what generation they are from, and when you tell them what generation you are from they give you a dazed and confused look. I was born in 1990 and I am considered to be from the “First Digital”, “Echo Boom”, “Generation Y”, or “Millennial” generations. These are just four of the different names that represent the people born from 1981-1997. Even though these names are all different, they all represent the same group of people and even though all of them have a similar meaning they also have their own meaning.
First Digitals is one of the four titles given to the people born from 1981-1997. This title has the clearest meaning of the first kids to have grown up with an extensive amount of technology at their hands. According to Born Digital, a book written by John Palfrey and URS Gasser, “First Digitals are coming of age and our world will be reshaped in their image” (Impact…). The First Digital generation has been raised with the internet and digital media. The new up in coming workforce is the first to be raised on the internet and with digital media. Along with the text messaging, teleconferences, and many other technologies, the next generation is the best at multitasking and doing any source of work on the internet, you could say they are the most computers savvy.
Echo Boom is another of the many titles given to the generation from 81-97. This term is more thought to be recognized with the size of the generation more than anything, at 80 million strong the Echo Boomers are one of the largest generations ever recorded. Echo Boomers are also talked about when you talk about colleges and the effect they have on them. Echo Boomers socialize and work around the clock, “Today's students are less bound to the old-fashioned notions of what they have to do and when to do it,” says Ungar. “They have a different time clock and are staying up later at night” (Shaping…). To accommodate for this schools now have opened their libraries later and the University of Michigan Dearborn is open 24 hours during finals week. “The library should be a place where you feel comfortable enough to fall asleep, wake up, get a cup of coffee or tea and resume studying at any time,” says Ungar (Shaping…). Echo Boomers have made this transition to the 24 hour schedule possible for everyone, without them it seems like none of this would have happened.
Generation Y is the third generation on my list that is thought of as a cohort of individuals characterized as Generation X on steroids. This is also mostly recognized when you talk about the Internet, iPods, MySpace, and Facebook. This generation grew up with the internet and is the most technologically advanced generation so far. Generation Y has colleges going crazy with the increase in the student body, “College admissions offices, employers and marketing companies are going into a frenzy over Generation Y” (Understanding…).
The Millennials is the last generation on my list that is thought of as the generation of the new millennium. They are talked about more when talking about jobs and how they are taking over the job scene. “It's graduation time and once again we say ‘Stand back all bosses!’ A new breed of American worker is about to attack everything you hold sacred: from giving orders, to your starched white shirt and tie” (The…). CBS.com, the Washington post, and The New York Times all made comments about how the Millennials are now coming in and taking over the job market, becoming bosses and kicking out the Baby Boomers who are now pushing 50 years of age.
The Millennials, First Digitals, Echo Boomers, and Generation Yers are all for the babies born in the 1981-1997 era. All of these have something to do with technology, and all of these are recognized in the work place as more and more become part of companies to start a new era. There are events in history that every generation is known for remembering. There are many events that have happened in this generation’s time that will be remembered, “The fall of the Soviet Union and the First Gulf War serves as the midpoint and the 9/11 terrorist attacks as the endpoint. The current Iraq War is the war this generation will likely identify with along with other recent occurrences such as Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the Columbine High School shooting. Other important events include the death of Princess Diana, the return of Hong Kong to China, the O.J. Simpson trial, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Y2K, anthrax scares, the SARS epidemic and the avian flu” (Understanding…). I happen to remember only some of these events because I was born in 1990, and I believe the ones that I will remember the most are the Iraq war and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. These stick out the most because they were very recent and affected me emotionally as I think they did to everyone. Another thing that sticks out about this generation is the video gaming that a great majority of this generation does, the book Microserfs refers to this when the narrator , Daniel, says, “I want one of those keys you win in video games, that allows you to blast through walls and reach the next level-to get to *the other side*” (149).

Works Cited
1. Coupland, Douglas. Microserfs. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.
2. "Shaping Facilities and Business Decisions". American School and University. 4/27/09 .
3. "Understanding Generation Y". The OBerlin Review. 4/27/09 .
4. "Impact of the First Digital is becoming understood, studied". Presentense Group. 4/27/09 .
5. "The "Millennials" Are Coming". CBS News. 4/27/09 .