Generational Blur!

It just occurred to me that, at this very moment, four generations are living together on this planet for the very first time in history.

There’s our parent’s generation who – for us – are between the ages of 65 and 81…then their kids, ranging from 39 to 55, their grandkids, who fall between 10 and 27 – and the brand new, up and coming generation of great grandkids! These aren’t statistically accurate numbers – this REALLY is my family!

Ad industry researchers who are trying to capture market share based on an unprecedented range of demographics, must be struggling with this cornucopia of ages and attitudes: the hip grandma listening to her ipod and playing wii, the techno-savvy teen who can communicate with his entire football team, then pay his cell phone bill faster than I can lick a stamp, let alone write a cheque; the 40-something boomer who has just discovered the joy of shopping on line and the global-mined millennial whose BFF lives half way around the world! How do you sell a product or service to the greatest common denominator in this new world? This whole technological revolution that’s slammed down, smack in the middle of multi-generational planet sharing sure makes it hard for advertisers to stereotype their buyers! You know – the traditional senior citizens sitting on the porch swing…NOT! Or the irresponsible slacking, skateboarding Gen X-er! I don’t think so!!! Who knows how to appeal to all of these folks? What is Nintendo’s target audience? How about BMW’s? Even McDonalds? I think you’d be surprised…and on many days – so are they! There are no typical profiles anymore – unless you are marketing denture cream and depends – or pampers and pull ups! – And even then, the age range has broadened - with new moms sitting between the ages of 18 and 47 – the widest span EVER! Some may even go FROM the pampers to depends market!

The only thing I know for sure is that the 2 – YES 2 - generations younger than mine are way more efficient with their time, globally connected, financially astute, spiritually tuned in and environmentally conscious than anyone who came before them…Sure employers have to work harder to keep them – why wouldn’t they? Sure they feel “entitled” – why shouldn’t they? We really can’t condemn a generation of young people who got off their hind quarters and revolutionized the way we communicate, do business, travel, take care of ourselves and of our planet, pay bills, manage time and indulge our senses! So many boomers claim that the younger folks are lazy…they don’t pick up the phone and call people, they don’t “pound the pavement” looking for work, or strive to climb the corporate ladder in a vertical direction…That’s because they’ve figured out how to work smarter, not harder! They don’t see 12 hour days at the office and stress-related ailments as a measure of self worth or “success”. Funny thing is…the critics who persecute the younger generations still own a VHS machine with the clock flashing, can’t program their blackberry, download songs onto their ipod or create a contact and distribution list to save their lives! Are THEY lazy? Didn’t they “bother” to learn that stuff?

Isn’t “lazy” a relative term? I think a few gen x-ers and millennials would be appalled at the state of their older critic’s inbox, or disappointed by the boomers inattentiveness when it comes to looking after their soul rather than their pocketbook. It’s all about perspective and generations collide with varying perspectives all the time, but the divisive lines are starting to blur and the barriers are starting to come down, as we see greater understanding, tolerance, even acceptance of a young, hip gen-Xer taking charge of our virtual boardrooms! For those who can’t understand, tolerate or accept all that the next generations have to offer – get ready to be TWITTERED out of existence! With much greater power than the printing press, we are ushering in a new brand of communication where the people not only control the message, but can respond to the message with real time immediacy! Someone said of the “Twitter revolution” – it’s a “democratization of mass media”…I say – hop on the train folks – because it’ll leave the station without you – and this isn’t the coal powered locomotive of grandpa’s generation, but the new bullet train…engineered by…you guessed it….a 30 something X-er! And the railway line? Oh – you get the analogy….