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[A potpourri of cultural observations, thoughts & trends]
THE MILLENNIALS ARE MOVIN' IN
Born after 1980, members of the Millennial Generation have either just entered college or soon will. A study commissioned by Colgate University has revealed some characteristics of that generation and differences between members of the Millennials and other generations.
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UNEXPECTED RESULTS
Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible is not a book about God-fearing men and women who made the world a better place. Instead, it is a book about real people, which is to say people who lie, cheat and kill just about as often as they love, heal and give birth. . . . It is a much safer bet to approach the Bible as a book about a moral God than as a book about moral human beings, and even then it may be necessary to adjust one’s working definition of ‘moral.’
—Barbara Brown Taylor, professor, in Circuit Rider, January/February 1999 |
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In summary, here are a few observations about Millennials gleaned from that study by Lee Svete, director of career services:
- Their heroes are part of their everyday lives: a parent, a teacher, a grandfather who never missed a football game they were in.
- They are always on the go and tend to overcommit.
- They expect speedy decisions and quick answers to questions.
- They may expect the same types of services and resources they have in college to be with them as they transition to a career, thus making that transition difficult.
- They desire to live near home, or to move to an area where friends have already moved.
- While more likely to follow political concerns than the previous generation, they are not going to be aligned with any particular party.
- Their main fault may be that they tend to take the good life for granted, partly because their parents have been deeply involved in most aspects of their lives.
- They see college as an extension of parental love and support.
- They have little understanding of world war.
- They expect college staff to display expertise, model effective technique, stress motivation, invest in their outcome and celebrate their victories.
- They value security and safety.
- They become overwhelmed with information: “Don’t stuff my mailbox, just send me an e-mail.”
—Adapted from National On-Campus Report, April 1, 1999.
THAT STINKS!
People are spending less time in housework than ever before. But now nearly every big manufacturer of cleaning products has added a line of scented candles.
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PASS THE CHECKBOOK, PLEASE
This past year, the average college student spent $152 a month on non-essential items; of that amount, $68 went to clothing, while $18 went to school supplies.
—American Demographics, August 1999. |
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Air fresheners and candles became the largest segment of new products introduced last year—46 percent. “People can at least say their house smells cleaner,” says Celeste Broyles of Business Trend Analysis.—Source: American Demographics, November 1998.
‘POSTMODERNISM’—AN OLD SPONGE?
Postmodernism now qualifies as one of those words whose linguistic career resembles that of a kitchen sponge. I have in mind a sponge that, when first purchased, is kept in a special place (usually by the kitchen sink) and reserved for a specific task or two (scrubbing dishes, say, and wiping off counters). Over time, someone uses it for first one and then another quite different job (removing a carpet stain, washing out the shower). Soon, the sponge may be found anywhere, even the garage. It has become worthless for most purposes.”—Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom in The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 11, 1998.
MO’ BETTA PRAYER?
A national survey sponsored by the Lutheran Brotherhood found that about one in three Americans will be spending more time in prayer as the year 2000 approaches.
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BALANCING ACT
College students carry an average of $1,366 in unpaid monthly balances on their credit cards.
—Public Interest Research Group. |
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Additionally, one in four say they will go to church more often on or after December 31, 1999, and about that many will seek spiritual guidance at this time. Nonetheless, about two of every three Americans say that people are assigning undue religious significance to the change of the millennium. Generation Xers are more likely than elderly people to believe that the end of the millennium bears spiritual importance.—Washington Post Weekly, May 10, 1999, summarized in Current Thoughts & Trends, September 1999.
MASKING THE TRUTH
There is a kind of moral liberality that may really be a form of cowardice, and a kind of tolerance that may
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HOLEY EARLOBES, BATMAN!
Is piercing on the wane? Just 51 percent of college students pierced a body part last year, down from 57 percent in 1998.
—American Freshman.
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really be a mask for self-protective indifference, of the kind signaled in that weary word of our day, “Whatever . . . .” Just so, there is a kind of agreeableness that can be a mask for cynicism or loss of conviction; a kind of sentimental openness, or inclusiveness, that may mask a contempt of truth; and a kind of eclecticism that masks the inability to make choices.—Wilfred McClay, reviewing Alan Wolfe’s writings, quoted in Context, September 15, 1998, by Martin Marty.
SO, WHEN CAN WE PLAY?
More than ever we live in a world ruled by the demands of productivity, the demands of work. Every human enterprise is increasingly subject to the scrutiny of the balance sheet. “Rest,” “vacations,” “breaks” are acknowledged necessities, but only as unfortunate requirements for continued productivity. Consequently, “free time,” no matter how ample, is not so much a leisured alternative to work as its diastolic continuation.”—Richard Kimball in The New Criterion, January 1999, quoted by Martin Marty in Context, January 1999.
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