"Give Us Facebook Or We'll Take A Lower Paying Job!"

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

Quick Summary:
Some Echo Boomers would take a lower paying job, provided they could surf Facebook at work. Reminder: Echo Boomers love self-esteem boosts more than sex and money.

For the humorous article of the week but one in which executives should be aware of - some Echo Boomers would take a lower paying job if it meant that they could access Facebook at work:

According to Cisco’s second annual Connected World Technology Report, which surveyed 1,400 college students age 18 to 23, and 1,400 young professionals under 30, across 14 countries, the ability to use social media, mobile devices, and the Internet more freely in the workplace can influence job choice, sometimes even more than salary.

In fact, 40 percent of college students and 45 percent of young professionals said they would accept lower-paying jobs in exchange for those freedoms. You read that right.

In other words, some Echo Boomers see work as another place to "digitally hang out" with their friends. We see this pattern with some Echo Boomers; they don't see doing work as something that fulfills you. Some Echo Boomers don't respect their time, money or the value of their work. To them, work is time to have fun not serve the customer or client.

In other words, companies like Microsoft, Cisco or Apple may consider cutting their Millennial employees' salary while giving them Facebook freedom, and about half of the their Millennial workforce would remain. Likewise, Echo Boomers may not see companies provide them with raises to stay because the generation doesn't take work seriously - as a means of providing value. We may see employers in the future reluctantly give Echo Boomer raises, if at all.

As an interesting side note, I could not tell if the author of the article was kidding or not in some places. For instance:

Remember, as kids they earned trophy after trophy for just for participating. So it’s no surprise to learn that they are hungry for positive feedback.

But like anything else in their lives, if it isn’t posted on their wall, it’s almost like it didn’t happen at all. In other words, accolades that can be viewed by their colleagues will pack twice the punch. Facebook makes it painless to commend and reward your employees publicly.

The message that employers may get here is don't give the Echo Boomers a raise - post a "good job" on their Facebook Wall, and they'll be happy for a day (or week, or month, or year). Technically, Echo Boomers enjoy self-esteem boosts (more than sex and money), and for some, a self-esteem boost may be a post on their Facebook Wall. Getting a "good job" publicly on their Facebook Wall and looking good in front of their friends beats a raise. Of course, there will be Echo Boomers who do not value this flattery and they'll see it as such. If you have an employee who does not have Facebook at all, you may want to stick with giving him* the actual raise.

*I write him intentionally because I don't know a single female around my age without a Facebook account. By contrast, about 10% of my male friends around my age do not have Facebook accounts.

Interview: Matt Kramer On Predatory Leadership

The responses to the interview questions may not represent the views of The Echo Boom Bomb's author. These interviews are provided to inform readers of information from experts and provide these experts with a medium where they can answer questions without any content changes. All linked material to products in interviews such as books or videos are affiliated with the supported platforms, such as Amazon or others. To see the full list of interviews related to Echo Boomers, iGenZ or Automons, see the ending acknowledgements on this post.

Note: the paragraph format of this interview was updated to assist with related and complete thoughts.

A brief biography about Matt Kramer:

Matt Kramer is parent-child mediation, mediator, photographer, entertainment entrepreneur, talent consultant and coordinator. He's based in Dallas and Austin Texas, doing business throughout Central and North Texas, and outside the area. He's also studying predatory leadership and how it affects our society. You can get more information about him on his website, [Update: dead link removed - his site is no longer active] mattkramer.com .

1. What is predatory leadership?

Predatory Leadership is the display, by one's actions, policies or agendas, of their mental, emotional and subconscious investment into attaining their goals, openly or covertly, by any means, with complete disregard or concern for the consequences of their efforts upon others.

2. How has predatory leadership affected the business and political worlds?

Predatory leadership is evident throughout almost all aspects of society.

In the domestic arena, the behavior is identified in verbal and physical abuse in families. In regional municipalities it shows up in government corruption as in the City of Bell, a small town east of Los Angeles in which the city manager was paying himself over $800,000 a year and helping his cronies milk the local economy with comparably illegitimate salaries at the expense of the inhabitants of the city (Gottlieb & Knoll, 2011). It shows up in a corporate culture that replicates the evils associated with destructive forms of competition focused on increasing shareholder profits while ignoring pollution controls, quality control, employee safety, etc. It showed up in Bernie Madoff. One example is the corporate - political scandals in which city officials take or demand bribes, currying favors for vendors and suppliers whose products are not in the best interests of their constituents. It shows up in religious organizations protecting pedophiles at the expense of their victims. It showed up in Radio-Te´le´vision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) when its disc jockeys spent months exploiting racial prejudice and exhorting its listeners to prepare to reclaim their country via the extermination of their Tutsi neighbors (Li, 2004). It shows up when any dictator censors free press, imposes martial law and assassinates his opponents in order to maintain illegitimate control of the nation.

Predatory leadership wreaks havoc upon humanity in myriad ways too numerous to include in this document. The proliferation of the psychological culture of predatory leadership is thousands of years old. The impact and consequences of this syndrome shows up throughout all levels of culture in ways that are invisible as well as visible. Conventional wisdom says that man is violent by nature, that war is inevitable. That a few bad apples make the organization look worse than it is. But maybe that's just a symptom of the pervasive nature of the predatory leader. There are pockets of humanity, small communities where leaders are not corrupt. There are idealists working hard to change systems that perpetuate destructive, harmful practices at all levels of government and throughout society. Countering their passionate efforts are powerful forces employing maximum effort to sustain the status quo in spite of the harm suffered by many people in the process.

3. What are the solutions to predatory leadership?

While I do not have all the answers, I believe the initial stage of any solution begins with verifiable information. Most people do not recognize the early warning signs of socipathic behavior. Our awareness of the nature of this pathology is akin to the status of medicine in the 16th century – physicians then did not know about bacteria and viruses; most of their theories about illness were wrong. Due to their ignorance, they didn't know they were spreading diseases among their patients.

Teach everyone, especially children, to recognize the early symptoms of narcissism and sociopathy at a young age; they will have the opportunity to make better choices in whom they choose to follow, promote, elect or marry.

A second stage would be to develop opportunities for people to gather and brainstorm more solutions. By educating and involving the general population in generating solutions, ideas will surface that are workable within the resources of those involved.

4. Suppose someone tells you: "People who succeed in business/politics are in leadership positions because they worked harder than everyone else, not because they are sociopaths." How would you address this assertion?

Certainly there are successful business people and politicians who earned their success legitimately. While it may be difficult for the uninformed to identify "healthy" from "toxic" personalities, one concern is that in order to succeed, some of them had to replicate sociopathic behavior (the ends justify the means) in order to gain their success.

For example, a top executive at Nestle's may have empathy and be concerned about the way Nestle's marketing techniques raise mortality rates for third world infants but in order to hold on to his position, he withholds his point of view and goes along with the company's policies (Breastfeeding.com, 2012).

5. Last question, and this one is quite the challenge. I would argue that some people in our world like to be prey; meaning they would like a predator for a leader. While normal individuals, like you and I, find this appalling, after working in social psychology, I studied people who desired to be abused (as disturbing as this phenomena is). How do we address people who want to be abused?

There are a number of reasons this may happen, and you are more correct than you may realize.

On the domestic level, some who have low self esteem deny themselves the opportunity for healthy relationships; subconsciously they will "punish" themselves by getting into abusive relationships.

On the larger social level, some people do gravitate to leaders they feel will carry out policies and agendas they themselves do not want to handle. Another reason is that those leaders provide a parental role – the followers want to believe their leaders know more than they do. The "toxic" follower will believe the lies of a toxic leader who promises lies they want to hear (like blaming a minority for their problems or pushing a false short term solution for a difficult problem), rather than accept a truth (such as a long term solution) they don't want to hear from someone else. (Lipman-Blumen, 2006). Hopefully those who are educated to this phenomenon will not fall prey to it.

Matt's Sources:

1. Breastfeeding.com (2012). The Nestle Boycott. Retrieved from: http://www.breastfeeding.com/advocacy/advocacy_boycott.html

2. Gottlieb, J. & Knoll, C. (2011). Robert Rizzo, aide accused of conspiracy in Bell corruption scandal. Retrieved from: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/31/local/la-me-0331-bell-indictment-20110331

3. Li, D. (2004) Journal of Genocide Research (2004), 6(1), March, 9–27 Carfax Publishing Blumen-Lipman, J. (2006). The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians – and How We can Survive Them. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

Who Is Generation Z?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

Quick Summary:
Generation Z follows Generation Y. Generation Z is born from 1996 to 2011 Generation Z is smaller than Generation Y. Generation Z only knows of a world with the internet, this is why I refer to them as iGenZ. Generation Z (in the United States) faces a dismal economic future.

I explain in this article why I refer to Generation Z members as iGenZ. Like Echo Boomers, I generally refer to the title of the generation as Generation Z (like Generation Y as the title for Echo Boomers).

Basic Introduction

Many of the regular readers know all about Generation Y [updated link] , but may wonder about the following generation: Generation Z. The next fifteen year generation completed its final year of birth (2011), and will be coming of age over the next few decades. What we know about Generation Z at this time is that it's not as large as Generation Y, it only knows about a world with the internet, and it will face a dismal economic picture.

One potential inaccurate statistic that I'll state is that Generation Z is smaller than Generation Y. I state this without numbers because Generation Y is 80 to 86 million strong, whereas kids born from 1994 to 2004 (most of which are Generation Z, though it goes seven years after that date) are only 23 million strong. Numerically speaking, even if the remaining 7 years of Generation Z doubled the first 8 years, it still wouldn't be larger than Generation Y (23 + 46 = 69). On top of this, with the economy current performing poorly, many people (especially Echo Boomers [updated link]!) have delayed family formation: in fact, that's one of the things I write about on this blog. This has sucked some size from Generation Z.

The Millennial generation may not realize this, but many of its members can still recall a world without the internet. They can recall doing research by going to the library and searching manually through a database (gosh, I can remember looking through the actual cards!). The world has completely changed now: with the rise of the internet, Wikipedia, Google and some specialized blogs have become the major source of information, along with electronic news. Generation Z only knows the internet, as the youngest iGenZ (born in 1996) would have been born in a world already with the internet. And about the time these early iGenZ became fully conscious, the internet was becoming widespread. The effects of this fact remain to be seen: I cannot theorize at this time what this will mean for Generation Z. This is one reason that you will sometimes see me refer to Generation Z as iGenZ.

The United States as an economic superpower has declined rapidly over the last decade and this will have a major influence on both Generation Y and Z. Some young members of Generation Y might be able to recall a low national debt and a major surplus (2000), while this is completely foreign to Generation Z as they come of age. This change won't just affect the political spectrum and how iGenZ votes, but it will affect how iGenZ conducts business. The attitudes toward frugality may amp up in this generation if financial factors do not significantly change for the United States soon.

Technology Native

Since iGenZ only know of a world with the internet, we may feel tempted to think they will spend more time on the internet than Echo Boomers. I predict this early, as iGenZ will have early access to the internet in their life. However, we don't require technology as humans. I do not know if the over abundance of technology may shift attitudes toward it. In the same way that Echo Boomers often dislike big companies from previous generations, iGenZ may later dislike technology companies that Echo Boomers loved. We all forget that youth can reject the ideas and behaviors of older generations. This is part of how humanity progresses.

For the present time, iGenZ will heavily use the internet. They will also heavily trust what they see, read or hear on the internet. What happens as they age? We'll see and it's a trend I'll be watching carefully.

Lacking Basic Critical Thought

One iGenZ pattern I've recently made public involves their inability to critically think on a basic level. I've observed this on basic critical thought, not advanced. For an example, taking information about energy in the physical and developing an understanding of how that will affect economic perspectives of trade and value involves synthesizing a broad amount of information that seems unrelated. (Most members of iGenZ will have no idea what I just wrote here.) We all know that this is part of our mind's glory: we can take unrelated information and see patterns, make predictions, and execute on these with success.

However, many members of iGenZ struggle to apply relatedinformation. Consider what I just wrote. We're not talking about a step that involves sythesis or integrated thinking. We're talking basic understanding. An abundance of information (the internet) leads to a lack of execution and an inability to think, even in the information one has. You can see this with iGenZ. Every now and then I'll meet an impressive member of iGenZ, but he (and it's almost always a "he") is only impressive because of his lack of access to his mobile phone and internet. For an example, I once met an iGenZ member who was running three registers at the gas station. When I asked why, he replied that his colleagues called in sick. He was doing the work of three people. But most of his peers would have simply used that as an excuse to surf social media on their phone and distract themselves with non-work related information.

The internet, search engines, and some applications of AI are making this problem worse. At our research firm, we've cautioned people that if you don't practice imagination, then you won't know how to think, but only what to think. We note reading is one way to practice imagination, but that's not the only way (one can stare at the wall for an entire day and this activity will also engage their imagination). Either way, if you work with iGenZ, you'll frequently see this pattern.

Interview: Jessica Setnick on Eating Disorders

The responses to the interview questions may not represent the views of The Echo Boom Bomb's author. These interviews are provided to inform readers of information from experts and provide these experts with a medium where they can answer questions without any content changes. All linked material to products in interviews such as books or videos are affiliated with the supported platforms, such as Amazon or others. To see the full list of interviews related to Echo Boomers, iGenZ or Automons, see the ending acknowledgements on this post.

One struggle that Generation Y females and males face is eating disorders, and it seems to be a growing problem. Like with many problems, misinformation can spread and cause some people to avoid seeking the appropriate help. I recently interviewed Jessica Setnick, who is an expert on eating disorders:

Jessica Setnick introduced her compassionate and practical approach to helping individuals with eating disorders in 2003 with website around eating disorders [updated link and description]. She is the author of The American Dietetic Association Pocket Guide to Eating Disorders and Director of Training and Education for Ranch 2300 Collegiate Eating Disorders Treatment Program [Update: dead link removed]. She is available for presentations and training workshops, and can be reached through her website, www.UnderstandingNutrition.com [link updated].

1. What is an eating disorder?

An eating disorder is the name we give to a chemical problem in the brain that causes a person to use food and eating-related behaviors in inappropriate ways. It is similar to the brain problem that causes a person to use drugs or gambling (for examples) in inappropriate ways. Since scientists/doctors have not been able to identify yet the exact brain problem, we identify eating disorders based on the visible symptoms and behaviors.

2. What factors contribute to or cause eating disorders?

The main contributing factor (as we understand it to date) is a problem with brain chemistry. This problem can be innate (something a person is born with, even if it is not revealed until a later age), or it can be something that is caused by stress, which damages the functioning of the brain, or most likely, it is a combination of the two.

Once the brain chemistry problem is in place, it makes eating disorder behaviors seem desirable, because they modulate brain chemistry. For example, binge-eating changes brain chemistry, because an overload of tryptophan (found in carbohydrates) increases the level of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin gives a feeling of calm to an anxious person. Another example is that self-induced vomiting causes a change in brain chemistry, similar to exercise. When someone with an eating disorder-prone brain is in a panic, vomiting provides them with relief. This behavior then becomes the person’s go-to ‘solution’ for managing stress.

Because the stressor in the equation often comes from the environment, society’s attitudes toward weight and eating are often mentioned as contributing factors in creating eating disorders. The pressure that individuals feel to perform, to meet societal standards of attractiveness, of success, and so on can push them to trial eating disorder behaviors, such as skipping meals, overexercising, dieting, etc. If the person has the genetic or stress-caused brain chemistry problem that makes these behaviors biochemically ‘rewarding’, then he or she will adopt the behaviors on an ongoing basis as a ‘solution’ or self-medication.

3. I've heard that people, who struggle with eating disorders, have emotional connections to food. Is this true, false, or only slightly accurate?

It depends how you interpret ‘emotional connections to food.’ To be more accurate, I would rephrase it slightly into “people with eating disorders use food and eating-related behaviors (eg overeating, undereating, vomiting, overexercising, food rules, etc.) to help manage emotional stress.” So yes, there is an emotional connection with food, and certainly an unhealthy relationship with food, but not necessarily an “I love food!” type of emotional connection.

4. How are eating disorders treated?

The gold standard of eating disorder treatment to date is a three-pronged base of:

Nutritional Counseling (with the goal of nutritional replenishment and restoration, education about the appropriate role of food, and a healthy relationship with food),

Medical Treatment (management of any conditions that have been caused or exacerbated by the eating disorder, such as osteoporosis or osteopenia, thyroid or other hormonal problems, heart conditions, and so on)

Mental Health Treatment (includes both psychiatry, to manage brain chemistry and underlying or exacerbated issues such as depression, anxiety, ADD, OCD, bipolar disorder, chemical dependency, etc. AND psychotherapy, to heal emotional wounds that prolong the eating disorder and to teach skills for more appropriate coping with stress).

Added to those, any combination of group therapy; peer-led or 12-step support groups; family therapy; inpatient, residential, or day hospital care; plus adjunct therapies such as art therapy, movement therapy, equine therapy, and so on; may be recommended on an individual basis.

Interview: Kay Hymowitz of the Manhattan Institute

The responses to the interview questions may not represent the views of The Echo Boom Bomb's author. These interviews are provided to inform readers of information from experts and provide these experts with a medium where they can answer questions without any content changes. All linked material to products in interviews such as books or videos are affiliated with the supported platforms, such as Amazon or others. To see the full list of interviews related to Echo Boomers, iGenZ or Automons, see the ending acknowledgements on this post.

One prediction I make is that the Millennial generation will have a low marriage rate (updated research post). However, there are other socioeconomic trends that play into my prediction - for instance, the growing emphasis on education can delay marital formation, as the claim by some media that young men and women seem to be drifting in different directions (this favors cohabitation over marriage). Kay Hymowitz has written articles and even a book based on research into a few of these observations. From her Manhattan Institute bio [updated link]:

Kay S. Hymowitz is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. She writes extensively on childhood, family issues, poverty, and cultural change in America.

Hymowitz is the author of 4 books including Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age and Liberation's Children: Parents and Kids in a Postmodern Age. Her newest book, Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Is Turning Men Into Boys [updated links], was published by Basic Books in March, 2011.

Ms. Hymowitz has also written for many major publications including The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, New York Newsday, The Public Interest, The Wilson Quarterly, and Commentary.

In addition to her writing, Hymowitz has presented her work at many conferences, most recently at "A New Era: Defining Civil Rights in the 21st Century," sponsored by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights She sits on the board of the journal National Affairs and of Future of Children, a publication of the Brookings Institute and the Woodrow Wilson School. She has also discussed her work on numerous radio and television programs.

A native of Philadelphia, Hymowitz has degrees in English literature from Brandeis, Tufts, and Columbia University. She and her husband have three grown children and live in Brooklyn.

1. America tends to encourage its children to go to school for a good job in the business world. Suppose a young person decided against that (due to a growing zeitgeist questioning education), what three things would you advise that person?

I agree that college has been oversold. But now I fear the same is happening with the drop-out, start-up romance inspired by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Still, if you’re thinking of skipping college, keep in mind the following:

One, you are only 17 (or 18) and you probably don’t know much about yourself or about the way the world works. At its best, college can provide a time out to do some more growing up before you are set loose. But if you are someone who is very independent and self-motivated, if you have an idea of something you really want to do, if you can wake up in the morning knowing that it’s completely up to you to figure out how to make that happen without panicking, or without putting the pillow over your head and going back to sleep, go for it.

Two, avoid the “grand tour” and barista traps. The best way to learn about how to align your interests and the work place is to get a job. Don’t assume you’ll figure it out by travelling through South America. And don’t put it off by taking a job at Starbucks unless absolutely necessary. You need time in the workplace just to figure out the incredible variety and complexity of jobs today. Do you know what a risk analyst does? A script supervisor? A content strategist? Probably not. There’s a world out there of new and often exciting possibilities that you’ll need to learn about on your own.

Three: be ready to change your mind, maybe several times. People often have preconceptions about what kind of work would make them happy, only to find out they had no idea what the daily grind feels like. My son graduated from college, decided to follow his “dream” job as a sports announcer. After cold calling hundreds of people, developing tapes, offering to help a fledgling team for free, sleeping on floors in strange people’s apartments in strange cities, he got a position as an announcer for a minor league baseball team in Florida. Within six months, he realized he didn’t love sports as much as he had at 16. He took a job as a producer at MSNBC, got inspired by some of the pundits and commentators, decided to get a master’s degree in public policy, and at 30 went to work in international development in Africa. He never, ever could have seen that coming at 22.

2. According to Pew (as of 2010), the Millennial generation at its current age (18-28) has the lowest marriage rate compared to other American generations at that age. What factors have contributed to this? Also, how would you respond to people who predict that the Millennial generation will have a low marriage rate?

Let’s disentangle a few important strands of this discussion. It’s almost impossible to talk about what’s happening to marriage in the United States, among Millennials or anyone else, without talking about class. The widely discussed changes in marriage – by which people usually mean high divorce rates, nonmarital births, and nonmarriage – is concentrated among the lower and working class. That group is more likely to have children in their early or mid twenties while single or cohabiting. If trends continue as they have, they will eventually marry, though often not to the father or mother of their children.

The college educated middle class – and I presume that includes most of The Echo Boom Bomb's readers – do things differently. They are waiting to marry and to have children, often well into their 30’s. They have good reason to do that. Preparing for a high end career takes years of education, internships, fellowships, moving between jobs, possibly between different cities or even different countries. (See above.) It’s awfully hard to coordinate two careers during this time.

Does this mean that Millennials will not marry in their 30’s or even their 40’s? Not based on my own observations - or the data. The percentage of educated women who get married has increased over the past decades; it’s the less educated who are marrying less. Also, the large majority of young people continue to say they want children someday. College educated men and women know from first-hand observation what research shows over and over: a child has a better chance at doing well in life – including graduating from college - if he or she grows up with her stable, married mother and father

It’s worth mentioning, by the way, that disentangling the data in this way casts some doubt on the idea that marriage is “obsolete,” as in, no longer useful. Marriage continues to do what it’s always done: provide the most promising environment for raising the next generation. That may seem irrelevant to your life in your twenties; it won’t by the time you reach, say, 35.

3. What can be done with the educational system - if anything is necessary - to correct some of these social problems that you mention in your book Manning Up, such as young men avoiding/delaying maturity?

Up until fairly recently, people in their twenties knew exactly what was expected of them in the social realm: they were supposed to find someone to marry and start their families. Now, for the college educated at any rate, the twenties are primarily a decade for establishing a career. The social scripts – when or whether to marry, who asks for a date, who pays, whether or when to call after a hook up - have been tossed up in the air and have yet to come down. I think the ambiguities are particularly puzzling for men. Twentysomething women have more degrees, more money, and arguably more ambition than they do. Yet a lot of women still seem to want and expect some traditional moves of mating and dating from them. At the same time, they expect to be treated as equals. You have to be an emotional genius to figure it all out.

Adding to the tension is the biological clock. Women are aware, either consciously or not, that if they are planning to have a family, they’d better be settled with a husband by their mid 30’s when their fertility takes a big drop. That means they’re more likely to get serious about finding a mate in their later 20’s. With no biological pressure, men don’t have the same time frame. Some of them continue to think of themselves as boys – or “dudes” – and to think of adulthood as something way off in the distance.

Editor's Note: Kay has a point here and science agrees. Dan Eisenberg's research might indicate that older fathers carry an advantage that younger fathers don't possess. This could provide an evolutionary explanation why a few young women might prefer an older man, and also why a few men may not see the logic in maturing quickly - an older father could pass on genetice advantages to his offspring.

I don’t think the educational system has much of a role in resolving these tensions. But for the sake of their own well being, it would be a good idea for Millennials to admit that they will probably marry and have children someday, just like previous generations have, and to think of their twenties as leading up to that major life task rather than just time for hooking up and hanging out. Freud used to say that happiness requires finding satisfaction in two things: love and work. He was wrong about a lot, but that little observation holds up pretty well.

Update: updated a few errors, most notably, the last name!

Interview: Stephanie Coontz on Contemporary Families

The responses to the interview questions may not represent the views of The Echo Boom Bomb's author. These interviews are provided to inform readers of information from experts and provide these experts with a medium where they can answer questions without any content changes. All linked material to products in interviews such as books or videos are affiliated with the supported platforms, such as Amazon or others. To see the full list of interviews related to Echo Boomers, iGenZ or Automons, see the ending acknowledgements on this post.

I've written extensively on marriage and the Millennial generation (updated research post). However, I've left out the issue of family from this socioeconomic analysis. I recently interviewed Stephanie Coontz, who is the Director of Research and Public Education for the Council on Contemporary Families. A brief bio:

Stephanie Coontz teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, and is Director of Research and Public Education for the Council on Contemporary Families [Update: dead link removed]. She wrote the book The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap. Her work has been translated into French, Spanish, Greek, German, Chinese, Norwegian, Swedish, and Japanese.

Her work is not only helpful to us in order to understand family history, but also how families are evolving.

1. How have American families changed in the past century?

People tend to think that change has been linear, but that is not at all the case. 100 years ago, there was a sexual revolution going on every bit as shocking to contemporaries as anything in the past 20 years has been to modern Americans. There were also more immigrant families in America than today, and the divorce rate was rising precipitously, whereas today it has been falling for the past 30 years. And many more children spent some of their childhood in a single parent family, though that was more often a result of death than divorce. Eighty-two years ago, the US fell into the Great Depression. Divorce rates fell, but domestic violence, desertion, and abuse increased. Then came WWII, which led to a marriage and baby boom followed by a surge of divorce after the war. By 1946, 1 in 3 marriages was ending in divorce. The fact that so many marriages broke up so quickly is one of the reasons that divorce rates stayed fairly steady during the 1950s -- a lot of the shaky marriages had already ended in divorce. Most of us think of the 1950s as the era of the traditional family, but in fact the family arrangements of that day were very unusual. There were more male breadwinner families than than ever before or since. And the age of marriage reached an all-time low in 1960, with nearly half of all women married by age 20.

Still, taking all these variations into account, there have been some clear trends. The age of marriage has been rising steadily since the late 1960s and has now surpassed its previous historical high (which occurred in 1890). Premarital sex, cohabitation, and even having children out of wedlock are far more acceptable than in the past. And there have been interesting trade-offs: Men are doing much more childcare and housework in the past -- when they are present. But there are also more absent fathers then in the past. Successful marriages are fairer, more intimate, and more beneficial to all their members than in the past, but the same things that have made them so have also increased the alternatives to marriage and made an unsatisfying marriage seem less bearable to most people. And of course the increase in acceptance of same-sex couples has been stunningly rapid just in the past 20 years.

2. How would you address the claim made by some media that there's been a decline in family values?

If you look at the Pew Research Center polls on family life you will find that although Americans no longer believe that marriage is essential to a successful life, this does not mean they are giving up on marriage and other committed relationships. Most people say their family relationships are closer than those of their parents or grandparents. And millennials are more likely than older Americans to believe that adult children have the obligation to take in an aging parent if the parent needs assistance. Yes, there is more premarital sex than in the past, but sexual victimization rates have declined substantially in the past 20 years. So have domestic violence rates. Intergenerational relations are also closer. Even before the recession, we were seeing an increase in multigenerational households, partly because of economics, but partly because there has been a decline in generational mistrust, as a result of more democratic childrearing and more socializing between unmarried 20-somethings and their parents.

But of course, every time we solve one problem, we do create new challenges. The more freedom people gain to cultivate their own talents and pursue their own passions, the more possibility they have of going down dead-end streets or getting lost on an unmarked trail. The key is for us to try to figure out how to build on our new possibilities while minimizing our new vulnerabilities. One reason I volunteer my time at the Council on Contemporary Families is because this is an organization that does not waste time bemoaning what we have supposedly lost. Instead, CCF researchers and practitioners accept that family diversity is here to stay and try to get out the research and best-practice findings that will allow every family to build on its potential strengths and compensate for its weaknesses.

3. What major concerns do you see - if any - for the future of families in the United States, and how can we address these (if needed)?

One big concern is the widening gap between low-income, poorly educated Americans and highly-educated, more economically secure Americans in their access to stable, satisfying relationships. Research suggests that the answer lies not in promoting marriage per se but in working on two fronts at once: improving the economic prospects of men and women without a college degree and providing relationship support and training for couples, especially couples with children, whether married, cohabiting or apart. See this, for example.

For Americans who do have good jobs, there is quite a different concern. Increasingly, well-paid and challenging jobs require such intense work hours that it is very difficult for men and women to combine their family responsibilities with their professional ones. At all income levels, Americans need stricter limits on the work week, more generous and subsidized leaves such as those found in Europe and the Nordic countries, and affordable, reliable child care. Given the shortage of jobs, this would be a good time to consider the 35-hour work week, and of course we need to reform health care so that families have more flexibility to work part-time or some protections when they are laid off.

Generation Y Fails In Privacy; 3 Reasons Why

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

Critics of Generation Y level statements that tend to be true about young people in general; for instance, young people tend to be entitled, and Echo Boomers certainly are. One criticism of Generation Y that I would offer, though seldom mentioned by critics, is disrespecting privacy. An article on IT rules briefly mentions this from a study:

Even worse, one out of three college students revealed that they do not think about privacy nor do they mind sharing personal data online. These respondents also said that they believe that privacy boundaries are loosening.

Yet, one in four experience identity theft before the age of 30, while at least two out of five college students know of friends or family members who have experienced identity theft.

"To us, there is a disconnect here that people are sharing so much but they're seeing grave consequences," Olechowski said.

Based on observations (my own and others), I would adduce that some Echo Boomers either take their privacy for granted, or fail to understand the importance of privacy. This social trend is new as privacy has historically been a right that Americans value. On top of that, philosophers throughout history (Solomon, Plato, Nietzsche, Tzu) advise reticence.

Humorous Story

A while ago I watched Into the Wild with friends and their takeaway of the movie was to share experiences with others. Obviously there is some truth to this, but this can also be taken too far. Echo Boomers love this movie because it justifies their social media attention craze - "I'm sharing my experiences with others!" In most cases, they really value attention. Think about activities that Echo Boomers don't share and it's often because it doesn't get attention or it gets the wrong kind of attention.

For people who've traveled to other cultures, they see this contrast. In the US, you show off as much as you have - and Echo Boomers take this very far. However, this could get you killed in other countries. If you have resources, you live as if you don't have resources. You also don't overshare details because this could also endanger you (or be misinterpreted). The reason why I bring this up is that Echo Boomers will often state, "Everyone wants attention." This is completely false! There are many people who want to stay far away from attention.

Why Echo Boomers Don't Value Privacy

So why do Echo Boomers share so much personal information and fail to respect their own and others' privacy? 3 possible reasons:

1. Information is being used as a way to obtain mass attention (ie: "attention-whoring"), not necessarily to inform people of something valuable (ie: "Facebook IPO set at $[x] billion").

2. Assuming the previous reason, this would mean that private information would receive more attention than common information. For instance, seeing something unusual at the mall is less amazing than engaging in borderline illegal behavior. The latter, in the past, might remain unmentioned, but in a world where everyone is shouting at the top of their lungs for attention, the latter stands out. In a battle for attention, you got to stand out!

3. Assuming the previous two reasons, value is perceived as a concept determined solely by others. For instance, if most of your friends think your experience was awesome, it's awesome, even if you didn't necessarily think your experience was awesome. In other words, you don't determine value; others determine value for you (based on popularity). Technology changes the dimension of social relationships, and privacy (like empathy) is one of those factors. I realize this is an extremely philosophical point but if you stop and think about this point, it has powerful indications about Echo Boomers (and value in general).

I'm not writing that any of these are true in objective reality. These are how Echo Boomers see privacy - they don't value it. Privacy to an Echo Boomer is a lack of attention. They want attention! They're concept of value is centered around what other people value. This is why attention whoring is so popular among Echo Boomers.

What Will This Mean For Businesses?

What this means going forward is that Echo Boomers are going to think that others' business is their business. This won't only affect laws, it will affect businesses. Echo Boomers won't think that your business should be private, especially if they think their peers should know. They will make moral judgements on the basis of what their peers think. This also will affect Echo Boomers themselves because their peers' view of what they do will affect their own view. Suppose that an Echo Boomer has an amazing night but his friends think he wasted his time. His view will change because of how his peers think, not because of what he thinks. Therefore, it's not what an Echo Boomer thinks about your product, it's what Echo Boomers think about your product.

This is why social media use is so popular with Echo Boomers - they are very concerned with what their peers value. A generation that cares little about what others think would rarely share their life. This is both positive and negative. On the one hand, this could be extremely negative for businesses when it comes to protecting private information. On the positive, you only need to get so many Echo Boomers vocal about your product before they share it with their network and convince other Echo Boomers it has value.

As to how this all plays out in the long run, see the Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union from history.

What Industries Will Be Winners or Losers With Generation Y?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

What They Want Now and What They Will Want

Echo Boomers are changing our society in a multitude of ways. The Millennial generation doesn't want what its parents wanted, and if you want your business to succeed or if you want to lower the probability that you'll be in the unemployment line, take note of the winners and losers with this generation now and in the future.

Winner: The Rise of the Renters.

I could write pages on why Echo Boomers won't own homes like former generations, but I think numbers and graphs tell a better story. Only a third of Echo Boomers express interest in ever owning a home. And the current data?

[Update: dead image]

I expect that things will change over the next few decades, but for now, real estate agents will struggle with this generation in selling homes. Of course, if real estate agents focus their energy on landlords they might succeed. Otherwise, if you rent out decent homes or apartments, prepare for a large customer base among Echo Boomers, but be aware that they can move out quickly if they don't like it. They will socially express their contempt too.

Before I continue writing about Echo Boomers current preference for real estate, one update to make here after having hundreds of conversations with people about this point involves both Echo Boomers' future preference and iGenZ. Right now Echo Boomers prefer renting. This does not mean they will prefer to rent in the future. Likewise, as iGenZ matures, following generations tend to differ than the previous generation. I would not be surprised if iGenZ actually wants to own homes earlier than Echo Boomers as the same age. Think carefully about what I am writing here, as it carries statistical implications. An Echo Boomer at 25 may not care to own a home, but an iGenZ at 25 will more than likely want to own a home. (I'm not comparing groups at the same year of time, such as 2015, but at the same age in their maturity.)

As for the type of real estate - Echo Boomers are the social generation. They love living around their friends.

Winner: Education Is the New Homeownership For Echo Boomers

Yes, I think that education is in a serious bubble (see When Will the Higher Education Bubble Pop?). But I doubt that the Millennial generation will recognize this. The reason for my doubt: over half of Echo Boomers state interest in pursuing a degree, and a third of Echo Boomers with degrees already want to go to graduate school or further their education in some way.

The next generation (iGenZ) may see the error in their older siblings ways: too much faith in education. But for now, there's no indication among the Echo Boomers I speak to that they're changing their view on education. As I've stated in my posts, the stories Echo Boomers tell about education over time will foreshadow whether iGenZ and future generations respect higher education.

The winners here are the trade schools and community colleges - not only do you save Echo Boomers money, Echo Boomers tend to recommend these places to their friends. In fact, when other Echo Boomers go back to school during an education bubble a community college or trade school will hold the highest appeal. Large universities still attract top students, so for now, they're winning too.

Loser and Winner: Marriage Is Dead, But Other Opportunities Exist

If you're in school, and you're considering becoming a divorce attorney or marital counselor, beware: only 21% of Echo Boomers are married! Those may have been the hot professions at one time (especially divorce attorneys), but the future seems dim for them now. Unless those 21% of Echo Boomers line up in divorce court or try to "work things out," the need for divorce law or marital counseling may be history. You could always do the bureaucratic thing and overcomplicate their life in some other way - that is what both of your professions are good at.

Keep in mind that while Echo Boomers are ditching marriage, they seem to favor serial monogamy, which might become its own profitable industry. For instance, Susan Walsh asserted about the hook up culture in our interview:

I see hookup culture sticking around for a long while, but there is some backlash already occurring. ... HPV is causing cancers in both sexes, and there is a strain of gonorrhea in the UK, which is now considered untreatable. Of course, there’s the very real possibility of a new, opportunistic virus, much as we saw with AIDS in the early 80s. A worsening of the outlook in this area could create behavioral changes.

Behavioral changes may create more marriages, but if we see increased STDs or increased protective methods against these diseases, some businesses will need to create these products - whether prescription drugs or advanced protective measures.

And with marriage rates declining, Echo Boomers seem to be putting their money into other places: the fitness industry, the outdoor industry, and the fashion industry. In other words, you still have many other opportunities to have a wide customer base. Keep an eye out for the single Echo Boomers and watch where they spend their money (see Products and Services for Single Female Echo Boomers and Products and Services for Single Male Echo Boomers).

Other winners:

1. Technology - if you're in the engineering profession, prepare to work. Since I've been speaking with engineers at several local colleges, robotics seems to come up the most. There is a growing demand for electrical engineers to perfect the robotics industry. This cuts both ways, however, as many engineer friends would tell you that they will eventually not be needed. I agree, but I think we're still two decades (and maybe more) away from this moment.

Don't forget that this point means technology will do well even in situations where it makes no sense. Even as an Echo Boomer, I cannot understand Facebook or other social media. You socialize in person. But Echo Boomers are not like this! Even though something makes no sense (and may even be something they regret), don't overthink the possible success. Echo Boomers do what others do; they are not an individualistic generation, so they lack the reflection ability to evaluate if what they're doing aligns with their values.

2. Medical - Echo Boomers will need more medical care as they age. Keep in mind, the obesity rate the in the United States is growing, and this offers medical opportunities for doctors, nurses and those in the research field. I do not expect Echo Boomers to have longer life expectancies than their parents, so they will need medical earlier than you might expect.

3. Innovative Science - the world faces major hurdles in the twenty-first century, and this industry will boom if science continues to overcome these hurdles. Innovative Science includes, but is not limited to, stem cell research, fuel cell technology, electric cars and transportation, robotics, and 3D printing. For Echo Boomers closest to these industries, China and many countries in Asia will make the best destinations, as their lack of bureaucracy favors innovation over the United States.

4. Green Energy Industry - Echo Boomers like environmentally friendly companies, and green energy not only saves money, but builds a sustainable world. Echo Boomers are unlikely to forget $4 gallon per gallon of gas. In fact, my theory of electric cars doing well in the future centers around the pain that Echo Boomers felt when gas was $4 a gallon.

Generation Y: 3 Social Shifts In Perception

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

Column Quick Summary:
Echo Boomers define themselves through their relationships. Echo Boomers value time over money. Echo Boomers buy products based on peer tips.

Echo Boomers see high value in their peers, whether that's in the form of personal relationships or peer suggestions. Facebook, MySpace and social media in general have contributed to a world where it's easy for Echo Boomers to engage their peers. For instance, the Millennial generation uses these social media at work, whether employers like this or not. Therefore, employers should note a few trends concerning Generation Y.

1. Echo Boomers define themselves through their relationships. Not only can you see this through social media, Echo Boomers also place a high value on personal interactions outside of work. In fact, the phrase "I have a life" came up a lot while talking with Echo Boomers when they mentioned that they disliked their current job.

I've constantly cautioned thought leaders that Echo Boomers perceive value through others, not through their own critical thought. Note that this is a result of people who define themselves and their lives through others. "Others think" means "I think."

But there's another point that thought leaders should consider. Because of social media's rise, Echo Boomers don't allow many of their relationships to end. For instance, Echo Boomers could never relate to this song. Why would a chapter of your life be through when you can just stay connected on Facebook?

In the past, part of growth and maturity meant letting go of relationships - and not for a negative reason. As life changed, people's presence with who they were around changed. Think of a young man hanging out with his player friends, but after becoming a father, spending time with other dads. Echo Boomers aren't like this: they'll be dads, but also still stay in touch with those player friends of theirs. (You can sense the tension this will create, even if Echo Boomers don't realize this.)

2. Echo Boomers value time over money. Note [Update: dead link removed]:

And time is more valued than money. Millennials want flexible schedules and may prefer additional vacation days to cash bonuses.

In other words, offering more money to Echo Boomers to complete extra tasks per week may be the most ineffective strategy. A company could possibly approach this generation with the idea of once you finish your work for the week, you're done regardless of how little time it took you and succeed. However, this would require a clear definition of success along with self-honesty about what the company actually needs.

3. Echo Boomers buy products based on what their friends or other peers mention [Update: dead link removed]:

Millennials are more likely to buy based on peer recommendations.

As I frequently tell thought leaders, Echo Boomers determine value through others. They don't stop and consider their vision, then determine what connects them to their vision in the most effective way. This is a mission-driven person. Echo Boomers determine what to do by asking their peers. They determine value based on their peers.

What this means is that social media and social avenues might be the most effective way to market to the Millennial generation, whereas normal advertising might indicate that your company sells poor quality products. This also means that your "normal" advertising should have a social element to it.

Note and update: I get asked about this point a lot from company leaders because, to quote them, "don't we all determine value because of others" (ie: keeping up with the Jones')?

No. Baby Boomers, as an example, wanted to get away from members of their generation. Generation Xers more than any generation up to this point valued self-reliance. If other members of both generations didn't value those things, it didn't change the pattern. Echo Boomers are not like this (for now and this could change over time). They determine value on the basis of what others think. You will determine very early when you speak with Echo Boomers that they have no mission; their mission is built from what others do.

As a generation, they spend hours looking at what others are doing (social media being a popular example of this). A mission driven person would prefer staring at the wall and coming up with ideas than looking at Facebook.

Is part of this youth? Yes. But this is also an effect of believing that you should always stay in touch with friends that you knew 20 years ago. And as you have a mixture of people with different agendas, you spoil your growth because of inconsistent input (think about the parable of the sower and the seeds).

Generation Y Wants Multi-Tasking Freedom

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

An article [Update: dead link removed] highlights that among Echo Boomers pay does not always mean a better job. For instance:

[M]ore than two of five would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility

In other words, if you believe that focus is superior to multi-tasking, Generation Y will challenge your views: they enjoy multi-tasking.

Pertinent Side Note:

The very nature of a cell phone and social media, like Facebook, allow for multi-tasking to occur. In fact, a study counting the number of hours that workers spend on their cell phone, social networks, or doing other non-work related things would be quite fascinating (one radio talking head mentioned that it was 60% of workers' time, but failed to mention the study).

The corporate world, in general, has failed in this area. They still operate on the fallacy of the 40-hour work week, instead of the getting things done efficiently and quickly assumption. A company could easily arrange a policy where once you're done with work, you're done. Not only would work be accomplished quicker, but employees wouldn't feel trapped in a certain time frame - why be productive if you're stuck at the office for a minimum of 8 hours anyway?

On top of that, jobs which require creativity, need more time away from the office anyway. An employees' best ideas don't come when they're at work, but when they're away from work (ie: the shower, an afternoon walk, Archimedes' famous bath, et cetera).

In other words, set your goals, distribute the work, and when employees finish their job, let them go (even if that takes them 2 hours). Not only would employees save time and be motivated, companies could avoid the numerous costs that come when employees try to "fill their day" with something to do (all at company costs, of course).

Basic Human Incentives - School

All humans will consume the maximum amount of time allowed for a task, if completing the task early equals freedom to come up with their own work. I've seen this countless times in research. The exceptions we observe in corporate America occur because the person has other work they need done.

Growing up, I saw this with Echo Boomers and school as well. Unlike many Echo Boomers, my parents home-schooled me for a period of time, I attended private school and I attended public school. In comparing all three, only home-schooling allowed rewards for getting work done early.

For instance, in mathematics:

• When I was home-schooled, I had to complete 2 mathematics lesson per day. Once I finished mathematics, I could complete all my other work and once done, I had the rest of the day to spend with friends who often had finished their work. Most of the time, I finished all my school by 10 or 11AM. Yes, I had over 5 hours a day while most kids were in school to spend time with friends.

• In private school, if I finished mathematics early, they required that we move onto the next lesson. What was the reward for finishing the mathematics book early? We would start studying the next year's mathematics. While we always finished our mathematics' textbooks in private school, we had no incentive to finish our work early.

• In public school, if I finished my mathematics work early, I had to tutor other students. I absolutely hated this. Usually, I would finish my work early and start journaling.

Other generations may have had different experiences, but these patterns show what Echo Boomers experienced. What was the incentive for finishing work early? None, unless you were home-schooled. Obviously, we all valued playing with friends, but school environments prevented this and punished those of us who finished our work early.

Corporate America Is Exactly the Same

If you finish your work early in corporate America, you often get assigned more work. You seldom get a promotion or raise for doing this. (This explains why Echo Boomers are much more interested in entrepreneurship; this does not happen when you help your clients succeed.)

If you want focused employees who do their work well and fast, reward it.