Generational results on texting behind the wheel

As more states, provinces, and regions try to eliminate text messaging while driving through legislation (instead of education) the use of texting continues to increase. A recent survey in the US shows the use of texting differs by generation:

• Generation Y 48 percent
• Generation X 27 percent
• Baby Boomers 4 percent
• Traditionalists 1 percent

The survey, conducted by FindLaw.com adds to the growing lists of disastrous distractions facing drivers today.

Phone companies need to program some new acronyms into the phone. Here are some examples:

• STAD (stop texting and drive)
• STAD YAATReAT (stop driving and duck, you are about to hit the rear end of a truck)
• IBNKU (its been nice knowing you)
• CUN6WTCE (see you in 6 months when the coma ends
• LOLS (life on life support)

Have more?

You Staying Young

There is something that every generation must face: growing older. It happens every second of everyday and can be very scary. Here is a book that relieves those fears!

At the core of this landmark book are the Major Agers--14 biological processes that control your rate of aging. Some you've heard of, some you haven't, and some you never knew contributed to the aging process. Some speed decline, others inhibit your repair mechanisms. These Major Agers are everything from short telomeres and inefficient mitochondria to stem cells and wacky hormones. The doctors explain the principles of longevity and many of the causes of aging and how to fight the effects. The climax of the book is a 14-day plan to help you along your path to staying young. The doctors want you to be able to integrate important processes into your daily life in order to make staying young routine, but first you'll need to measure your real age and health right now. Staying young encompasses your emotions and mental health as well as your exercise habits, eating habits, personal hygiene, and genes, among other things.

To read more or to order this book, click here.

Cell Phones on airplanes? a generational divide

Whether or not to allow cell phone usage on airplanes was the focus of a recent survey. The survey revealed that the tech-challenged Traditionalists and the Baby Boomer generation clearly want to keep the devices turned off and stowed during flights. However the Instant Messaging Generations X and Y are ready to end this ban.

Cell phones are banned on airplanes in flight due to the impact they would have on cell towers. With a high altitude plane a single cell phone could hit bounce it’s signal off hundreds of towers. However once a plane is in the final stages of landing their is no danger for their use according to many expert. The major pilot unions have continued to ask government authorities to ban there use anytime the plane’s door is closed is related to safety, not cell tower impact. They provide a distraction to the flight crew preventing the passengers, who are always riveted to any announcements being made, from clearly hearing them.

Generation X and Y, according to industry sources, will continue to have to sneak the IMs when the flight attendants are looking the other way.

Cracking down on boxers

Police in Flint, Michigan, and Lynwood, Illinois, are finally cracking down on crack. No, they are not attacking the illegal drug culture -- they are launching an all out war on generational cultures.

The Traditionalists are absolutely applauded by low pants. Baby Boomers also frown on the practice of showing boxers in public. Yet the Millennial Generation’s obsession amounts in their view to nothing more than a fashion statement.

In Lynwood anyone showing more than three inches of underwear is subject to a $25 fine. There is no mention of how sting underwear will be handled as it is often less than three inches in its entirety. Nor is there any indication of whether or not the normal folds or drape of the underwear is measured based on the drape or if it is stretched before measuring. If two officers are making the same observation, does one make the final call on the measurement or do they both, in which case we’d have a split decision.

In Flint it is more serious. Showing underwear is a warning. If the pants are below the, shall we say highest point of the crack, a ticket is issued that carries a fine. If starch was not used or the elastic is limp, the matter becomes much more serious as the police make a misdemeanor arrest, which could involved jail time.

Community decency standards are important, butt which crack is more important for the police to spend their time combating?

“We’re back!” Boomers wouldn’t say it, Ys do.

Baby Boomers could not wait to get out on their own. It was seen as a symbol of success to have your own apartment far from Mom’s apron strings. Only losers stayed home according to the pop culture at the time.

Today the opposite is true. Generation Y is very comfortable remaining under their parents’ roof. In fact, women between the ages of 18 and 24 are more than one-third more likely to remain at home than were their baby boomer grandparents. This is according to a MonsterTrak Current Population Survey.

Reasons for the change in generational attitude includes the more freedom given by Gen X parents, the cost of starter homes and apartments, and the increased debt held by college students.

The next question is will “Boomers” be used for Gen Y as a derivative of “boomerang”?

Having problems getting the generations to work together, check out Managing Builders, Boomers, Xs, and Ys without losing your Zs.

Teamwork falling victim to generational conflict

Teamwork in multi-generational workplaces is suffering from a lack of understanding how to communicate inter-generationally. According to Randstad, 66% of Traditionalists and 51% of Baby Boomers have little or no interaction with Gen X or Gen Y.

The Baby Boomers categorize younger workers as having less competence and work ethic while the Gen X and Yers feel the older folks are too set in their ways and cannot think outside of the box.

Companies not responding to this lack of communication risk a brain-drain as Baby Boomers head onto the retirement roles.

Many programs are successful at bridging the gap. One such program is Managing Builders, Boomers, Xs, and Ys without losing your Zs. It helps each generation understand how their culture was formed and how other generations view them. Mentoring programs are also generally successful when the mentor presents him or herself as an equal to the protégé, not a superior.

Employers believing the brain drain will not occur need only look to the struggle to get skilled workers as an example of what happens when tomorrow’s employees are not cultivated today.

Entire generation lost in earthquake

It appears an entire generation may have been lost during the earthquake in China last week. With most children in schools that collapsed few survived.

Generational voids have occurred previously in the world's history. The term “lost generation” is used to refer to generations that are wiped out by war, natural disaster, or disease. It is also a term used to refer to generations that have not been properly educated or simulated into mainstream ethnic or regional cultures.

Once a generation is lost, there is no recovery. Society as a whole suffers.

Word of Mouth advertising flourishes on Internet

Word-of-mouth advertising is flourishing in a new home - cyberspace. According to a study by the Society for New Communications Research 74% of respondents make purchasing decisions based on customer service comments placed by customers.

Business ratings are available in many cyber locations, including ebay, You Tube, Facebook, and Twitter.

The survey is heavily swayed toward frequent Internet users, favoring techno-savvy Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennial shoppers. If this is your target demographic, you need to understand how they work and have a strategy to steer satisfied customers to the sites.

Request our complimentary article about the need for culturally-based customer service by clicking here.

Generations present top business challenge

A recent benchmarking study found that managing a multi-generational workforce is the top concern facing businesses today. An overwhelming 80% of companies identified this as a major challenge, although only 33% offer training to bridge to equip managers and employees to understand how to work through this challenge.

There are currently four generations in the workplace and each has their own career outlook, motivational factors, communication style, view of authority, cognitive style, and requirements for giving respect to supervisors.

This is substantiated by Max Impact and MBC Global where multigenerational training is a popular training request. Managing Builders, Boomer, Xs and Ys without losing your Zs was developed by Max Impact and is also used by MBC Global to teach employees at all levels how to work together in a multigenerational environment. Managers are also taught how to turn all four generations into long-term, productive, and respectful assets to their employer.

Top cultural events of 1968

Many of the people, events, and things that shape today’s pop culture date back four decades. David Hinckley of the New York Daily News has published a list of the top 13 moments of 1968 having a lasting cultural impact.

Admittedly he focuses on American events, however the impact of the events he has chosen had an impact on the Baby Boomer culture around the world.

Here are some of the highlights of the list:

• Big Mac is introduced.
• Elvis made a comeback.
• “60 Minutes” introduced the world to the news-magazine format.
• Hollywood introduced movie ratings.
• Richard Nixon appeared on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”.
• Otis Redding won a Grammy posthumously for “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”.

For the entire list, click here.

Here is the famous clip of Richard Nixon on Laugh-In:

Teacher’s unusual defense about seductive pictures

By Guillermo

Generation Y and the Millennials are the initial residents of cyberspace. Their comfort with the internet has provided many assets to generational members including creativity and quick thinking. However this world of technology has been less embraced or understood by elder generations.

In an unusual story from Sweden we see how one teacher’s understanding of the Internet has saved her job.

A sex scandal at a school in Kungsbacka, Sweden, revolved around a student’s accusation the teacher tried to seduce him by sending provocative pictures. The teacher stuck an unusual defense: she stated she did not send him the pictures as they were readily available over the Internet!

Sport stars urged to be role models

David James, goalkeeper for England in the Football Association, is trying to change the culture shared by professional athletes. He is publicly urging all professional sport players to recognize their responsibility in shaping the next generation.

Working with Lord Triesman, the new FA chairman, he is taking part in a program called “Respect”.

The program calls for players to be exhibit good sportsmanship when called for fouls or are penalized. It also is designed to eliminate swearing during the game.

The FA hopes the program will be embraced by all players in the Premiere Football League and in other sports.

Cyberspace or Outer space

Houston, we have a problem: Generation Y is more interested in cyberspace than outer space!

In the coming decades, funding for NASA is going to hinge on the support it receives from Generation Y. In a strategic move, the space agency is doing extensive research to find ways to build a bridge to Generation Y. They have discovered they must:

• Communicate to the generation what they do and why it is important to Gen Y members.
  Provide more real-time interaction. Things lake informative, fun links and videos on their website. Even live cams on their space ships, robots, and rovers.



• Understand the global perspective. Space and distance are not as important as they were to previous generations. Gen Y, therefore, is not impressed as mush with the distance to Saturn, however would love to see Saturn on a webcam.



• Hierarchical one-way communication does not work. Gen Y wants to be able to interact – they are very social.

Looking at this list we see the agency that brought us chap stick and Tang is now giving business some keys to establishing future business with Gen Y.

Cultures fail to recognize death

Almost every subcategory of every category of culture is uncomfortable when it comes to talking about death. Yet death is inevitable.

Consider the case of Gen Y’s pop culture icon Heath Ledger. The 28-year-old actor died, survived by his 2-year-old daughter. He died suddenly and unexpectly from the interaction of a regiment of drugs.

Ledger’s will was three years old, therefore no mention of children.

Australia’s probate court will now decide who gets what weighing the law and opinions of what Ledger would have wanted.

Even though dying is not a popular topic, it must be faced at least enough to have an up-to-date will.

Culture Class: Student, faculty, and Skittles

By Guillermo

The health-conscious culture has come in conflict with the Millennial Culture in New Haven, Connecticut, over a bag of Skittles.

Things seemed to be going good for Michael Sheridan. He was vice president of his eighth-grade class and an honor student. Then it happened - his title was stripped from him and he was banned from attending the honors banquet.

His crime: he bought a bag of Skittles from a classmate.

In an attempt to make the district healthier, the school banned the sale of candy on school property in 2003. Although the wellness policy does not prevent students from bringing in their own candy, it does prevent them from buying candy on school grounds.

The case has made me think twice. What if we had the same policy her at MBC Global? At lunch today I was going to trade my bag of chips for piece of cake, but the cake was obviously worth more – so in effect it would be buying it. Certainly it would not be worth losing my cushiony MBC Global.

The school, apparently reacting to public outcry, did reduce his suspension from three days to one. However I bet the matter still on his permanent record.

Cell phone holds memory of wife

The talk of closure is misguided. No matter how “closed” the relationship with a loved one who’s passed on, there are still a desire to be close to that person. I write about it in my book Life’s Leadership Lessons as I shared the story of my son’s death. The bereaved seek to connect through a video, photos, or the aroma of their clothing.

For Charles Whiting of Irvington, New York, a key connection was lost when Verizon changed systems. A voice message she made was no longer available to him. The daily time the 80-year-old man spent listening to her voice was void.

Fortunately a contractor was able to find the message in the Verizon archives. It has been restored and is now back in a positive part of Charles’ daily life.

Who says Generation Y isn’t impressionable

Generation Y, like the generations before them, learn by imitating. In an unfortunate story from Winter Park, Florida, we learn that an 18-year-old man was killed while re-creating a stunt from the popular TV program, “Jackass”.

The stunt involved riding in a shopping cart alongside an SUV. Unfortunately a speed bump toppled the shopping cart, causing the 18-year-old to be pronounced dead at the scene. The 23-year-old driver of the SUV faces charges in the incident.

Australia misunderstands youth alcohol culture

A report issued by the Australian National Council on Drugs revealed that one out of 10 high school students have been binge drinking during the week prior to their survey. This prompted the Australian Medical Association to call for a partnership with the government, industry, and healthcare professionals to end this detrimental Generation Y behavior.
Although Dr. Rosanna Capolingua, AMA President, is correctly calling for more education about the serious risk of binge drinking, she is incorrect in leveling blame on the alcohol industry. Laying blame is always counterproductive, causing those being blamed to strike a “defensive” rather than “solutions” posture.

Teenage drinking is only a symptom of a larger problem. Until the root cause leading to the teenage drinking is identified in a real solution be enacted.

Love of job related to culture

A recent Harris Interactive poll has uncovered some cultural connections to one's feeling about their job.

• Generations: 53% of Baby Boomers love their job while only 37% of Generation X said they love their job. On the other hand, 19% of Generation X hate their job while only 7% of Baby Boomers claimed to hate their job.


• Marital: only 29% of those that have never been married love the job while 50% of those that are married love their job. When asked if they would like to immediately let, 24% of never-married employees said, “yes” as compared to only 9% of married employees.


• Regional: loyalty seems to increase as one moves to the west. In the Northeast only 39% love or like their job while 48% of those in Western states either love or like the job.


• Economic: 49% of employees paid at affluent levels ($75,000 in the survey) love their job while only 36% of those earning less than $35,000 love where they are working.

The Millennial Generation wants green

The Millennial Generation, those born after 1998, may very well become known as the “Green Generation”. This generation seems to have stronger ecological feelings when those present in the late 1960s and early 1970s when Earth Day was established.

Reports are surfacing worldwide about the young children text and instant messaging their friends, posting on My Space and Facebook, and writing school papers about the need to be green.

Here are some the more common than is being advocated by this generation, which could control world-wide commerce in less than a decade:

• drive a hybrid
• increase use of gardens
• water reclamation
• recycling
• stop speeding
• alternative power sources
• home water recycling

This is not just important for long-term business growth to be considered in five and seven your business plans. The Green Generation is forming their opinion of responsive industries and businesses today. There is no doubt those businesses adopting a green strategy will get their business – and for many years to come!

Millennial generation finds protest method

Protesting injustice has been a culturally defining and uniting aspect to each generation. For Baby Boomers it was the ever popular “sit-in”, to Millennials it’s a coin.

When Readington Middle School students had their lunch hour reduced to 30 minutes, they planned their penny protest. The protest involved paying for the $2 lunch with 200 pennies, meaning the school received 5,800 coins to count.

Twenty-nine students received two-day suspensions for the protest, however the suspensions were later dropped.

The students could have used the time to review the Coinage Act of 1965, section 31, U. S. C. 5103, which states the coins are a valid form of payment. The only exception is for private businesses which are permitted to limit the acceptance of certain monetary units. The school should also look at this law and put up signs saying “pennies not accepted” if they don’t want to accept them legally.

It’s not the economy – it’s the culture

This has been a tough week for retailers. Sharper Image and Lillian Vernon file for bankruptcy. Wilsons Leather announced the closing of 160 stores while JCPenney saw an almost 10% profit drop. Profit woes also affected Whole Foods Market, Old Navy, and Zale.

On the other end of the spectrum, Wal-Mart saw continued profit growth as TJX, operator of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, realized a 47% profit gain and Office Max profits were up 23%.

Some will immediately detect the companies in the first paragraph are at the upper end of the price scale while the second paragraph list stores that are at the lower end of the price scale. Although a correct observation, it would be a misled assumption as we have not given you one more piece of information that destroys theory.

Abercrombie & Fitch, which stores under the Abercrombie, Hollister, and Abercrombie & Fitch manners, saw a 9% increase in profits from their stores in North America and Great Britain.

With this added information and careful analysis you find that Abercrombie & Fitch, while matching the target demographics in the first paragraph, has produced results putting it with the winners in the second paragraph.

The difference is that Abercrombie is fully in tune with the culture of its demographic – Gen Y. They focus singularly on this group in developing a store ambiance, merchandise mix, and personnel selection. As the economy tightens, Gen Y will spend less at the fringe retailers, those that only present Gen Y fashions as an add-on to a broader assortment and devote their dollars to the retailers that reach out specifically to them.

Even if your demographic is not Gen Y, there is a lesson here that can make you stronger and economy-proof.

Libraries try to reach a new generation

The good news for libraries is that Generation Y and Millennials are frequenting libraries in every increasing numbers. The bad news – they aren’t going for the books.

Progressive libraries understand their youngest visitors are more interested in the computers and social capabilities that a library presents. They know that if they keep the young people coming, they will be building on tomorrow like McDonald’s did when they introduced Happy Meals.

To capitalize on and increase the frequency of youthful visits, many libraries are turning to video games. It is becoming common-place for libraries to have competitions for Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. An individual event may attract more than 100 students to the library for an evening of fun and socializing.

The reason these competitions are so successful is cultural:

• Socializing: Gen Y and Millennials both are extremely social generations. This can be credited to rearranging elementary schoolrooms to a study group or pod design, which promotes teamwork.


• Parental Comfort: Generation X, which parents Gen Y, and parents in Gen Y that parented Millennials, both are easy to sell when their children ask to spend an evening at the library. In many cases, permission is given only if the child agrees to check out a book.


• Literary: Okay, the literary culture has to deal with breaking the tradition of “quiet” at a library, however they are smart enough to know that libraries cannot survive if they cannot get people through the front door. Taxpayers must have a reason to vote “yes” when library funding is on the ballot and having activity of any type seems to decrease any voter hesitancy at passing dollars into library coffers.

Generation Y eyes buying homes

The sharp realtor, mortgage broker, moving company, or other professional dealing with the real estate market have a prime target audience – Generation Y. These are people in their late teens and twenties.

Genworth Financial has released data from a study on the borrowing habits of Gen Y. Their study revealed that loans for the generation are up 28% in value – a remarkable growth rate as the generation only accounts for 20% of total loans.

The members of this group see the current depressed real estate economy as an opportunity to begin building a realty portfolio. Although 81% of loans are for homes they will occupy, 19% is for investment property.

There is no projected ending for this trend.

The end of a cultural icon: Polaroid Film

Polaroid has struck a tear with Builders and Baby Boomers when they announced the stoppage of film production. Unless another company buys the rights to make the film, it will cease to exist after next year.

Myth Debunked: The camera did not get it's popular name from its early days, Polaroid "Land" Camera, because the reflection of water prevented developing the film. It's monacker was due to the fact that inventor Edwin Land developed the process to polarize light on film.

In the early 1960s Eastman Kodak discovered the advantages to marketing specifically to the growing baby boomer generation. The Brownie Starmite camera was an affordable way for the builder generation to introduce their children to photography. Polaroid answered in the following decade with “The Swinger”. Bikini-clad Ali MacGraw showed how much fun it was to have a fully developed picture in only seconds. Best of all it sold for only $19.95, making it one the most affordable cameras Polaroid had ever made.

In the 1990s Polaroid survived, much to the surprise of many analysts, serious financial problems and the advent of the digital camera age. However even the instantaneous nature of Polaroid film and cameras cannot compete with even more instantaneous digital photography.

Time marches on and a generation that already said goodbye to revolutionary technology like the Sony Betamax, Vegomatic, Seal-a-Meal, 8-Track tapes, and Commadore 64 will say goodbye once again.

Play the Swinger commercial.

Don’t mess with my Whopper

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its popular Whopper hamburger, Burger King launched the most successful ad campaign since “Have it your way” in the 1970s. They starting serving Wendy’s “Singles” or McDonald’s “Big Macs” to customers that ordered “Whoppers” in selected restaurants with hidden cameras. In some cases they just refused to sell the burger, saying it had been discontinued. The result is priceless footage of customers bitterly and vehemently complaining about the sandwiches demise.

The ad campaign struck a cultural nerve among baby boomers that grew up enjoying Whoppers and Whopper Juniors. The sentimental former Burger King patrons returned to reconnect to the taste of the Whopper, creating a double digit increase in sales for the comparable fourth quarter of 2007, despite the fact that the ad campaign only ran for 20 days during the quarter.

Burger King has learned that connecting to customers culturally will drive profit into the cash register. Here are just some of the cultures with which the ad campaign resonated.

• Baby Boomers. Touched a nostalgic nerve.


• Gen Y. This generation enjoys humorous advertising, particularly when pranks are involved. The ad was viewed over one-third million times on You Tube.
  
• Recreational/outdoor. A subtle link to an earlier, albeit less successful campaign, exploiting the broiled versus fried taste preference of the outdoor recreational culture.

Generations cope with writers strike

As with many other aspects of life, each generation is hoping with the writers strike in their own way:

• Builders/Traditionalists (born 1925-1944): watching network reruns.


• Baby Boomers (1943-1964): discovering cable alternatives.


• Gen X (1961-1980): still enjoying first run shows on cable.


• Gen Y (1977-2000): with MTV, MTV2, and VH1 they haven’t even noticed the strike.


• Millennials (1998-2012): Hannah Montana and other Disney and Nickelodeon hits are filmed a year in advance and You Tube doesn’t have reruns—therefore not effected.

Bridging cultures together in a campaign

Earlier this week, prominent members of the Kennedy family endorsed presidential bid of Senator Barack Obama. In doing so the Kennedys erected a bridge between the popular Generation Y candidate to the massive Baby Boomer electorate.

A simple endorsement would not have invoked the emotional foundation of the generational bridge. However both Caroline Kennedy and Ted Kennedy reminded the Baby Boomers of the days of Camelot.

Although baby boomers were too young to vote for President Kennedy they were well aware of the vision he had created for a new America. He had instilled hopes and dreams with then American hearts as he redefined the presidential image.

The key swing factor of 1960 presidential campaign was the use of television. Richard Nixon had a persona of the traditional stuffy politician. Yet Kennedy used the media to convey a friendly, human side. This image allowed him to speak directly to the hearts of Americans.

This is the same persona Obama worked to create. The message as well with Generation Y. However the Baby Boomers of the Democrat party were more likely to be supportive of Hillary Clinton. The words used as the Kennedy clan endorsed Obama created a bridge that Senator can now use to reach a new generation.

Starbucks hits back in coffee culture war

People were shocked when McDonald’s, the chain more popular for burgers and fries, announced they were going after the elite coffee market. It was seen clearly as a missile aimed directly right into Starbucks profitable business niche.

Entrepreneurs and Generation Y regularly gather at Starbucks for meetings and relationship building. Both these cultures are also within McDonald’s target demographics however cultural members had been walking under the green circle more than through the golden arches.

Evidently McDonald’s move was effective as Starbucks is now firing back with a marketing campaign clearly aimed at the restaurant giant.

An undisclosed number of Starbucks in Seattle are test marketing two of McDonald’s mainstays: the dollar menu and free beverage refills.

Okay, so it only includes one-product, the small, or “short”, coffee, it is still a significant change in the way coffee shops operate. There is not price parody as McDonald’s cup is 50% larger, but it is the first time a major coffee-driven chain has provided free refills.

Now we’ll watch to see if Starbucks is able to attract McDonald’s frugal economic culture.

GM v. Toyota: Editor misses big story

The newspaper editor missed a big story by not reading his own newspaper.

His front page told about GM’s quest to stay number 1 in global automotive sales – a feat they pulled off by a mere 3,000 vehicles on a base of over 9 million new car deliveries. Meanwhile, the business section had a story about how GM and Toyota had also tied for customer loyalty awards.

Are these really unrelated stories – or are they a key factor in global business success?

The most significant number in the second story is the 63% rate at which GM drivers return to buy another car. The same rate is only 57% at Toyota. Seems like a small difference – think again, it is over a half-million cars. Had Toyota been as successful at customer retention, they easily would have been in first place.

The cultural aspect of customer retention

Every product and service lends itself to s specific cultural demographic. However cultures change as they grow and develop. For example, the interests of the Baby Boomers have gone from economy student car, to SUVs as the children grew, to more luxury features as the generation reached career goals.

Each country has also its own cultural factors to address. GM is rapidly growing in several nations where they have clearly keyed into the local needs and desires of prevalent automotive-buying cultures. That is why they were able to hold onto the top spot for at least one more year – despite predictions.

Oddly enough, in the 1970s it was companies like Toyota that taught GM this cultural lesson.

Gen Y can drive and talk at the same time

by Guillermo, MBC Staffer

It seems popular for lawmakers to want to make it illegal for people to use their cell phones while they drive. With a war in Iraq, genocide in Darfur, starving children in every country on the planet, recession, the rising cost of education, global warming, healthcare, nuclear Iran, the declining US dollar, and rising crude prices – is this really what we should be working on?

Perhaps talking on the cell phone for older people is a problem, it isn’t for Generation Y or X. Gens X and Y are masters of multitasking. Remember, Generation X mastered IMing while playing NeoPets while checking out the latest video on You Tube. Gen Y can text message, create a FaceBook, update an iPod, and visit friends on Runescape – all at the same time. (Note: to Baby Boomers, get your grandchildren to tell you what these things are.)

Obviously doing all that at the same time is much more complicated than talking on the phone behind the wheel of a speeding car – so give Xers and Yers a break!

If you want to talk about driver distraction, ask a Gen Yer to drive while oldies music is playing on the radio. It not a distraction – it’s a sleep inducer for Gen Y. Maybe there should be a law about that.

Face it Baby Boomers, X and Y have arrived

For the first time in their generation Baby Boomers are seeing their power waning. The generation that first exp