Social Interaction among Millennials and Baby Boomers
Introduction
When it comes to social interaction differences among Millennials and Baby Boomers there is much to be said. Millennials are digital natives and have grown up with social media. Boomers have come to the technology late but have embraced it to some extent, though not quite to the same level as Millennials. In the workplace, among family and friends, and in terms of digital communication, Millennials and Baby Boomeers interact socially in ways that are similar and different and this paper will discuss and describe those ways.
Workplace
One of the main points to remember with regard to Boomers is that they grew up with face to face interaction and they value being able to communicate in a face to face manner (Venter, 2017). Millennials are much more willing to engage in virtual communication or to work in virtue workplaces (Ngotngamwong, 2019). However, there is an important difference between Millennials and Boomers in the workplace and it relates to organizational commitment: Boomers are more likely to value commitment, while Millennials are more likely to change jobs multiple times in order to work their way up the corporate ladder or just to find a job that they match up well with (Ngotngamwong, 2019). Boomers tend to have an unfavorable view of Millennials, whom they view as irresponsible, unreliable, stubborn, impatient, overly confident, frequently using their phones, and not listening to their superiors (Ngotngamwong, 2019, p. 62). Millennials do not view themselves in this manner, however, and feel that they are lively and valuable to whatever company that employs them. They like to interact in a meaningful way and want to have a positive impact on the development of the company (Ngotngamwong, 2019). Boomers, meanwhile, are more likely to embrace the status quo and to value stability. They do not like to take risks or try to push the company in new directions in the way that Millennials try to do. This difference in how the two generations approach the workplace can create social tension and it is a challenge for managers in terms of how to manage these two generations (Stewart, Oliver, Cravens & Oishi, 2017).
Boomers believe that Millennials act like they are entitled, while Millennials believe that Boomers do not want to give up their positions or jobs to the younger generation (Ngotngamwong, 2019). These beliefs create conflict in the workplace and make it difficult for the two groups to overcome the generation gap. Managers have to find ways to help the two groups learn to appreciate one another (Stewart et al., 2017). In the age of coronavirus, there are ample opportunities for these two groups to come together. With more employees working virtually from home, there is a need for Zoom meetings, where face to face virtual meetings take place over the Internet. The merger of technology with face to face communication methods is a way for that difference between the two to be overcome.
Family/Peer
Boomers have a higher marriage rate than do Millennials, who are less likely to want to get married and start a family, though the latter group is not averse to caring for family members (Accius & Yeh, 2016). The problem is that Millennials have grown up in an age where divorce is much more common than it was when Boomers were coming of age. When Boomers were growing up, getting married and starting a family was still the norm. Today, co-habitation, single-parent homes, and childless couples are much more common. Millennials, therefore, do not have the same orientation towards family or towards having a family that their grandparents had. To make...
…was the ultimate in fame. They would never associate stardom with being a social media celebrity, so there is that difference, too.
Millennials and Boomers differ on the digital divide and the utility of digital communications. The main reason for this is that Millennials have been brought up in the digital age; Boomers have had to adapt to this age, particularly in work and if they have young children or grandchildren (Bennett et al., 2010). Boomers see Millennials as dependent upon technology and Boomers think that their own social skills are superior to those of Millennials, since Millennials lack the skills required for interacting face to face, reading a persons body language, and using social and emotional intelligence (Allen et al., 2015). Millennials believe they are mischaracterized by Boomers and feel that Boomers have an ingrained prejudice against digital technology since they did not invent it or ask for it (Ngotngamwong, 2019).
Conclusion
Millennials and Baby Boomers are very different in terms of the way they socially interact with others. Millennials like the idea of being able to stay connected to friends and family digitally, via social media, text messaging, and email. Boomers prefer landline telephones and face to face interaction. They grew up in a time when everyone got to know everyone else on ones street. Millennials have grown up in a time when few neighbors are known, most talking is done online, and must relationships are more digital than they are face to face. Millennials and Boomers have negative views of one another, and these negative views reflects what is important to both n terms of social interaction. Millennials want to stay networked because they are always looking for a better opportunity. Boomers prefer to seek stability rather than change and so they look down on Millennials who are changing the game…
