i run across old assignments because i type something into my computer and when it searches, then it finds old essays and stuff
here's one i just ran across.. this is a must read imo.. its about age categories placed on people and how they can affect society's view of a generation age categories or "age cohorts" remind me of race a bit.. in that they are man-made categories placed on people that can do more harm than good i'm not so much against generalizations in every situation because they can be useful for constructive conversation.. but the media plays games with people and we all need to recognize that anyway check it out James Smedley Dr. Flower Sociology of Aging X’ers vs. Boomers Systematic Age-Based Division An age cohort is an age group given a name or a label. Age-cohort explanations allow for mass generalizations of people. This is mostly a negative and misleading thing because of the spin they put on these groups of people who are insinuated to be cohesive. Through age-cohort explanations of problems and phenomena, groups of people can be easily vilified when they are not an enemy, or another group may be described as lazy or inherently incompetent unjustly. This is done through subtle language cues and descriptions. Youth may be described as the mistreated and under-appreciated underdog but to describe the youth as such would be to assume all the youth reside in a single economic class. The article “The Xers vs. The Boomers” pointed out that older people have been described as passing a “bad check” to the young. This sort of language when continually received from the media creates a climate of strife between the older and the younger generation that is systematically put in place to divert attention from the true oppressors of the struggling population. I am not sure which age cohort I belong to personally. I could possibly belong “Generation-X,” I could also belong to “Generation Y,” or I’ve also heard before that I could possibly belong to a more specific sounding age cohort called “Twixters.” “Twixters” are supposed to be between childhood and adulthood for an extended period of time. They have a difficult time going from high school graduation to productive citizen living in relative normalcy. They have menial jobs and no job security and are seen as screw ups not living up to their true potential. The description of the “Twixters” has hidden within it an insult to those who may claim it. It is saying that even though you have no job security, and you are having a hard time getting stability in your life, it is your own fault and the societal structure has no part in your struggle. There is a time for personal accountability however at the same time societal factors should not be dismissed as having a great effect on its members. When it comes to the rest of the age-cohorts I know about, they also have a few stereotypes attached to them. “Boomers,” the article points out- (which is supposed to represent the older generation) are seen as being greedy, self-righteous, undeserving, and unwilling to share. They have enjoyed, abhorred, or at least seen the hippie generation and the Vietnam war. “Generation X” has been described as made up of “slackers” and they have also been called the “hard-luck generation.” They have seen, and grown with the rise of the internet and so they are seen as tech-savvy. I haven’t really ever thought of myself as being an age cohort mainly because I’ve never really known which one I belonged to. However I’ve always identified with the “Twixter” generation classification. I don’t know if I’d ever really say I am a “Twixter,” (to do so would be to insult myself and perhaps retard my potential) however I understand the description because myself as well as a lot of my friends have indeed had a hard time transitioning into normalcy, or family life, or a productive lifestyle. I look at it more as a description of society than a description of myself. The biggest challenge I believe my generation faces is finding stability in life. No matter how regular your work days are, you do not have stability if you do not earn a living wage. I realize a lot of people are not earning a living wage today. Also I have noticed a lot of jobs prefer to constantly hire and fire people as opposed to hire and keep those employees. I personally feel like they keep their finger on the trigger to keep costs down. They get people in the door by promising benefits and tuition reimbursement, however they don’t kick in for about three to six months. Unfortunately, there is an 80-90% chance you will not make it at that particular job long enough to reap the benefits. I have a friend who graduated from Belmont University which has a great reputation however he works twenty hours a week in retail and lives in a bedroom with a shower curtain for a door. He feels like his Belmont degree owes him more than what he got out of it. He too, has not yet reached stability. I don’t believe the media accurately portrays these challenges. I don’t believe the media accurately portrays anything. I believe the same people behind skewed and misleading age-cohort descriptions are the same people behind the media. For an example of the media and their propaganda about an age war, I located an article at USAToday’s website. Part of the article explains (concerning Generation-Y), "They've grown up questioning their parents, and now they're questioning their employers. They don't know how to shut up, which is great, but that's aggravating to the 50-year-old manager who says, 'Do it and do it now.'" (USA, 2008) I feel that this article is false because for one- what they are saying is a sweeping generalization that doesn’t acknowledge any economic, cultural, or even employment industry factors. I also feel that most everyone who has finished high school or college is so used to following rules and listening- that it is highly unlikely that they would enter the workforce and all of a sudden be “bad” at it. Also, right off the bat they are pitting one generation against another and saying that Generation-Y is likely to frustrate, undermine, and even anger older generations. It is unnecessarily divisive (likely for controversy/ratings) as it fails to detail how different generations work in tandem to create a dynamic and highly functional society. References Gullette, Margaret Morganroth 2004 “The Xers” versus “The Boomers” A Contrived War. pp.371-379 USAToday. 2008 “Generation Y: They've arrived at work with a new attitude” Armour, Stephanie. USAToday.com Retrieved Sept. 16, 2011 (http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2005-11-06-gen-y_x.htm)
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