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MTV Generation

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A generation gap or sub-generation that includes the end of the Generation X (a generation following the Baby Boom, especially Americans and Canadians born in the 1960s and 1970s) yet importantly includes the elders of Generation Y (a generation considered to follow Generation X from 1977 onwards).

However, the offspring of those who were born from parents of the Baby Boomers Generation in the late 1970s and early 1980s who do not necessarily fit in to Generation X's overview are considered to be a generation within itself - namely Generation XY often referred to under several known names by the media and society as the Cold Generation Y (Early Y Partition), The No Generation or MTV Generation, (also the definitive term: Thatcher's Children and Cold War Babies) which could be considered to have been between 1975 and 1985. It can also be observed that the MTV Generation is a term used in order to define those who partake in both Generation X and Y - being that today's media targets the youth of tomorrow. The worldwide acknowledgment of an MTV Generation has been proven through the success of MTV and it's by-products on a global scale as well as its influence upon youth culture and society throughout the 90s.

XY Cusp

The XY Cusp includes those people born in the late 70s and early 80s. The word XY is used because their generational identity is mixed, uncertain, or deviant from X or Y or both, but do not constitute a separate generational group in themselves. Some place the years between: 1978-1982 [1] and 1978-88 [2]. However, both sources agree on the late 70s and early 80s. People born within this group are in parallel situations with people born in between previous generations: Generation Jones (between Boomer and X - late 50s, early 60s); between Silents and Boomers - late 30s, early 40s; and between GI and Silents - late 10s, early 20s. They are referred to as Cusper Groups, Transitional times, or Buffer Zones. John Losey states says "If you couldn't neatly place yourself in any of the (generations), then you're probably a Cusper. 1943-1947, 1962-1967 and 1978-1982 are each considered transition times. Many people born during these cusp periods identify with the generations on either side. Often, Cuspers feel like they belong to neither and belong to both. They are generationally bilingual. They can act as translators and ambassadors between the generations." [3] [4]

Differences with Generation Y

It has been noted that those born in the late 70s and early 80s exhibit certain societal and cultural traits, habits and preferences that-- while combining certain aspects of Generation X, as well as those which would later be apparent in Generation Y-- render them unique in their own right. This partition has been occasionally referred to as the Early Y or Cold Y Generation by most scholars.

Reasons for this partition include attitudes about technology, societal norms and, in an indirect sort of way, areas like the global political order. This generation was the very last to (assuming born in 1983 or 1984) obtain cognizance or self-awareness before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Therefore they were the last generational segment with any memory of life during the Cold War. They were also the last to have some idea of what life was like when the modern information based society was in its transitional/formative years, rather than the current all-pervasive and totally integrated form it had taken by the early 90's. In other words, they were the final generation to be able to compare and contrast the late Cold War/Space Age society with the Post-Cold War/Information Age society using their own personal experiences and memories.

Consequently, one can see these characteristics manifest themselves in areas like the approach to contemporary technology. For the regular Generation Y, modern information technology has always been "there", whereas Early Y grew up during the critical period of technological evolution in which the current bedrock technologies on which our info-based society reliance were moved out of the technical/specialist realm and into the consumer applied realm. Often when traits of each area were mixed and indistinct, giving Early Y a rather odd viewpoint that combines the outlook of the specialist/technical segment of the previous generation (but much more widely disseminated) with the integrationist outlook of the later Y generation.

In terms of political and societal outlook, there are also noticeable differences. Whereas Gen X has now largely had time to fall into the standard orthodoxes of political participation (in a relativistic sense, not a judgmental/absolute sense, i.e. if you are on the far left in the U.S., a Trotskyite labor group could be considered an orthodox political outlet), and mainstream Gen Y has either done so also or (for a wide segment of it) remained apathetic or non-participatory. Early Y, on the other hand, has also manifested tendencies towards a less common form of what has been termed "policy-centric pragmatism", which places a lower value, relatively speaking, on constructs like ideology or formalism. When what could be termed 'ideology' does manifest itself, the Early Y's seem to have taken-on an unusual tendency to look towards an often imported belief or value system that lies outside the scope of those normally brought into the U.S. from abroad.

Speaking in terms of societal mores and values, Early Y seems to be in a limbo between the post-Sexual Revolution norms of Gen X and the emergent ones of Gen Y (which have been described by some commentators as simply the normalization or commoditization of those of Gen X). This includes an apparent embracing of the basic outlooks of Gen X, but a reluctance to carry to their logical extremes, as we see occurring now with Gen Y. In many areas, Early Y seems to embrace the more cynical world-view exhibited by X while rejecting some of what they view as crassness or immoderation. It has been remarked that in doing so, as Early Y matures they have begun to look several generations behind X in forming certain societal/sexual constructs - thus becoming their own as a generation apart from X and Y.

Global factors defining the MTV Generation

Most notable factors relevant to the MTV Generation is the overall nihilistic attitude of the teenagers growing up through the 1990s having been brought up in the 1980s and recently becoming adults of the 3rd millennium, as well as

The teens of the MTV Generation who grew up in the 1990s have also been referred to as the Doom Generation, picked up from Gregg Araki's The Doom Generation (1995) and due to the popularity of the 1993 computer game Doom. The meaning also represents the overall feeling of the generation, having been children through most of the revolutionary changes that occured to Generation X, not to mention living their childhood through the 1980s they had no sense of direction or sentiment of belonging, thus encapsulating an entire generation within a "doomed" atmosphere - giving the re-birth into the Goth and Grunge music and lifestyle.

Those born before 1985 witnessed the major movie stars such as Johnny Depp get their starts on television. In Depp's case it was 21 Jump Street. Others such as Jim Carey, Jamie Foxx, and The Wayans Brothers got their start on In Living Color, a series that tried to rival Saturday Night Live in the early '90s. Generation MTV fans of Saturday Night Live will also remember the careers of Adam Sandler, Janeane Garofalo, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, The Belushi Brothers (James Belushi and John Belushi), Norm Macdonald, and a whole host of others.

Those born prior to 1985 can also remember the early stages of the World Wide Web - including the first original chat applications such as ICQ and Yahoo! (one of the pioneering "dotcoms" in the 1990s) along with AltaVista being the first major search engines. Those born in the late 1970s probably did not own a computer until their preteen or teen years in the early to mid Nineties. Other aspects of the Internet which were first encountered were the first homepage web host services Angelfire, Geocities, and Tripod, as well as web groups and online communities - such as those in the Excite internet portal.

A notable quote of the Simpsons in regards to the generation that defined itself through TV and music:

Movies that are often associated to the generation

Director Harmony Korine not only grew up in the generation but also emulates it within his movies which reflect the youth and lifestyle of the XY Generation. Other directors that were prominent icons during the generation would be Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, Wes Anderson, Danny Boyle, David Fincher and Spike Jonze to name but a few who marked their influence upon those growing up in the XY Cusp.

TV shows that are usually associated to the generation

The following list are a sample of televised animated series and sitcoms from the early 80s to late 90s that were popular components in the development of those growing up within the XY Cusp, which would influence a later younger generation and the future current fashion in media and society.

Music that is associated to the generation

The majority of music from the MTV Generation was contributed from artists who were from Generation X, just as previous esteemed musicians of Generation X were born in the Baby Boomers generation. Generation XY not only shares certain views as those in Generation X, but also the same musical taste which would later cross-over into the MTV Generation due to the effects of Generation X upon the Gen X'er musicians and artists.

The music that defined the MTV Generation was mostly pop music which had emerged from New Wave and R'n'B styles, giving birth to the Boy Band phenomenon (which would later become the Girl Power or Girl Band sensation in the later generation). Another important area was the birth of Alternative Rock which at the time featured prominent artists who would mark a new form of rock music for the future generation. The underground Hip Hop scene would also eventually develop into the Gangsta rap genre which included different styles between the East Coast and West Coast labels. Techno also included itself as an important factor to the devlopment of music during this time, and it would also enter a new domain by opening up the Rave sub-culture which is considered to have truly lasted until the fall of the 1990s. Video game music is also unusual musical influence [5].

Later the musical styles and interests that were passed on from Generation X, through to the MTV Generation would be abandoned for a new saccharin and cleaner-cut style of music which would be prominent upon those in Generation Y. The major contributors that would lead the way from the MTV Generation into Generation Y would be:

Technology/Media

This generation used or witnessed the following technology from their teenage years (born late 70s) and preteen years (born early 80s):

Culture (Political and Social)

This generation was also the first to experience:

The distinct end of Generation X.

Crossover with beginning of "true" Generation Y:

The Doom Generation

Crime and drugs are not unique to any generation, however, the crime rate was extremely high in the 1990s and XYers were being exposed to it at an immature age unlike Generation X. In addition, XYers specifically became a target of negative stereotypes. During the late 1980s, there was a recession. Throughout the world, crime rates rose. In America, a crime bomb had exploded in 1988. [6] [7] [8]

During this period, late Xers born mid 70s were entering adolescence. Naturally, criminologists would have predicted that this group of people would not be a threat until later on when they reached mid teens (15-17). However, crime statistics on numbers of arrests showed that adolescents were being pulled in to crime rings and being arrested in record numbers. The arrests adolescents increased year by year. Criminologists were baffled. Then, in 1992, the 1992 Los Angeles riots occurred. In 1992, people under 18 (born after 1976) accounted for 13% of all violent crimes reported and 18% of all violent crime arrests. They were responsible for: 9 percent of murders; 12 percent of aggravated assaults; 14 percent of forcible rapes; 16 percent of robberies; 20 percent of burglaries; 23 percent of larceny-thefts; 24 percent of motor vehicle thefts; and 42 percent of arsons. [9]

The arrests increased until finally, in 1994, it reached it's highest peak with those adolescents born 1977-1982. This was a cause for concern. Criminologists rushed to find an explanation of adolescent participation. Some suggested neglect. Follow-up studies of children who had cases of substantiated abuse or neglect found that 26 percent of the children were later arrested as minors. [10]

Others pointed to an epidemic of crack cocaine that fueled urban violence, as well as high unemployment and declining economic prospects for low-skilled workers, especially among minority groups. [11] But the increase in adolescent arrests was a new issue, which couldn't be explained by old causes. Jeremy Travis, Director of the National Institute of Justice, vividly recalls, feeling confident about watching crime rates fall in the 80s. But then "rock" appeared on the West Coast -- a form of smokeable cocaine. Prof. Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie Mellon University has a hypothesis called the "diffusion hypothesis:" that as new crack entrepreneurs were setting up business, taking over turf previously dominated by others, they recruited young people as sellers and middle managers, then these low level dealers needed guns to defend themselves, and the guns, once in the hands of impulsive adolescents, quickly "diffused" into the youth culture so that garden variety adolescent squabbles over girlfriends and valued clothing got settled by gunfire. [12]

Another cause was influence of peers or membership in a group. [13] Young people who join gangs are four to six times more likely to engage in criminal behavior when they are gang members than when they are not. [14] Modern gangs became a public concern in the 60s because of the increases in violence, but the issue itself was largely ignored by government officials. They chose instead to focus on juvenile delinquency and other issues. Gangs must not have been big enough back then, but the 90s was a different story. As 1990 came around, the youth gang population grew like never before and was the subject of daily news and community meetings everywhere. However, the gang population continued to grow throughout the early 90s. The issue was so great that government officials couldn't ignore it any longer. They set up separate agencies and research projects specifically on gangs. The increase in gangs somewhat increased along with the rise in arrest rates. [15] [16] [17] Gangs of the 90s are also shown in the HBO documentary “Gang Wars: Banging in Little Rock" (1994), Skinheads USA: Soldiers of the Race War (1993), and books such as East Side Stories: Gang Life in East LA (1998), Cold new world : growing up in a harder country (1998). For 1993, the conservative estimate of nationwide gang-crime activity, based on law enforcement reports, is 8,625 gangs, 378,807 gang members, and 437,066 gang-related crimes. This was an increase from 1991 estimates. [18]

On the other hand, many people under 18 were also being victimized by their peers. Between 1987 and 1991, the risk that a person between the ages of 12 and 17 (Born 1974-1979) would become a victim of a crime increased 17%. Most of their victims are friends or acquaintances (53%), strangers (32%), and family members (15%). [19] After 1988, the yearly number of people under 18 being murdered rose above 1000. [20] By 1994, 25% of all crimes had victims under 18 (Born 1977-1983). 60% of victims between the ages of 12 and 19 (1975-1983) were attacked by someone between the ages of 12 and 20 (83% with weapons and 27% being seriously injured). In addition, four times as many minors were killed with a gun in 1994 than in 1984. [21] [22]

As a result of the crime wave of 1994, the public was now definitely scared of youth. The media even predicted a new cohort of “super-predators” based on what had happened between 1988-1994. "Conservative academics such as James Q. Wilson and John DiIulio and a small band of mainstream criminologists such as Alfred Blumstein and James Fox forecasted societal disaster. Wilson predicted “30,000 more young muggers, killers, and thieves”; DiIulio in 1990 foresaw another 270,000 violent juveniles by 2010. He warned of a “crime bomb” created by a generation of “fatherless, godless, and jobless [juvenile] super-predators.” The media hyped the story, and many elected officials exploited it. The citizenry was told about a generation of babies, born to “crack-addicted” mothers, who would possess permanent neurological damage, including the inability to feel empathy. The scientific evidence supporting this claim was nonexistent. More than 40 states made it easier to transfer children to adult criminal courts." [23]

As a result, early Y criminals had a tougher time in court than Late Xers. In 1998, juveniles (1981-6) were more 3 times more likely than adults to be charged with a violent felony. [24] "Educators enacted “zero-tolerance” policies to make it easier to expel youngsters from school, and numerous communities adopted youth curfews. Many jurisdictions turned to metal detectors in public schools, random locker searches, drug tests for athletes, and mandatory school uniforms. The panic was bipartisan. Every crime bill debated by Congress during the Clinton administration included new federal laws against juvenile crime. Paradoxically, as Attorney General Janet Reno advocated for wider and stronger social safety nets for vulnerable families, President Bill Clinton joined congressional leaders demanding tougher treatment of juvenile felons, including more incarceration in both the adult and youth correctional systems." They also used youth correctional boot camps or “scared straight” programs that use prison visits to try to frighten youngsters away from criminal lives. [25] [26]

Likewise, the crime rate was also high in the schools. [27] Schools implemented methods to prevent crime (listed in order of most used to least used) suspension, student conduct/discipline code, collaboration with other agencies, expulsion, school board policy, alternative programs or schools, staff development, and conflict resolution/mediation. Other used by a minority of schools were training/peer mediation, locker searches, closed campus for lunch, mentoring programs, home-school linkages, dress code, law-related education programs, multicultural sensitivity training, parent skill training, search and seizure, security personnel in schools, support groups, student photo identification system, gun-free school zones, specialized Curriculum, drug-detecting dogs, work opportunities, telephones in classrooms, metal detectors, volunteer parent patrols, closed-circuit television, establishing safe havens for students. [28]

  • Cultural influences of crime in the early 90s:

Whereas Generation X was criticized as so wild and stupid as to put the nation at risk, XYers have been specifically criminalized, frisked, searched, and feared by society and each other resulting in a culture of resentment and antagonism towards society. In addition, the experience or the perception of danger from peers has made them antagonistic and distrustful towards eachother, yet extremely protective over their own friends and family. Since they were exposed to violence and destruction at an immature age, either on TV or in reality, they were likely to misinterpret the causes or rational of what was happening. They viewed the world with fear because of the chaos and inability of authorities to control the situation. Media antagonism also caused self hatred [29] [30] [31] In contrast, Generation X would have been mature enough to understand that the situation in the early 90s was only temporary and understood its causes. The sources of resentment in the two groups are different. Generation X gets its resentment from being the forgotten latchkey teens of the 80s. They were affected by the continual bombardment of images of the nuclear family and feelings of inadequacy and isolation from society resulted. On the other hand, XYers were not bombarded by images of the nuclear family as teens [32] [33] [34] [35] and by the 1990s, the traditional family was portrayed as a norm of a long forgotten past [36]. The overall cause of resentment in XYers was from being spotlighted and treated as criminals during the early 1990s.

  • MEDIA ANTAGONISM OF THE LATE 1990s

During the late 90s, there were a rising trend in school shootings accompanied by low crime rates and a rising economy. Since there were no other causes for the shootings, the media blamed it on psychological problems of the students involved. However, school shootings were a very rare experience for most XYers. Bad press about this generation continued throughout the late 90s [37] In the Woodstock 1999 concert teenagers were blamed for the violence that occurred [38] [39] [40]. In the 1999 Seattle protests of the WTO, many of the protesters who got beaten and arrested were XYers. Paul Richmond says "While the demonstrators were fairly well organized, many of the organizers of the civil disobedience were young, in their teens and early twenties." [41] This only led teens and early twenties to feel that nothing was wrong with society, but with their peers only, creating a heightened sense of fear amongst each other [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] and fear from their own parents[48].

An Ambitious Generation of Drifting Dreamers

Barbara Schneider and David Stevenson, in their book, The Ambitious Generation: America's Teenagers, Motivated but Directionless acknowledged that popular media had portrayed 90s teens as "slackers, drug users, and perpetrators of violent crimes." However, after conducting extensive research on the subject, and analyzing data from national longitudinal studies from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s using the Alfred P. Sloan Study of Youth and Social Development, they discovered that media's portrayal was far from the truth. They found instead, "The overwhelming majority of (90s) teenagers, however, graduate from highschool, do not use hard drugs, are not criminals, and do not father or have babies while still in their teens. Many of them are willing to work hard to get good grades and assume this will make them eligible for scholarships at the college they plan to attend. Most young people are worried about their futures and believe attaining a college degree is critical for finding a first real job. The bachelor's degree is seen as the necessary first step in moving up the economic and social ladder. Many consider graduate and professional degrees essential.Although very ambitious, many adolescents find it very difficult to fulfill their dreams. They are unaware of steps they can take that may help them achieve their ambitions. Often their ambitions are dreamlike and not realistically connected to specific educational and career paths. Regardless of how hard they try, they may find themselves "running in place and unsure where to go." The authors described 90s teens as "Drifting Dreamers." More importantly, they found that "large numbers of them expect to become physicians, lawyers, and business managers (white collar workers); few want to work as machinists, secretaries, or plumbers. Such high ambitions are held by teenagers from all families—rich, poor, Asian, black, Hispanic, and white. More adolescents than ever expect to graduate from college, earn graduate degrees, and work in the whitecollar world of professionals. They are America's most ambitious teenage generation ever." Hence, they coined the name Ambitious generation. Another important finding was found in comparison of social structure between 1950s teens and 1990s teens. Teenage social groups of the 90s were in contrast to 1950s "very fluid in their membership (not permanent or definable) and, as a result, (were) often un-stable." This fluidity, in turn, "weakened their ability to sustain strong norms that can influence and direct the behavior of (teens)." In addition, he stressed that even though parents and the school helped students get good grades and stay in college, they were unsure on how to give advice in realistically planning ones career, leaving many teens to guess on what to do or to be lost in their dreams of achieving success. All of these compounded and contributed more to the XYer "Drifting Dreamer" problem. [49]

See also


Preceded by MTV Generation
c. 1975 - c. 1985 		Succeeded by
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