RICK’S BLOG: THE MYTH OF A YOUTH DRIVEN ECONOMY

BY RICK GRANT rickgrant01@comcast.net May 3, 2007

The publication for which I write, EU Jacksonville is aimed at the 18 to 34 demographic as are most entertainment periodicals. We are swept up in the belief that this age group drives our economy. It’s true that young people are avid consumers of goods and services. However, the idea that the youth culture or subcultures are the predominate force of our consumer zeitgeist is overstated, even a completely false assumption.

The boomer generation is reaching retirement age. Yet, the whole concept of retirement has changed to a new model– today, the mid-sixties healthy seniors change careers instead of retiring and moving to a condo in Sarasota. Senior citizens have learned that they can be productive citizens working in a new career that gives them satisfaction, which nurtures their soul. The truth is: People are living longer. It is not unusual to meet people in their nineties still leading active and productive lives.

In our society, the seeds of rampant ageism are rooted in the us-versus-them mentality created by the generation gap. As today’s teenagers reach adulthood, they are naturally rebellious and see their parents as relics of the past. They think that their generation has all the answers and mom and dad are full of crap.

Then, as youth mature, get married, take out mortgages, and accept the responsibility of being parents themselves, they begin to empathsize with their parents generation–only to a certain extent. Still, they harbor deeply repressed resentment and look upon their generation as superior to their parents’ age group.

And so it goes for every subsequent new generation. This negative stereotype carries over into a young person’s view of all older people. In other words, they are thinking, "senior citizens should get out of our way and let us bloom."

As part of the natural growing up process, youth want to make their own mark on our world. Clearly, today’s youth have many advantages in technoloy, education, and new and exciting careers. But to anoint them as sole target of advertising is narrow minded and discounts the overwhelming affluent mature culture– successful older people who have plenty of discretionary income to buy goods and services.

As people get older, that is, older than 34, (that mysterious cutting off age) they don’t stop spending and dry up like prunes. If all advertising is aimed at the 18-34 demographic, then why do we have so many ads for erectile dysfunction, arthritis medications, and Depends? Yes, the youth have MTV, video games, rock concerts, and other youth oriented vehicles for advertising that feeds the youthful mind.

In contrast, the real money is being spent on the individual investor stock market websites and other mature money making ventures. The truth is: Older people have more money to spend on quality goods and services than the MTV generation. Twentysomethings buy VW Rabbits and Neons-- sixtysomethings buy Cadillacs and Lexuses.

So, let’s cast aside this 18 to 34 demographic as a limited interval–a myth that needs erasing. Young people and seniors have a lot to learn from one another. Let’s get along and stop resenting each other. We are, after all, citizens of earth. And, age is just a number.