Talkin’ ’bout my Generation

Who remembers these lyrics? If you do, you may not have been there, but they certainly were a catchcry for the times of the Baby Boomers. But now we have moved on through the Generation X, Generation Y and now Generation Z of dentists and patients. While categorization of generations is a very imprecise art, it is nonetheless worthwhile as it helps us understand how the times are changing and if we don’t accept them we will sink like a stone – some of you will get what I am on about, others will not, so it is probably better to move on from the musical metaphors and get on with the Editorial. I have chosen this topic because, until I attended a lecture recently titled ‘Move On Millennials, Gen Z is taking over’, I had no idea what was going on. Yes, I had become captured in my own Baby Boomer time warp and had lost track of where the generations were heading and what it meant for us. This was truly disappointing for me because not only as a parent, but also as a teacher, I should have been on top of my game and understood the change at hand. Let’s look at the Millennials and Gen Z. Millennials are those born roughly in the years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 1990s and follow after Gen X (who followed the Baby Boomers). Generation Z refers to the next generation after the Millennials, starting around the mid 1990s through to the late 2000s. Millennials are already in the workforce and becoming a big part of our adult patient population. Millennials have a number of characteristics. On the negative side, they’ve been described as lazy, narcissistic, coddled and prone to jump from job to job. It is documented that they want flexible work schedules and more ‘me time’. Apologies to the Millennials reading this but these observations are backed up by a large body of sociological research. Fortunately, Millenials have also been described in positive ways in that they are generally confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and receptive to new ideas and ways of living. They are also the first generation predicted to be worse off than their parents, forcing them to push back delaying marriage and parenthood. It is estimated that this group will constitute 75% of the workforce by 2025. Members of Gen Z are about to join the workforce and become adult patients. This is the first generation to not know life without technology and have grown up with social networking sites and instant messaging as a part of normal daily life. As a result they have little concern for privacy and no problem sharing even the most intimate details of their lives with virtual strangers. Because they are so comfortable with technology, they are also natural multitaskers. They can text, read, watch, talk and eat all at the same time. This talent comes with a downside, known as ‘acquired attention deficit disorder’, whereby this generation is losing the ability to focus and analyse more lengthy, complex information. Another characteristic is that they have a short attention span, perhaps brought on by the tendency to multitask. This trait requires information to be delivered in rapid, short bursts if it is to be understood. Generation Z thrives on instant gratification. For our patients, understanding these traits will now help us understand the plethora of ‘new age’ hype and advertising in our daily practising lives. Ten years ago slogans such as ‘Managed Healthcare: Marketing to Millennials’, ‘6 ways to use patient-centred apps in your practice’, or even ‘Dr Google, the New Doctor’ would have made little sense. Did you know the latest figures show that in the US there were 864 926 searches by patients seeking a dentist between July 2014 and June 2015 on one website alone? Technology is moving so fast that soon the Millennials will have trouble keeping up as Gen Z ramps up and they eventually make way for Gen Alpha! For dentists and their staff it will be essential to keep on top of these changes. Without understanding how each generation reacts and interacts there will only be frustration as each generation fails to understand the next and how they view the world, interact with the world and how this impacts on their work and lifestyle expectations. Change is good but understanding it is even better. Check it out, and start preparing now for the next generation of eager, young talent albeit with a completely different focus and agenda to your generation!