Bright Young Things

The experiences and outlooks of younger generations have, certainly throughout the twentieth century, morphed with the pressures and opportunities of the time. The 1920s, with its ‘Bright Young Things’, were characterised by a carefree and indulgent frivolity, birthed by an underlying anxiety that the scale of destruction seen in the Great War had pillaged the concept of the Future. In the 1960s, Baby Boomers rode the wave of newfound (largely white, western, privileged) affluence and ambition about the world, as youth culture and commercialism shaped a horizon of possibility beyond the straitjacket of traditional values.

The Millennial generation, now in their twenties and thirties, are beginning to face a whole different set of realities and visions for their adult life. A culture of increasing mobility and flexibility brings an exciting and open set of prospects for work and family life. Home-ownership is a pipe dream, though, along with a lifelong career. Communities are less localised, and the ever-increasing grip of the social media world and tech culture present a new set of anxieties and expectations to negotiate in life. Most of the young can expect to work longer hours, in more jobs, with less security, than any of their living forbears – and until they are much older than them.

In a series of lectures this term, entitled #millennials, we welcome speakers from various disciplines – psychology, marketing, sociology, theology – in order to open a conversation about the shifting ways in which young people perceive themselves, envisage their future, and negotiate the challenges of the world around them. This is a shift that affects not only the strictly ‘Millennial’, but all who care about the sort of society and culture we are becoming, and how our humanity can be challenged and enriched in the midst of a changing and pressurised world. On Wednesday 31 October, 19:30 in the Old Library, Prof Anita Biressi will deliver the next talk, entitled ‘Your Future, Your Choice: Media Lessons for the Young and Ambitious’.

Guide us, O Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world,
and grant us evenness and tranquillity of spirit;
that we may not murmur in adversity,
nor in prosperity wax proud,
but in serene faith resign our souls to thy will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.