Generation Y: Try to speak to them in 140-characters or less

By Zack Whittaker | May 17, 2011, 2:33pm PDT

Could 140 characters be the key limit to getting across to the Generation Y? This post is written in tweets to try and prove a point.

I deal with a lot of myth-debunking in this job. One myth recently making the rounds is the reading word-limit of the Generation Y. [131]

With the rise of the status update and Twitter even still a viral method of communicating, the theory is that younger people read less. [135]

In honour of this idea, each paragraph in this article will be 140 characters or less. You may be surprised as to how hard this actually was. [140]

Younger readers do not read any less, as has been previously discussed. We are forced to confine our messages into smaller spaces, however. [139]

Twitter, in particular, forces us to limit our character count to only 140 characters. Over time, and with experience, it becomes easier. [137]

With something so inherently developed over time, it is not an illogical argument to suggest the Generation Y need less rather than more. [137]

Though 160-characters is the maximum one can send in any given singular text message, Twitter knocks this down by 20 characters. [128]

The Generation Y are the kings and queens of text messaging, without doubt. So is it becoming an in-built ‘requirement’ for younger writers? [140]

It could be reasoned that less is better. It gets more across in a short space, and allows content to be thought about and condensed. [133]

Many students, for example, will be acutely aware that shorter essays are often harder than the lengthy essays they are tasked with. [132]

So next time you speak to a Generation Y employee, try and condense your written text into a shorter, easier-to-read and concise fashion. [137]

While 140-characters may be limiting, try it and see. It may just get your point across in a way that younger people really understand. [136]

Isn't 140 too much?  

My parents both grew up during the Depression of the 1930s.  Seldom did they discuss the economic issues of their childhood though a grand-daughter was able to get my father to tell her a little.  Something the children never knew growing up was that my father used to shine shoes in town for a penny next to the barber shop when he wasn't in school and bring his earnings to the family.  They celebrated when he brought home 10 cents because that would feed the family for a dinner.

My parents were savers and they taught me the valuable lesson of saving and keeping making sure I have plenty of funds in case of emergencies.

That said, what you wrote about being "anti-consumer" is nonsence.  If they are (and that's a big if) then they are thrifty and thrifyness is a virtue.  The economic well-being of a nation is not based on debt, nor is it based on spending everything everyone has.  High savings is always good for a national economy.  But I don't see that this is the case.  Generation Y is, as you say, tech-savvy.  It's not that they are anti-consumers; but, rather, that they are changing what they consume.  Generation Y consumes electronic toys.  They have to have the newest gadget, the latest apps, faster speed, etc.  If Generation Y was really anti-consumers because they were always and constantly worried about their next meal, they wouldn't be buying quite so much and they would be saving more of their paychecks (when they have jobs).

i am thrifty. i order from peapod, which is much cheaper than getting food anywhere else. they sell 1.75 quarts of quality ice cream for $2.50. that is a quarter of a quart larger than competing brands and about $3-$5 dollars cheaper, and it tastes just as good.

i also shop at the salvation army and get lot of good stuff there. and i like short sentences.

Quote from: herbert

i am thrifty. i order from peapod, which is much cheaper than getting food anywhere else. they sell 1.75 quarts of quality ice cream for $2.50. that is a quarter of a quart larger than competing brands and about $3-$5 dollars cheaper, and it tastes just as good.

i also shop at the salvation army and get lot of good stuff there. and i like short sentences.

But you don't like punctuation, do you?

its overrated.