Mark McCrindle
Mark McCrindle is a social researcher with an international following. He is recognised as a leader in tracking emerging issues and researching social trends. As an award winning social researcher and an engaging public speaker, Mark has appeared across many television networks and other media. He is a best-selling author, an influential thought leader, TEDx speaker and Principal of McCrindle Research. His advisory, communications and research company, McCrindle, counts among its clients more than 100 of Australia’s largest companies and leading international brands.Mark’s highly valued research and reports, presented through infographics, data visualisations, videos, media input, resources, and blogs, have developed his regard as an expert demographer, futurist and social commentator. Mark brings a fresh approach to his research based boardroom briefings, executive workshops, strategy sessions and keynotes. Armed with the latest findings and presented in a customised and innovative way, Mark is an in-demand communicator. Mark McCrindle, BSc (Psychology), MA, is the author of five books on emerging trends and social change. Generation Alpha: Understanding our Children and helping them thrive; Work Wellbeing: Leading Thriving Teams in Rapidly Changing Times, The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations, Word Up: A Lexicon and Guide to Communication in the 21st Century and The Power of Good.
Phone: +612 88243422
Address: 105/29-31 Solent Cct
Baulkham Hills NSW Australia
Phone: +612 88243422
Address: 105/29-31 Solent Cct
Baulkham Hills NSW Australia
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unlike any other.
million Australians employed by not-for-profits are the 3.6 million volunteers, all of which makes charities by far Australia’s largest labour force.
infrastructure that builds the capacity of communities Australia wide. Their value to this nation is demonstrated by the almost $143 billion given in the last year, most of it by the community rather than government. The
esteem of this sector is demonstrated by the size of the charity workforce, which employs one in every ten Australian workers.
has exceeded even the most optimistic growth expectations, recently surpassing 25 million people, and Perth is powering towards being a city of 2.5 million by 2030.
in four Australians (74%) have given financially to charities/not-for-profits.
discerns the nation-wide trends.
A name today is more than what teachers will call you at school. It is your digital real estate in an increasingly technological world.
In 2018, there were just over 300,000 babies born in Australia. Around one in ten Australian newborns were given one of the top ten baby names.
unlike any other.
million Australians employed by not-for-profits are the 3.6 million volunteers, all of which makes charities by far Australia’s largest labour force.
infrastructure that builds the capacity of communities Australia wide. Their value to this nation is demonstrated by the almost $143 billion given in the last year, most of it by the community rather than government. The
esteem of this sector is demonstrated by the size of the charity workforce, which employs one in every ten Australian workers.
has exceeded even the most optimistic growth expectations, recently surpassing 25 million people, and Perth is powering towards being a city of 2.5 million by 2030.
in four Australians (74%) have given financially to charities/not-for-profits.
discerns the nation-wide trends.
A name today is more than what teachers will call you at school. It is your digital real estate in an increasingly technological world.
In 2018, there were just over 300,000 babies born in Australia. Around one in ten Australian newborns were given one of the top ten baby names.
from mass market to personalisation and customisation, from
a life of bricks-and-mortar shopping to $27.5 billion dollars in
online goods spend.
Organisations that have thrived in the past decade are those
who have understood their consumers and pre-empted the
trends. In 2020 we are living in a time of constant change.
Technology is developing faster than ever before and is
shaping consumption habits in ways previous generations have
not experienced. More prevalently, in the current COVID-19
environment, organisations are now adapting to change in
mere weeks instead of years.
Today's consumers are increasingly prioritising simplicity,
personalisation and customisation. The challenge for
organisations is to not just communicate their key brand
messages well, but to listen to and understand the unique
needs of each generation. They then need to respond in a
timely manner to set themselves apart from competitors. To
set up organisations to thrive in the current market it is more
important than ever to gain insight into today’s consumers.
What are their defining characteristics? What are their
expectations and where will they be in the next decade?
This report is for business leaders, future thinkers and
communication strategists. It is for those who want to
understand the consumer of the future and set their
organisation up for success.
younger people, the “digital natives”, who are leading the way.
Many Australians knock young people for the unorthodox ways in
which they use language and communicate. However, generations Y
and Z are a product of our technological age, and their language simply
reflects this. Unlike older generations, they have learned to adapt their
spoken and written styles to technology.
Technology isn’t the only force shaping language today. American
culture, multiculturalism and globalisation continue to have a major
impact (to be analysed in the second chapter).
The lexicon at the back of the book contains youth slang in current
use by generations Y and Z. If you are a Baby Boomer (born 1946–1964)
or a member of Generation X (1965–1979), you will notice some words
spawned by your own generation that you probably used as a young
person (and perhaps still use), that have been adopted by gens Y and Z.
You will also notice that the spelling, pronunciation and even meanings
of many of these words have changed or evolved with the younger
generations. To compile this lexicon we surveyed generations Y and Z
and asked them for the key words they use – and the meanings. Our
research showed that not all under 30s use all these words, ho
generations cut through global, cultural and socioeconomic
boundaries. Due to globalisation, largely made possible
through the various technologies of today, the youth in
Australia, the USA, the UK, Germany and Japan are shaped
by the same events, trends and developments: they are avid
users of social media and online technologies, are witnessing
an unprecedented ageing in their populations, and are
more financially endowed and formally educated than any
generation preceding them.
Even beyond these developed countries young people
are logged on and linked up. From Beijing to Bangalore,
from Buenos Aires to Brisbane, we have a generation accessing
the same websites, watching the same movies, downloading
the same songs and being influenced by the same
brands. Today we have the world’s first global generation.
Therefore we define a generation as a group of people born
in the same era, shaped by the same times and influenced by
Generations defined | 3
the same social markers – in other words, a cohort united
by age and life stage, conditions and technology, events and
experiences.
Generational characteristics:
not a passing fad
Some may argue that such attributes as the limited attention
span of Gen Y, Australia’s current adolescent and
young adult population, is a trait of all young people
regardless of the time they were born into, or a passing fad
and not a generational trait that they will carry through
to mid-life and old age. However, generational characteristics
are not merely a factor of life stage, or a fad that
they will outgrow. While people of various ages are living
through the same events, the age at which one is exposed
to a political shift, technological change or social marker
determines how embedded it becomes in one’s psyche and
worldview.
National statistics further demonstrate that generational
diversity is not just a matter of life stage. For example, the
average age at first marriage for Gen Y today is 28 for a
female and 30 years for a male.3 In 1982, when the youngest
of the Boomers were in their early 20s, the average age at
marriage was 22 for females and 24 for males.4 Among the
factors deemed responsible for Generation Y’s unwillingness
to commit to binding relationships are relaxed moral
codes and high divorce rates. As is evidenced by these statistics,
delaying the markers of adulthood (such as marriage,
having children, getting a mortgage and a steady career) is
characteristic of the Y-ers, just as loyalty – to spouse, boss,
brand and country – is characteristic of the Builders. The
4 | The ABC of XYZ
old Jesuit saying holds true: ‘Give me a child until he is
seven, and I will show you the man.’5
Of course, youth of all eras demonstrate some similar
characteristics such as an experimental lifestyle, questioning
the status quo, idealism and pushing the boundaries. However,
you would not say that those growing up in the 1970s
were the same as those who came of age in the 1990s and
those who are coming of age today. While age influences
behaviour and attitudes, greater impacts are made by the
culture in which one lives out one’s youth, as well as social
markers – significant events during one’s formative years.
There is an ancient saying that bears much truth: ‘People
resemble their times more than they resemble their parents.’
whether by facilitating focus groups or conducting national
surveys, and what I consistently find is that most people embody
the Australian stereotype of lending a hand – whether it be to a
mate or a stranger.
The perception of worsening violence and less kindness is
largely based on crime coverage in daily media reports, and is
refuted by solid research. The reality is that nationally, and for the
majority of Australians personally, we experience far more acts of
good than ill – indeed, as shown later in the book, by a factor of
38 to 1.
xiv
This book is a small testament to the power of good in our
society. These seventy true stories of kindness from strangers are
just a sample of the millions of such stories that could fill volumes
like this.
Many of our contributors, though not all, are prominent
Australians. Their stories are further recognition that individual
achievement rarely occurs without a helping hand from others.
After all, we call this the lucky country – we don’t take the credit for
it all ourselves. We value independence in a community-minded
way. We hope you find this book further evidence of the power
and life of the community spirit that shines so strongly in the
Australian psyche. In these times of great change and incredible
diversity we all know that when adversity strikes, whether in the
form of bushfires, floods or international conflict, there’ll be a
fellow Aussie there to help out. It’s the tradition of the digger, the
character of mateship, and the enduring power of good.
This book was written and compiled by Mark McCrindle
with Emily Wolfinger of McCrindle Research.
Mark McCrindle is a social researcher with an international
reputation for tracking the emerging trends and analysing the diverse
generations. He is the Director of not-for-profit organisation, the
Australian Leadership Foundation, as well as McCrindle Research
whose clients include over 100 multinational organisations. His
highly valued research and reports have developed his renown as a
futurist, demographer and social commentator.