Once upon a time there was a retail and appliance store called Sears (sadly there are only a few locations remaining) where almost every single item we ever owned was purchased. Every appliance in our home had a Kenmore label purchased with a Sears employee discount. This retailer was so prominent during the 70s and …
Category: Generational Theory
Rent to Own
Growing up I remember television advertisements which claimed the tagline “Rent-to-Own” as a marketing ploy; and a quick search of the Internet leaves me to believe there remain a few stores which still offer this service, but it appears the interest has waned. With the current options for transferring payment through technology like Apple Pay, …
Flourishing Thinking
On this journey to examine ways to equip and engage Gen Z, specifically in the college classroom, much of my interest has zeroed in on processes such as active or experiential learning activities such as gamification, virtual simulations, and student-created content. As I’ve pondered what strategies might be successful in my classes, research on tinkering …
Lose the Prescriptions
As a health educator who supports the use of pharmaceutical medicines to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease, I admit to wrestling sometimes with where to draw the line between behavioral habits and the use of chemicals. When I make a choice to consume high-fat fast foods over fresh fruits and vegetables, I understand the …
This Is Your Brain on a…Smartphone
If you are unable to recall the 1987 public service announcement related to the dangers of drug abuse, our wonderful world of instantly accessible information allows you to click here to view the commercial. The scene depicts a man cracking open an egg into a frying pan to demonstrate the effects of using drugs. The …
Is Gen Z the Canary?
Entering unchartered territory is challenging and not for the faint of heart. Thankful for all the pioneers whose courage led them to brave new areas, I relish those who are willing to risk the unknown. Trailblazers are eager to journey into new territories to open opportunities for the rest of us; and currently, I believe …
Digital Minimalism
As a member of Gen X, born in the early 1970s, technology has required that I continually make adjustments, but I can’t say that I’m always prepared. Let’s see if anyone else relates to the ever-changing path of saving data, music and videos: first, we had a range of floppy disks from the large 8” …
A Flourishing Generation
At the university where I teach, each semester we are provided with opportunities to participate in dialogue groups with other faculty members and administrators which I find both insightful and challenging. Since the spring of 2011 where the group discussed Tim Elmore’s Generation iY to the fall of 2016 when the group read Jean Twenge’s …
The Habit of Resilience
Passion and Perseverance Emerging from the research on Gen Z comes the notion that Americans are trailing in their ability to be resilient, to bounce back after a flounder or failure, resisting the lessons to be learned from those valuable experiences. The prevalent reason for this gap relates to the protective nature us Gen Xers …
IQ, EQ and HQ
It’s the middle of March in 2020 as I compose this blog post and our society is currently in a state of panic over the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. With sporting events and church services being cancelled and colleges transitioning to online instruction, the world seems slightly unsettled at the moment. Not …
