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Millennials/Gen Y: Born approximately 1981 to 2000. College students and young professionals today.
iGen/Gen Z: Born after 2000. The oldest of these are currently in high school.
Essentially, is Southern hospitality still in place among younger Southerners, or is it being phased out? I don't see an overwhelming difference in the friendliness, niceness, politeness, helpfulness, and other subjective measures of positive human interaction you might choose to gauge in the South of 2016 versus the rest of the U.S. of 2016. Put another way, will the average 20-year-old in rural Kentucky be nicer than the average 20 y.o kid in rural Arizona? Or, will that average 20-year-old in Nashville be nicer than the average 20 y.o. in Denver?
Also, it seems like there is more of a noticeable "mannerisms" divide between larger metropolises versus smaller cities and rural areas. For example, the megalopolises (SF Bay/Sacramento, L.A./San Diego, Boston/NYC/Philly/Baltimore/DC, Chicago/Milwaukee, South Florida, Atlanta, Texas cities) versus the rest of the country. That said, I think this has always been in effect to some degree.
Maybe the difference is, simply put, urban vs. rural, not Southern vs. non-Southern. But, maybe I'm wrong...?
Well, it really depends, and I only have anecdotal evidence and a Southern bias. Based on my experiences with these generations from outside the South and on the time I spent on the West Coast and New England, Millennials and iGens (Never heard this term) from the South are nicer.
Whenever I do what I consider "normal" behavior where I am from, urban Texas, such as holding doors for strangers, saying thank you and you're welcome to strangers/servers, or offering to just lend a hand to strangers or workers (carrying bags or whatever), I get comments about how "nice" or "weird" I am. This include my cousins who grew up mostly in California and Washington state, adults, friends I made during my visits to the West Coast and New England, and even many older adults who I meet while outside of Texas. I mean, these things are normal where I grew up, almost to the point that they are expected, but it doesn't seem like it is elsewhere based on the reactions I get, which I only get from those outside from elsewhere.
Of course, just reiterating, this is from my own experiences.
It's probably safe to generalize if the overall general population is friendlier in the South and smaller cities throughout the country versus big cities in the NE or out west, so are the sub-demographic you speak of. Things are typically less rushed/frenetic in the South and in smaller cities, so the feel of "hurry-hurry you're holding me up" isn't anywhere near as prevalent.
Phased out. The south isn't what it used to be because of migration and immigration. Even the parents of most of the kids in the grade and high schools weren't born in the south. As another thread stated, the real south is mostly only found in the Delta region. The south east coastal states are basically suburbs of Midwest and Northern cities. TN has been heading down the same road.
Last edited by bluecarebear; 06-25-2016 at 09:20 AM..
It depends where in the south you are, and the rural areas and towns far from a major city still retain the "old South" feel the most, but for the most part, the South still possesses a down-to-Earth feel that you won't receive in the big Coastal (including South Florida) and Great Lakes cities. Sure, the South is a lot more advanced compared to even 10 years ago thanks to technology and quicker adoption of social changes as a result, and I'm sure that religion isn't nearly as big as what it was, but the region will still hold a soft spot. I'd say the south of the 2016 is similar in terms of pace/tech to what the coasts/Great Lakes cities were about a decade ago, although it seems as time continues to go on, that gap continues to gradually close. Even the parents of today's high schoolers in the south don't really remember the Jim Crow era and more people don't just listen to country or gospel music in addition. I'm comparing this to my visits to South Carolina in 2002 and Nashville/New Orleans/Savannah in 2011, and it seems that each visit don't seem as "classically southern" as the previous.
So to answer the question, generally yes, but slowly less so thanks to the aforementioned changes.
I think it still applies, some things that Southerners do are innate; Like opening the door for people, starting a conversation, saying yes ma'am, etc. etc.
I definitely think it's friendlier among younger people. I'm 30 and it's pretty common for people back home in Tennessee to strike up random conversation, etc. That's not the case here in Indiana at all.
Small towns where many of its residents are eager to meet new people are typically friendlier as I noticed out in the Midwest and South. In urban areas around the Northeast where there's a lot of people and traffic, people seem to be more rude because there's a "everyone is in my way" mindset. If you live in urban areas and you see thousands of people throughout your day then what's the point of being nice to everyone when that's probably the only time you'll see them in your life? Think about it. I can't speak for everyone in the Northeast but here in Connecticut people tend to be more self reserved and respect other people's privacy. You could know your neighbor but never step foot in their home. In many parts of the country that can be seen as odd.
As for the young generation I think many are nice and friendly so they can be set to make new friends for the later future. Once these kids graduate high school, many are separated if they choose to go out of state. On the other hand, I tend to notice once people get older then they get more grumpier.
I know for the fact this is going to be a lengthy thread so please don't mention how the milennials are entitled, spoiled, and lazy because every single generation believes the following generation is worse than theres. Aristotle said that kids are lazy and rude by skipping their chores by going to chariot races. Now get rid of chariot races and replace it with Cell Phones and that's 2016 for ya. LOL.
I'm a Millennial and I think my generation and younger are more united in culture than older generations because of technology. A lot of cultural and philosophical things Millennials share are on the Internet nowadays.
While I do believe Southerners of my age can be friendlier, this would solely rely on how their parents raise them. Our behaviors and to follow trends (natural for young people to do) are on nationwide social media sites such as Vine, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (especially Twitter), Yik ***, etc. So this means you are more likely to find Millennials and younger engaging in the same behaviors than older generations due to technology.
I'm 31, an older Millennial but don't care nor like my generation.
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