Twentysomethings

I first became aware that the twentysomethings were a special demographic, worthy of my complete attention, in the fall of 2005 when I attended a publishing conference. I sat in on a session for editors on how to reach the twentysomething market with the books we publish. As I sat next to my co-worker, listening to the twentysomething experts tell us what we must do if we want to capture the attention of this age group (and it's simply understood that we do want to), we scribbled notes to each other like, "Grow up!" and "It's all about me!" Since that day, I have concluded that the only thing more disturbing than the twentysomethings' self-absorption is my industry's obsession with kow-towing to their demands--as if there were no such thing as thirtysomethings, fortysomethings, fiftysomethings--you get the idea. So now Christian bookstores are filled with books that tell our stories in a relational, experiential, and authentic way; none of that old-fashioned garbage that would advise us how to live Christianly or address that most useless subject of all--doctrine and theology. (Twentysomethings love words like "authentic" and "relevant." They have discovered that in the entire history of mankind, there have only been a handful of authentic, relevant authors, including the early church fathers, three or four medieval Roman Catholic mystics, a couple of Jewish rabbis, and Rob Bell and Donald Miller. Hopefully with their cultural contributions, we will have many more authentic, relevant writers.)

Apparently, twentysomethings are the inventors of community, coffee, and computers (the 3 Cs), and so they expect these things to be readily available to them wherever they go. So if your bookstore, church, doctor's office, or hair salon doesn't offer lattes, feature a warm, comfortable gathering place for conversation, and provide wireless internet service, twentysomethings tell us that they will go elsewhere where they can have these things. This is kind of like when you were a child and your friend came over and insisted on having the blue ball gown for her Barbie; when you told her that the blue Barbie ball gown was yours and you wanted it for your own Barbie, she told you to give it to her or she would take her Barbies and go home. Except that you and your friend were about eight, and these people are in their twenties.

The good news, however, the twentysomethings tell us, is that if we build it for them, everyone will come. Yes--I actually have a quote from Aspiring Retail magazine, November 2006, where twentysomething expert Margaret Feingold tells us as much: "If you can pull a twentysomething in your store, you can get anyone in your store and they'll want to stay." Whatever did we do before the twentysomethings came along and showed us the pleasure of gathering with friends, drinking good coffee, and surfing the Net? Thank you, twentysomethings! Our lives were so dull and lonely before you introduced us to these innovations in entertainment and culture.

When asked why retailers (and, by implication, publishers) should care about reaching out to twentysomethings, the enlightening answer is that we should care because "long-term they're the future shoppers of your store." So for now, even though they're not interested in purchasing much, we need to give them free coffee, soft chairs, and wireless internet so that they will come back in a few years when they are ready to spend money. Twentysomethings--do you realize that you are going to be twentysomething for only about ten years? Then you will be thirtysomethings, then fortysomethings, then fiftysomethings--you get the idea. If you follow the pattern of previous generations, you will get married, have children, and work full-time. You won't have time to sit and chat with your friends, sipping coffee, and reviewing your favorite web sites together. You will not always be twentysomethings.

My suggestion to the twentysomethings who will not attend a church, purchase a book from a bookstore, go to a doctor, or buy jeans at a clothing store unless the 3 Cs are somehow incorporated into the experience is to realize that not everything in life is about entertainment. We go to church to honor God (not ourselves)in the way He wants us to honor Him, we go to a store to purchase whatever product we may need or want, and we go to doctors' offices to get help with our health needs. Those of us who aren't twentysomethings discovered a place long ago where the 3 Cs are available 24/7. We call it "home." Check it out sometime.

And by the way, twentysomethings: You really didn't invent coffee, community, or computers. They've been around for at least forty or fifty years.