Over the weekend, I had what you might call a “spirited discussion” with some baby boomers. In case you hadn’t read on my blog previously, I am a child of baby boomers, so I grew up with a very good familiarity of their views and values. I’m telling you this to provide backdrop for what I’m about to discuss. And believe me, I’ve heard enough songs by the Stones and the Beatles to last me for the rest of my life!
The discussion basically started about the various recent generations. My grandparents’ generation, the one that lived through the Great Depression and World War II, is often referred to as the "Greatest Generation" because of all they went through, and I’m certainly not going to dispute that title, because they earned it. Baby boomers are often called the “Me Generation” because of their well-known values of “self-gratification”. “Gen-X” is sometimes called the “slacker” generation; which I think is a bit unfair, because they are being judged for when they were teens/early 20’s, in which many of any generation were known for slacking.
And then there's my generation, sometimes called "Gen-Y" simply because "Y" follows "X". Apparently, creativity died out when it came to labeling my generation! Sometimes we are called the baby baby boom because most of us are the children of baby boomers. So what are we known for? That is still being worked out. However, I do have one suggestion, and before I offer it up, let me mention something here that the boss suggested that I try on my blog.
His suggestion for piquing curiosity was to make a statement, then waiting for a few days before explaining what I mean. I'll do just that. I'll make my statement, and then let you all mull that over the weekend. Here is my statement.
I think it can be argued that my generation is the worst generation.
Why do I say that? You'll have to wait until next week to find out! But feel free to offer your observations here and on Facebook. For those of you who don't know already, I am on Facebook under Andromeda Perseus, so look me up and "friend" me if you want to be added to my little group.
Have a great weekend!
3 comments:
Great blog, but it’s missing an important part of the equation: Generation Jones (between the Boomers and Generation X). Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten a ton of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009. Here's a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones: http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. And most analysts now see generations as getting shorter (usually 10-15 years now), partly because of the acceleration of culture. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978
it will be interesting to hear your argument supporting this claim.
@ Hety: I did not know about Generation Jones! I always thought of you guys as tail-end baby boomers, but I see enough convincing evidence that you guys are actually a distinct group from the boomers as well as the GenXers.
@Jen: I hope you find it interesting! :-D
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