Seven Generations Explained

Like many of you reading this, I’m a Baby Boomer.  I never really gave the term much thought.  In fact, I never really understood the generational names.

Apparently it all started It all started when the Census Bureau termed the years between 1946 and 1964, as the “Post War Baby Boom” because birth rates sky-rocketed from around 3 million a year to over 4 million a year.  Thus we became known as the Baby Boomers.

Avoid Generation Gaps

What I do find fascinating is not the generational names themselves, but how world events, technological advancements and social developments – in other words, what is going on at the time, influences the adults we later become.   

So to better understand a generation, it is probably best to look at the nuances of the times when a generation was growing up.

Baby Boomers 

As Boomers, ,we grew up during the Cold War, the moon landing, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. 

We are characterized by national optimism and prosperous consumerism.

 Boomers Parents

Spending young adulthood in a post-war period, this group is known for accepting government rather than speaking out against it.

Notice that while this group was known for their lack of protestation – their children- the Baby Boomers – were quite loud and proud demonstrating during the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement.  We were literally opposite of our parents.

Boomer’s Children

Generation X — born 1965-1980

Since their birth rate was significantly smaller in comparison to the Boomers this group is also known as the “Baby Busters”.   This generation has an overall mistrust of institutional authority and  is characterized by reactionism, rebellion and self-reliance.

Generation Y — born 1981-1996

Generation Y is more commonly known as the  “Millennials” because they became adults at the turn of the millennium.   The millennials were the generation to deal  with financial struggles as a result of the Great Recession.

Two things jump out at me from the descriptions above – rebellion and financial struggles from the Great Recession.  I think of how many of this adult generation still live with their parents. I think of how many in this age group are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and I think of how many grandparents are raising this generation’s children.  Think about it.

Boomer’s Grandchildren

 

Generation Z — born 1997-2012

This generation is also known as “iGen” because most of their lives have been spent using personal technology, such as smartphones. 

Gen Z-ers are much more racially and ethnically diverse,  and supportive of non-heterosexual identities.  They are much  more LGBTQI friendly than previous generations.  I have said before, this generation gives me so much hope and I think  if racism and prejudice ends – it will begin with this generation.  This group just stole my heart. 

This generation is also known to be most likely to engage in social activism.

Unfortunately though, this generation is thought to be seen as the most depressed generation.  With the advent of social media – they’ve experienced pressures that we cannot imagine.  In addition they’ve witnessed a lot – climate crisis, a tremendous rise in mass shootings, and other socio-political pressures.  In my opinion, we really need to keep a close eye on this generation as far as suicides.

Generation Alpha — born 2013-2025

Social researcher Mark McCrindle coined the term Generation Alpha to mean a new start after Generation Z.  

I find it fascinating that the pandemic falls within this “new start” era.  It’s like a resetting of the clock.

The Alpha’s  will be characterized by more diverse family dynamics and  higher racial diversity.  Sadly, it is theorized that they will have  higher economic inequality than previous generations though.

Looking at our grandchildren through a different lens

So while we may at times have difficulty understanding our children and especially our grandchildren, I think it is easier to understand them personally – if we look at them through the lens of time.  In other words, let’s look at the world around them that has shaped and influenced them during their young and impressionable years.

After all, I believe that our parents, and grandparents had to do exactly that in order to somehow understand us – our loud rock and roll, our hippie movements, and radical protesting.  And while we’re at it, let’s look at our parents again.

Remember they didn’t protest – they went along with things.  Of course, fewer of this generation was college educated.  There was less divorce and family life was more secure.  They certainly weren’t helicopter parents.

 In fact, I believe that it’s the baby-boomers who started becoming helicopter parents, hovering over their children and catering to their needs.   We were the kids who walked to school unsupervised and played outside.  Things seemed safer then – and I believe they really were.  Now it’s rare to see young children walk to school alone, and is it really safe in today’s world?  

My thought when I first started writing this article, was simply to write about how we as BabyBoomer children were somehow tougher and less coddled than children today.  But I decided to research the generational impact first, and it’s amazing that it completely changed the lens for which I wrote this article.