Talkin' 'Bout My Generation

[fly girl]

This was started on Funny Memes, but I don't want that thread to get way of course with this topic.

Conversation evolved from this meme (which wasn't even the meme the original person questioned which makes it all the more hilarious.)




But I digress. To which this conversation floated.

I sat through all those with my kids watching them and I was born in 1948. I think it only fair that boomers should start posting some stuff from our era to see how clever the Gen X's really are. I'll have to start looking at some old photo to see if any of it might be a bit difficult, I mean easy to figure out.

Ok, you are the same age as my mom, born in '48. Boomer, don't get me wrong, I love you as you represent those who raised me. But you should know by now Gen X is the forgotten generation - its always Boomers and Millennials. And as it appears we can't even get this little nugget without a fight. j/k

Maybe all the whining is the reason why many of us are trying to forget? You are the age of my daughters and, I can tell you, they don't allow me to forget them. Rest assured as soon as all of we Boomers have played our last hand, it will be the Millennials that are going to be the forgotten generation. Elders always rule and the Gen Z encompasses my grandchildren.

I think who ever started labeling these are a little confused. If I'm a Boomer and my children are Gen X then by simple logic the next generation should be the Millennials instead of Gen Z. What that caused is a whole group of people born without parents apparently. (no pun intended). This is how it should have been divided.

The generations should be no less then 23 years apart due to the fact that since the Boomer generation people have started families a bit later then they did in my parents generation. They should have been and in my mind were in the so called "Greatest Generation" with it starting around 1923 and should be just before the Boomers and the previous to them should have been the Silent Generation. Our parents were anything but silent and were part of WWII. Somebody didn't think this out. It is clearly obvious that if I am a Boomer, then my children should be Gen X and their children should have been primarily Millennials. My way would give every Generation an equal time to be loud and obnoxious. It's difficult to match Generations without actual generations. Right now, a few of my grandchildren's age, might have had children but most still have time to keep it all in the right generation. It is possible that if one started out early enough they could have children that fall within their same generation, but it should go more by the statistics of when people generally started families.

• The Baby Boomer Generation – born 1946-1969.. Middle age to nearly dead.
• Generation X – born 1970-1993.. Middle age and younger
• Millennials – born 1994-2017.. Which should make "MIlls" the current leaders and shakers.
• Generation Z – born 2018-2041.. At most right now should be no more than 5 years old.
• Gen Alpha – doesn't even become a thing until 2042.

I respect your thinking, but I don't agree.

First, whining? Gen X?? Nope! We don't whine. Sarcasm is our method, and that it is exactly what I used!

Second, your lineage would have parents and kids lumped in the same generation. (example: My mom was born in same year as you. She had my sister young, 1969. No way is my sister a Boomer.)

Third, you have so many social and technological changes that works with the current generation brackets we have in place, yours wouldn't align. IMHO, I don't think you can lump a person born in the 70's with a person born in the 90's. They way they grew up was 100% different.

70's kids:
Played outside until the street lights came on. No supervision. Latch key kids.
Adults were respected, and any grown up could discipline a child. Parents would have said the kid deserved it.
No at home computer or pocket technology.
You win some, you lose some. You try out of a team and you may not make it.

90's Kids:
Playdates with supervison.
Adage, "it takes a village" was blown out the wayside. You couldn't discipline unless it was your child.
Computers at home. Tech invasion.
Everyone is a winner. No losers. Participation trophies.

No way are they the same.

Same with your Millenial bracket. You have 1994 -2017. The early ones grew up without social media they are totally different mindset than those who have had social media their entire lives.

We should move this topic to its own thread, as it is totally separate from Funny Memes.

So if you want to chime in about how you think the current timeline of generations work or don't work here's the place.

Or if you just want to represent and give love to your generation, let's do this!

 

[soccerdad72]

The timeline listed about seems a little off to me. I know there's a lot of debate as to where the generations fall (and that people may identify with other generations than when they were born), but this has always been an approximate timeline that I've heard:



ETA: Damn you, now I have The Who stuck in my head!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I find it all interesting.

I once went to a work conference that talked about this in depth, with the purpose of our inter-generation workforce being able to get along better by understanding where each comes from, what their influences were, who their role models were, what their work styles are, etc. It was one of the best I‘d ever gone to.

Work styles, for instance, are so different between boomers and Gen Z’ers, we’re seeing a lot of that now.

I always thought it would be good to do one for different cultures, as well.

Good thread, maybe it will help us here to understand eachother a little more, too, if it doesn’t go downhill, lol.

ETA: One small example:

 

[fla4fun]

So if you want to chime in about how you think the current timeline of generations work or don't work here's the place.

I think there are other factors than simply a birth year that can place a person with one group over another, especially when there are conflicting ideas about when the cutoffs should be. For example, take two people, one born in 1964 and the other in 1965. I would be hesitant to place them as a Boomer or Gen X only based on their birth year. A child born to very young parents in 1964 is going to have a different upbringing than the child born to older parents in 1965. The 1964 child may very well identify completely with Gen X, while the 1965 child identifies more as a Boomer, just due to parenting alone.

Personally, I always felt I was about 80 years off from what I was labeled as . . .

 

[NotUrsula]

Interestingly, in some circles it's believed that the Baby Boom really should be counted from 1940, the first full year of the war in Europe. This was because, universally, the birthrate in a given country began a marked rise as soon as war was declared. There were very many hurried marriages that resulted in children born after their fathers had left for duty, and there were also a whole lot of "furlough babies". It was common for couples separated in wartime to deliberately try to conceive as often as possible, partly because GIs with children got an extra family allowance that was sent back to their wives and helped pay inflated wartime rents. There was also the sentimental reason of wanting to have a living legacy if the worst happened. (And of course, there were also waves of "war children" born in occupied nations; often the result of assaults, or of the desperation of prostitution as a means of survival.)

My two eldest siblings were born during WW2, and I've always considered them Boomers, just like me. I'm the last of my parents' children, and I was born a couple of years befere the end of the Boom. My eldest sister's two eldest children are also Boomers, but my two children are on nearly opposite ends of Gen Z. (We tend to have very long generations in my family; more like 40 years than 20.)

PS: As for the conflict between younger generations and Boomers, I think that really started to bubble up in the Great Recession of 2007-2009, when the oldest Boomers were reaching retirement age, but choose not to leave the workforce when expected because of the economic downturn, thus depressing the career prospects and buying power of younger generations. Also, this is when the mandated Social Security later retirement age really began to kick in, which also delayed retirements. Ironically, part of this cycle is also caused by delayed childbearing and the high cost of college; we trailing-edge boomers are still raising children who expect help with their college costs. My own full retirement age is 67, which coincidentally will be the year that my youngest should finish her undergraduate degree. With tuition to help pay for, I won't be able to retire until after that happens.

 

[fly girl]

The timeline listed about seems a little off to me. I know there's a lot of debate as to where the generations fall (and that people may identify with other generations than when they were born), but this has always been an approximate timeline that I've heard:

View attachment 817349

ETA: Damn you, now I have The Who stuck in my head!!

The timeline quoted in my original post is what @goofyernmost thinks it should be, not what it currently is.

Sorry for the confusion.

I think there are other factors than simply a birth year that can place a person with one group over another, especially when there are conflicting ideas about when the cutoffs should be. For example, take two people, one born in 1964 and the other in 1965. I would be hesitant to place them as a Boomer or Gen X only based on their birth year. A child born to very young parents in 1964 is going to have a different upbringing than the child born to older parents in 1965. The 1964 child may very well identify completely with Gen X, while the 1965 child identifies more as a Boomer, just due to parenting alone.

Personally, I always felt I was about 80 years off from what I was labeled as . . .

Agree that if you are on a cusp you could lean one way or another. I think @snowwite could definitely be more of a Gen X than Boomer. I could be wrong, but my guess is she is.

I do think there is wiggle room for start/end dates but not too much. Like @Pea-n-Me's post clearly defined what we grew up with. For me, my first real big piece of national news I remember was President Reagan being shot. I remembered it, but the one that really hit home for me was The Challenger explosion. Those pieces of history is what guides, shapes, and defines a generation.

I wasn't alive for JFK assassination or Woodstock, so I cannot be a Baby Boomer. Nor could I define as Millennial since 9/11 wasn't my first piece news and social media came about well after I was an adult.

 

[fla4fun]

The timeline quoted in my original post is what @goofyernmost thinks it should be, not what it currently is.

Sorry for the confusion.




Agree that if you are on a cusp you could lean one way or another. I think @snowwite could definitely be more of a Gen X than Boomer. I could be wrong, but my guess is she is.

I do think there is wiggle room for start/end dates but not too much. Like @Pea-n-Me's post clearly defined what we grew up with. For me, my first real big piece of national news I remember was President Reagan being shot. I remembered it, but the one that really hit home for me was The Challenger explosion. Those pieces of history is what guides, shapes, and defines a generation.

I wasn't alive for JFK assassination or Woodstock, so I cannot be a Baby Boomer. Nor could I define as Millennial since 9/11 wasn't my first piece news and social media came about well after I was an adult.

I thought Woodstock happened in 1969, which would be Gen X years, right? I am a poor one to ask though because I didn’t really pay attention to national news stories growing up.

My sister and I were born on either side of a cusp, but I always felt like I was more of her generation than mine. However, it was also muddied in our family because we were the youngest of the first cousins, who were all firmly planted in the prior generation and having children the same age as my sister and I. My mom was the youngest in her family and waited until later than was typical to have kids. She was only 12 years older than her first niece/nephew (my first cousin). So we felt like we overlapped generations in many ways and don’t really consider ourselves to have one particular generational identity.

 

[ramee]

I thought Woodstock happened in 1969, which would be Gen X years, right?

They would have been around 5 years old during Woodstock.

I think events would have to occur between around ages 15 - 25 to be defining of that generation.

My parents were born early 60’s and I never thought of them as boomers.

Edited: I mean not to discount what was popular during childhood. That’s usually fun for people to find similarities to reminisce about.

 

[fly girl]

I thought Woodstock happened in 1969, which would be Gen X years, right? I am a poor one to ask though because I didn’t really pay attention to national news stories growing up.

My sister and I were born on either side of a cusp, but I always felt like I was more of her generation than mine. However, it was also muddied in our family because we were the youngest of the first cousins, who were all firmly planted in the prior generation and having children the same age as my sister and I. My mom was the youngest in her family and waited until later than was typical to have kids. She was only 12 years older than her first niece/nephew (my first cousin). So we felt like we overlapped generations in many ways and don’t really consider ourselves to have one particular generational identity.

Gen X didn't go to Woodstock, Baby Boomers did. Unless they had really hippy Boomer parents that would take a toddler to Woodstock.

 

[Christine]

I was pretty much born on the last day of 1963. My mother (1944) was 19 years old. I absolutely have never "identified" as a Boomer. I just don't feel like I fit. The chart that @Pea-n-Me put up was the original one I was used to seeing which had me placed in with Generation X, but then it seemed to change and it just doesn't work for me, lol. I know it has to do with birth rates and all that.

 

[Christine]

My parents were born early 60’s and I never thought of them as boomers.

Thank you!! I was born in 1963 and am not feeling the Boomer.

 

[EACarlson]

My father was born in '53 and my mother in '60. I certainly thought of them as Boomers. I was born in '81, my wife in '84. I hate it when people call me a millenial. To me the millenial generation grew up with cell phones, helicopter parents and the internet. None of those things were true for me. My wife got a cell phone her senior year in high school. No one in my high school had one, we still had pagers and payphones. Internet was dial up AOL, if you had it at all. At the very least I wouldn't include those that were adults at the turn of the millenia as millenials. Y2K I was working a full time job and paying a mortgage.

 

[NotUrsula]

They would have been around 5 years old during Woodstock.

I think events would have to occur between around ages 15 - 25 to be defining of that generation.

My parents were born early 60’s and I never thought of them as boomers.

Edited: I mean not to discount what was popular during childhood. That’s usually fun for people to find similarities to reminisce about.

Oh, I disagree about how old you have to be for an event to be a "defining moment" -- I think it depends on the context in which you lived it. I was preschool-age when JFK was shot, but I remember it clearly because I remember my parents' reaction to it; they were overcome with grief, and our lives were disrupted for a full week. I was only in second grade when the events of the Summer of '68 happened, but I remember them all quite clearly. We were and are a family that follows politics, and my Dad worked on a military base at that time. That summer was very memorable for the politics, the protests, the deaths, and so much more.

I'd say if the event caused disruption in the family sphere, aged at least 7 is about normal for it to be strongly remembered.

 

[fla4fun]

Gen X didn't go to Woodstock, Baby Boomers did. Unless they had really hippy Boomer parents that would take a toddler to Woodstock.

I confess, I went back and looked for the Woodstock date after I posted, to see if I was close. I was pretty sure it was during Gen X though.

The thing is, I don’t see those late Boomers born in the early 60’s as being old enough for Woodstock either, and I don’t understand saying that someone is a Boomer just because they may have been born on November 20, 1963 so they were alive when JFK was killed. I feel that generational labels should be more fluid than that. Perhaps that is why there are charts with variances of a year or two between them.

 

[Magical2017]

I am an older Gen Xer. I usually forget and have to look it up.

 

[fly girl]

I confess, I went back and looked for the Woodstock date after I posted, to see if I was close. I was pretty sure it was during Gen X though.

The thing is, I don’t see those late Boomers born in the early 60’s as being old enough for Woodstock either, and I don’t understand saying that someone is a Boomer just because they may have been born on November 20, 1963 so they were alive when JFK was killed. I feel that generational labels should be more fluid than that. Perhaps that is why there are charts with variances of a year or two between them.

Agree, it is more fluid than a defined date. As I said in PP, cusp babies especially. It truly does depend on the person.

However, there has to be some cut off. For example, I was born in 1974. I would find it hard to believe anyone born in my year that truly defines as a Baby Boomer or a Millennial. You didn't experience life the same way as those generations did.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'm an elder Gen Z but I feel more like a baby Millennial. I mean, I do enjoy avocado toast and being blamed for everything wrong in society.

 

[ramee]

Oh, I disagree about how old you have to be for an event to be a "defining moment" -- I think it depends on the context in which you lived it. I was preschool-age when JFK was shot, but I remember it clearly because I remember my parents' reaction to it; they were overcome with grief, and our lives were disrupted for a full week. I was only in second grade when the events of the Summer of '68 happened, but I remember them all quite clearly. We were and are a family that follows politics, and my Dad worked on a military base at that time. That summer was very memorable for the politics, the protests, the deaths, and so much more.

I'd say if the event caused disruption in the family sphere, aged at least 7 is about normal for it to be strongly remembered.

Maybe I was more of a generation (older millennial) where it was “don’t concern kids with adult issues”. I was very much in my own world until I was a teenager.

Edited: was just thinking that’s when movie ratings were becoming more strict. War on drugs. Adam Walsh. I think people were overall trying to protect kids more.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think there are other factors than simply a birth year that can place a person with one group over another, especially when there are conflicting ideas about when the cutoffs should be. For example, take two people, one born in 1964 and the other in 1965. I would be hesitant to place them as a Boomer or Gen X only based on their birth year. A child born to very young parents in 1964 is going to have a different upbringing than the child born to older parents in 1965. The 1964 child may very well identify completely with Gen X, while the 1965 child identifies more as a Boomer, just due to parenting alone.

Personally, I always felt I was about 80 years off from what I was labeled as . . .

My two eldest siblings were born during WW2, and I've always considered them Boomers, just like me. I'm the last of my parents' children, and I was born a couple of years befere the end of the Boom. My eldest sister's two eldest children are also Boomers, but my two children are on nearly opposite ends of Gen Z. (We tend to have very long generations in my family; more like 40 years than 20.)

I was pretty much born on the last day of 1963. My mother (1944) was 19 years old. I absolutely have never "identified" as a Boomer. I just don't feel like I fit. The chart that @Pea-n-Me put up was the original one I was used to seeing which had me placed in with Generation X, but then it seemed to change and it just doesn't work for me, lol. I know it has to do with birth rates and all that.

I agree with these. Like @Christine, I‘m at the end of the Baby Boomer generation. However, I was a “late in life” baby, the youngest, with much older siblings. My parents were born in the late 1910s (age 43 when I was born) and mid 1920s (37 when I was born), so I definitely felt like I was from the Boomer generation. (Actually I felt like I grew up during the Great Depression and WWII, too, as both of those periods were so ingrained in my parents’ lives.) My own kids were also born a little later so they’re on the cusp of Millenial and GenZ, like @Smugpugmug above. I can see features of both in them. And I think they also have some Boomer habits that they’ve gotten from DH and I, like we did our parents. Looking at it I think helps explain some things in some people.

 

[Dan Murphy]

So am I a Maturist or a Silent Generation? 1944.