11-06-2019, 08:25 AM
(09-28-2019, 09:26 AM)David Horn Wrote:(09-28-2019, 02:25 AM)Bill the Piper Wrote:(09-20-2019, 03:20 PM)Ghost Wrote: Some say that Generation X will eventually be 1965-1985 and that Generation Y/Millennials will eventually be 1986-2006, but what does a 33-year old guy with a job, a house, and kids have in common with someone who just became a teenager today?
Today. But in 2049, won't the 43-year-old and the 63-year-old view themselves as members of the same generation? Deciding what generation a kid is when e is 13 is way too early. Generation is about your experiences, and a 13-year-old has few.
That's an excellent point, and the sharing of experience is what knits cohorts into a generation. Let's examine the '65-'85 cohorts, who are already old enough to meet your criterion. None of those cohorts emerged into a wide-open economy that welcomed them eagerly -- even though they are cohorts with fewer members than the Boomers who preceded them. So arguing that they are a generation is reasonable, though a bit controversial. Mine was a quick swipe at commonality. Doing a deeper dive might identify rifts that are significant or further shared experiences that enhance the bond they share. One pivot point: technology. The PC didn't really arrive until ~1982, and didn't really have an impact until the mid to late '80s. The older cohorts are, to this day, less tech savvy overall, and less connected to tech of all kinds than the more junior members who had this tech particular from an early age or birth.
The 80s and 90s bar the very early 90s recession had a very booming economy. It was much easier to get hired in 1995 than to get hired in 2015. I would also argue that the 1965 cohort would remember a lot more about the awakening time period than the 1985 birth. The 1965 birth has a lot more in common with the 1964 birth than to the 1985 birth.