Generations are often discussed, but their distinctions sometimes must be more precise. Purported differences between ages are blamed for everything from a declining interest in baseball to changing patterns of processed cheese consumption. Historically, sociologists have defined a generation by dividing the time between parents’ birth and their offspring. Today, that interval stretches out over more than two decades as childbirth is delayed longer than ever before.
Age and Life-Stages
The length of a generation may be defined by age, but it is also shaped by world events and how people develop and live through them. As each generation reaches its midlife apex of influence and its predecessor moves into less-powerful elderhood, the mood of culture shifts, just as it does with natural seasons.
As a result, it can be challenging to pinpoint precisely how long is a generation today, when one generation ends and another begins, even with the benefit of hindsight. Many analysts use the year 1996 as the starting point for Millennials, though others use several earlier dates to ensure that the oldest members of the cohort are fully grown when they reach their 30s.
Similarly, many names are attributed to the generation born from 1965 through 1980, popularized by the 1991 book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. While it is essential to consider the changing nature of the generation you are studying, it is equally vital to identify the key historical moments that define its character.
These key moment-shaping events can be why a generation gets its name in the first place. For example, the “one-child” generation was born into a society that instituted a one-child policy in 1980, and as such, grew up without siblings, often becoming self-sufficient and focused on their own needs.
Technology
As time passes, how people use technology is a defining characteristic of their generation. This strongly affects how they play, learn and interact with each other. As technology evolves rapidly, it can change how generations perceive the world around them. The earliest thinkers about generations looked at literary and artistic styles, such as the transition from Romanticism to realism or the shift from liberalism to conservatism. In the twentieth century, serious analysis of social cohorts arose out of growing awareness that people are affected by events during their lifetimes.
A generation is a broadly defined age cohort with the same formative experiences. However, it is essential to remember that these cohorts comprise many unique individuals with opinions and values, so any conclusions drawn about them should be taken with a grain of salt. The generational analysis that is often used in business and marketing is based on something other than scientifically proven methods. It is a tool that can help you better understand your audience and guide your marketing strategies. Whether your marketing is for a business, school, or nonprofit organization, you need to take the time to get to know the different generations that make up your target market so you can create messages that will resonate with them.
World Events
In addition to technology, world events can shape a generation’s outlook. The Lost Generation of people born from 1822 to 1842 was shaped by the malaise and disillusionment of World War I, while the Vietnam War and social upheavals in the 1960s colored baby boomers’ views. 9/11, globalization, and the technology revolution shaped Millennials’ worldviews.
These major life events and other factors like parental attitudes and values make generations distinct. A generation’s unique experiences help them to form a shared sense of identity that enables them to connect and share ideas. While the notion of a generation helps us understand how each group has different ideas and preferences, it can also be misleading. Theoretical limitations and standard research methodologies cannot unambiguously identify generation effects from other time-bound sources of variation (Lyons & Kuron, 2014; Twenge, 2010).
When looking at the current state of Gen Z, a good example is their preference for a work/life balance that is more flexible than previous generations. However, it would be wrong to conclude that this means they are less committed to family or the planet’s future than previous generations. As COVID-19 continues ravaging the globe, we must consider how these trends may be affected by generations and whether this is a matter of generational differences at work or at home.
Gender
The term generation has been used in a wide variety of ways. Most frequently, it refers to a birth or age cohort of people who experience similar significant events. This method is often employed in demographic and marketing analyses, as well as in social science research.
As a concept, generations provide an essential tool for understanding how society changes and developing a historical perspective. They also allow researchers to identify differences between individuals based on their similarities in world views, attitudes, and behavior. However, focusing on generations can clarify what motivates individuals and impedes accurate interpretation of the data.
While social scientists have a consensus on the period associated with each generation, it can be challenging to determine which group a person belongs to. For example, members of the Baby Boomer generation were born between 1946 and 1964. The generation that followed, Gen X, was born between 1980 and 1996. Moreover, the latest batch of babies, Gen Z, was born between 1997 and today. The exact dates used to define a generation can be significantly confusing since the definition of a generation often varies between countries. Some demographers use ranges of 20 years, while others prefer a few-year increment. Moreover, as the public pays more attention to the concept of generations, these names are not uncommon to change over time.
