Times Change

Societies evolve over generations. A generation refers to people who were born during a similar time frame. A familial generation refers to the time during which an individual family is having children. The parents are considered one generation and the children are considered the next generation. A typical family generation is about twenty to thirty years.

A societal generation refers to a defined time period during which every individual in a society is born. Societal generations have been divided on the basis of historical events, demographics, social mores, and technological and natural influences on the society. A typical societal generation is about fifteen years. The most recent societal generations have been:

The Lost Generation, born from 1883 to 1900, who fought in World War I and experienced the Roaring Twenties.

The Greatest Generation, born from 1901 to 1927, who experienced the Great Depression and fought in World War II.

The Silent Generation, born from 1928 to 1945, who experienced the end of World War II and fought in the Korean War.

Baby Boomers (AKA Boomers), born from 1946 to 1964, who fought in the Vietnam War, watched the Moon landings, and experienced the Age of Aquarius.

Generation X (AKA Gen X), born from 1965 to 1980, who experienced the beginnings of the Age of Technology, including the introduction of personal computers and the Internet, and the first impeachment of a President in over a century.

Millennials (AKA Generation Y and Gen Y), born from 1981 to 1996, who saw the beginning of the 21^st Century, 9/11, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Generation Z (AKA Gen Z and Zoomers), born from 1997 to 2012, who grew up with Harry Potter and social media, and experienced two impeachments and an attempted insurrection.

Generation Alpha (AKA Generation A, Gen Alpha, and Alphas), born from 2013 to about 2028, who are just now experiencing the new Century.

Consider what has happened since the first Millennials (born 1981-1996) entered high school in the 1990s and 2000s.

• The internet evolved from a military application in the 1960s to a consumer necessity thirty years later. Circulation of U.S. daily newspapers has been declining since then.
• The “brick” phones of the 1970s evolved into smartphones, achieving the popularity of landlines by the 2000s and all but replacing them two decades later.
• eBook technologies, around since the 1930s, became popular in the 2000s. Amazon still sells more print books than ebooks but more ebooks are downloaded (often for free) than print books are sold.
• Audio podcasts and text blogging of the 1980s expanded into video blogging in the 2000s. YouTube appeared in 2005. Influencer became a career ambition.
• Social media began in the 1990s with GeoCities, Classmates, and SixDegrees. Friendster and Myspace appeared in the 2000s only to be pushed aside by Facebook in 2004 and Twitter/X in 2006. Two decades later, there are too many platforms to count.
• Major television stations required their news divisions to become profitable in the 1970s, pressuring them to sacrifice quality for quicker news releases. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 increased the number of stations that a single company could own, leading to a major consolidation of media outlets. Before the Act, fifty companies controlled the media in America, by 2011, only six did.

All this and more happened in the 20 to 30 years of a single familial generation.

Generation Gaps

If you were alive in the late 1960s, you are familiar with the term generation gap, the tendency of youths to reject the cultural tastes and political views of their parents in favor of their own. The concept is probably over two millennia older. It is a consequence of many individual psychological traits and evolving societal trends, but also, a matter of one generation having experiences that the other has not. For example, Boomers grew up being told to finish everything on their dinner plate by parents who lived through the Depression. Now, they can’t understand why their pre-teen needs a new cellphone every year.

The Boomer-Zoomer Gap

To really appreciate how far reaching the differences between generations can be, consider the fifty years between Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, and Zoomers (Gen Z), born between 1997and 2012, especially during and shortly after the generation’s high school years, beginning approximately 15 years after birth.

History. Boomers grew up with the Vietnam War, the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, Woodstock, the Moon landings, Three Mile Island, and the Iran hostage crisis. Discrimination was rampant, targeting women, minorities, and the poor. Zoomers grew up with Q and the MAGA movement, two impeachments, the Big Lie, the January 6^th insurrection, the Supreme Court overturning long-standing precedents, Covid, wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, and probably more disturbing events to come. Discrimination was rampant, still targeting women, minorities, and the poor.

Home Life. Boomers’ Moms stayed at home and managed the household. Zoomers’ Moms worked and paid for child care. Boomers had door-to-door salesmen and routine dairy deliveries. Zoomers had Amazon and DoorDash. Boomers mostly paid in cash, even coins, credit cards, and written checks. Zoomers paid digitally. Boomers mostly commuted to 9-5 jobs. Zoomers also did that but some had variable-schedule jobs, gig work, or worked remotely (teleworked). Boomers had busybodies. Zoomers had Karens.

Health and Safety. Boomers fought HIV/AIDS and flu strains, and have a smallpox vaccination scar. Zoomers fought Covid. Boomers smoked everywhere, got drunk and high, and hitch-hiked without any fear. Zoomers vaped in non-restricted areas, got drunk and high, and called Ubers for fear of being abducted. Boomers had junk mail and tabloids. Zoomers had spam and fake-news websites. Boomers had prank calls and peeping-Toms. Zoomers had swatting and cyber-stalkers. Boomers had serial killers. Zoomers had serial killers and mass-shootings. For Boomers, airline hijackings were common but airport security was minimal. For Zoomers, airline hijackings were rare but airport security was extreme.

Technology. Boomers grew up with calculators, black-and-white television on small CRT (cathode ray tube) displays, radio, and phonographs (record players). Zoomers grew up with computers, color television on giant LCD (liquid crystal display) and LED (light-emitting diode) screens, and Internet music streaming. Boomers had rotary, landline telephones and separate film cameras. Zoomers had smartphones with integrated digital cameras and internet connections.

Cars. Boomers drove muscle cars, convertibles, and VW Beetles. They saw the first seatbelts and unleaded gas, and the (re)introduction of front-wheel drive. Automatic transmissions were rare. They had two keys, one for the engine and one for the doors. Vent windows provided cooling. Zoomers drove hybrids and electric cars with all-wheel drives, automatic transmissions, electronic keys, air conditioning, and heated seats. Boomers had taxis. Zoomers had Ubers.

Entertainment. Boomers played crossword puzzles, cards, and board games. Zoomers had wordles, fantasy sports, online gambling, and video games. Boomers went to the library for books and wrote in their secret diaries. Zoomers downloaded books and videos, and published public posts and blogs on the Internet. Boomers used classified ads in newspapers to meet face-to-face. Zoomers used dating sites and social media to interact remotely.

Fads and Trends. Every generation had their ephemeral fads and enduring trends. Boomers had troll dolls, pet rocks, lava lamps, Ouija boards, tie-dye and paisley, bell bottoms, miniskirts, patchouli, and the Twist. Zoomers had fidget spinners, planking, avocado toast, Minecraft, Pokémon Go, TikTok, and Gangnam Style. They also had cosmetic Botox, at home DNA tests, and consumer AI applications.

Music. Boomers listened to Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, Dylan, the Doors, Simon and Garfunkel, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Kiss, Springsteen, and the Bee Gees. Zoomers listened to Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Ludacris, Jonas Brothers, Beyoncé, Drake, Lorde, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Usher, and Taylor Swift. Boomers had records, boom boxes, mixtapes, and headphones. Zoomers had playlists and wireless ear buds.

Television. Boomers watched Brady Bunch, Muppet Show, Happy Days, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Hawaii Five-O, Good Times, Waltons, Dallas, and Charlie’s Angels. Zoomers watched Breaking Bad, Parks and Recreation, BoJack Horseman, Better Call Saul, Orange is the New Black, Mad Men, Good Place, Stranger Things, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Game of Thrones. Boomers had game shows, Johnny Carson, and SNL. Zoomers had reality shows, Jimmy Fallon, and SNL.

Sports. Boomers saw clean-shaven athletes with short hair. Basketball players wore short, form-fitting pants. Athletes were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Fans wore baseball caps with the brim forward, over their eyes. Zoomers saw long-haired athletes with beards. Basketball players wore knee-length, baggy pants. Fans wore baseball caps with the brim forward, backwards, or off to the side. Trash-talking was the norm for both players and fans, and spread to social media and interpersonal interactions.

School. Boomers would search the drawers of the card catalog in the library to find Dewey Decimal locations of the few available books they would need for a project, then find the books, and haul them home to do their research. Zoomers would search the Internet in the media center, cull out the thousands of websites to find a manageable number for the project, and cut-and-paste judiciously so to not get caught by plagiarism checkers. Boomers’ teachers used chalk boards, projectors, and pull-down maps. Zoomers’ teachers used smart boards and class websites.

It’s no wonder different Generations have difficulties relating to each other’s experiences.

Your Experiences

The following graphic summarizes key historical events of the past century. It shows social generations, U.S. Presidents, wars, and notable events in history, politics, business, communications, entertainment, media, medicine, technology, and computers.

Some things that are central to the lives of many of us are a century old, like insulin, supermarkets, and live TV. Some things that are central to our lives have only been around for about a decade, like Obamacare, Covid, Uber, and Tic-Toc.

Some things first appeared decades ago and were forgotten or never reached prominence until much later. Cell phone and ebook technologies were available for decades before beginning their current popularity.

Some things endure and some don’t. Black-and-white telecasts from the 1950s and before appear commonly today but silent movies are no longer shown. People still play Dungeons and Dragons but Pet Rocks have disappeared from toy stores.

People remember historical events and belongings differently. Looking at the graphic below, from your own experience:

• What was the most notable event that happened while you were in school?
• What events of the past inspired you in some way?
• What was the most notable technology that was introduced while you were in school?
• What was common knowledge when you were in school that someone in later Generations probably wouldn’t understand?
• What are things that are common knowledge to Generations after yours that you don’t understand?
• What events happened before you were born that you weren’t aware of?
• What things that are new today do you think will still be around generations from now?

What Will Be Remembered

Every Generation leaves its mark on history. It’s important to recognize differences for what they are—road marks for how our society is evolving.

What generation gaps have you seen or experienced, either being looked at by an older Generation or you looking at a younger Generation?

Would you have preferred to grow up when you did or during a different Generation?

Generation Alpha (born 2013-2028) is enmeshed in today’s society—the technology, the wars, the political unrest, and Covid. But, generations after that will have much to say about us. How do you think they will characterize today’s society? What do you think sociologists, historians, and other academics of the distant future will say about today’s society? What will be what is remembered about these times? What will be our legacy?