This weeks’ articles are purely from a meeting I had late last week with a superb brand, that not only empowers women, but is for women by a man. I’m hoping to soon share additional details about them so stay tuned. Generations? What is a generation and why do we tend to name generations? What separates one generation from another, however so recent? How old is a generation? Are generations so different? Should we refer to these “brackets of life” as generational cohorts or people cohorts? Who are boomers, gen x, gen y and gen z?
Boomers.
Also referred to as baby boomers they are born between 1946 and 1964 and are about 55 to 75 years of age now. They appear as to have assembled the greatest wealth of all generations. Moreover Boomers tend to care more about health, wealth and life quality. In all honesty who doesn’t though?!
This group however, is a diligent generation and are comparatively hospitable to new experiences. They have great insight and experience as they have seen our world change its pace from slow to quick to optimum speed.
Generation X
This is the MTV generation and are presently between 40-54 years of age. Additionally known as the Lost or Forgotten Generation. The X Gen are those born between 1965 and 1980. Gen X, majorly grew up before the Internet. They tend to care about seeking life balance.
Generation X are anti, busy and misanthropic. They were taught to believe they could get whatever they want and so they believe. Another dominant trait with this generation is that they seemed to be all bright in class. Being the parents to Gen Y they have since installed the idea that they, Gen X were all either number 1, 2 or 3 at worst in class.
Generation Y; The Millennials.
Gen Y, or Millennials, were born between 1980 and 1996. They are currently between 25-39 years old. Also known us Gen Me or Gen We. This generation has since become the largest group in the work-place. They have grown up with media and technology. More than any other generations, they seem to look for meaning in their work, caring about making a difference. Striving to look for opportunities to learn new knowledge and skills, to work with positive people and company that can fulfill their dream.
Not all Millennials are currently in the same stage of life. Despite all millennials being born around the turn of the century, some of them are still in early adulthood, wrestling with new careers and settling down. Whilst the older millennials have homes and are building families. Having children for most of them has tremendously shifted their interests and priorities. As so this generation is divided into two major groups:
Gen Y.1 = 25-29 years old
Gen Y.2 = 29-39 years old
Not only are the two groups above culturally different, but they’re in vastly different phases of their financial lives as well. The younger group are financial fledglings. Flexing their buying power! Meanwhile the latter group has a credit history, may already have had their first mortgage and are raising toddlers. Consequently the contrast in priorities and needs is vast.
Generation Z
When the Millennial generation stops and Gen Z starts is unclear my research indicates. Realistically, the name Generation Z is a place-holder for the youngest people on the planet presumably. This most likely will morph as they leave childhood and mature into their adolescent and adulthood. A flurry of potential generational character description however have appeared. These being Gen Tech, post-Millennials, iGeneration, and Gen Y-Fi ( My ultimate fav), digital teens etc
Born between 1997 and 2017. They are more self-centered than all the generations. It is a very diverse generation with many, ever-changing, sub-culture. Gen Z are making their presence known in the workplace and organizations and leaders, corporates and marketing agencies are noticing them alright.
Birthdays remain the same…People grow old
A common source of confusion when labeling generations is age. Generational cohorts are loosely outlined by birth year, not present age. This is because, generations mature in groups. If you are thinking of youngsters ( college kids 18 – 22 ) as Millennials, then you are thinking of a stage in life and not a generation. Millennials presently are out of college and that life stage is now majorly dominated by Gen Z.
The other generational fact to note is that new technology is typically first adopted by the youngest generation and then bit by bit adopted by the older generations.
No matter your current age, you will invariably belong to the generation you were born into.
