I'm a Gen-Xer, and this is the way I've seen the generations explained. Has it changed?

[Coventina]

Boomers: 1944-1964
Gen-X: 1964-1984
Millennials: 1984-2004
Gen-Z: Everyone after 2004

Now I'm seeing threads that seem to indicate that Millennials are much older than that?

Has Gen-X been folded into the Millennials?

Is there a new chart I'm not aware of?

[brush]

1. Pretty accurate, but Boomers are the post-war baby boom...

which started in 1946 (once the military got home after the war ended in 1945 and got busy having babies).

There might also be some dispute about Millennials. 1984 may be a little too early for them.

[Brother Buzz]

46. Boomers actually started in 1942

If you were conceived after Pearl Harbor you were considered a Baby Boomer. Soldiers and sailors got married in droves early on, and many of them left pregnant wives behind before shipping out.

[brush]

62. Nah, just the term post-war baby boom should give you a clue.

"Baby Boom Generation. The term "Baby Boom" is used to identify a massive increase in births following World War II. Baby boomers are those people born worldwide between 1946 and 1964, the time frame most commonly used to define them. The first baby boomers reached the standard retirement age of 65 in 2011."

[ProudLib72]

2. I'm a Gen Xer

I don't want any of those damned millennials insinuating themselves into MY generation!

[Moostache]

4. Get off of my lawn too!!! (LOL)

LOL...I kid, but I remember not so long ago Gen X being the target of ire from the Boomers and seen as shiftless slackers (movies like "Slacker", "Singles" and "Reality Bites" and many more attempted to capture that zeitgeist)...

Now I am approaching my 50's and see the same kind of generational divide but this time its my own kids and their friends versus me instead of myself and my friends against our parents...

It is an endless cycle to be sure...but I will say this much, the millenials have been dealt a really shitty hand with the environment, debts and an economy that is teetering on the edge of disaster for capitalism. If I were among their ranks I'd be plenty pissed off.

[ProudLib72]

6. I'm being silly of course

At the same time, I have always been proud of being from the smallest generation. I may be biased here, but I consider ours to be the coolest generation.

[Coventina]

15. Well of COURSE we're the coolest!

[geardaddy]

76. +1 million!

[KatyMan]

45. Truth!

although I recall in the spring of my graduation year (1984), our high school principal berated us in an assembly because we didn't raise enough money for senior prom or whatever, calling us the laziest class he'd every had to deal with. I'm strangely proud of that.

[Coventina]

5. We're such a tiny cohort to begin with, it does kind of bother me

that younger Xers would get folded in with Millennials.

[ProudLib72]

31. Here is something strange

My sister was born in '63. That means she is a boomer.
I was born in '72. That makes me a Gen Xer.

Isn't it odd that siblings could be from different generations?

[Mariana]

55. It's not really that odd.

It's a matter of having to draw the line somewhere, if one is dividing people into age groups and calling those groups "generations".

[brush]

69. You're both in the same generation in your family, not demographically though.

[PatSeg]

3. I thought Millennials

were seen as those who became adults in 2000 or later.

I don't think there can be any hard and fast rules about generations though. Some people will identify more with an older generation and others a younger one.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Boomers start in 1946

i.e., it means "post-war" Baby Boomers.

You can literally look at a birth chart and see the sudden spike in that year. On the other end (1964), is when the birth control pill was finally approved and legal to use (and which is why it purportedly provided a cut off point - although a decline was already in-process at the time).



There's actually been an equivalent, if not just a bit more "boom" that happened in the 2005 - 2008 period.

I do agree that recent articles have been all over the map with the later generations.

[Coventina]

12. Maybe we should discard the whole generational construct?

Except maybe for the Boomers, since there are actual numbers to support it.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. Well... it's something that has been around even before they started using the "Boomer" term

My mother was born in 1930 and always used to say that her generation were often called "the Depression babies" or "Silent Generation" or were called the "Gray Flannel Suit" generation (when they became working adults in the '50s). My father was born in 1924 and fought in WW2 (although he was at the younger end of the draftees) and they called his group "The Greatest Generation" for obvious (war-related) reasons.

I think this all came about as a way to study groups (sociology) born/coming of age/living during certain major national "events" and make a note at how they often end up sharing similar perspectives about life based on how society operated and treated them during their lifetimes.

[Maeve]

32. Am I the only one who can see that chart as a pregnant woman lieing down?

Her head in blue, breasts and belly in the red, then her legs with the knees around 1970, puffy ankles and then feet.

[BumRushDaShow]

37. LOL

That's what happens when you do a bar chart.

Here is one that plotted data from one of the CDC data compilation systems that actually expands the range and just does a simple line graph -



Chart taken here - http://statchatva.org/2016/07/06/the-u-s-birth-rate-is-near-an-all-time-low-and-that-may-not-be-a-bad-thing/

And you can actually see that little boomlet in the mid-2010s but also a similar, only incrementally smaller one in early 1990s. I know the school system that one of my youngest nieces goes to had to build a brand new elementary school to supplement and accommodate that mid-2000s group (who are now in junior high/middle school and ready for high school soon).... and they are literally in the planning stages of building another.

I remember when I was in 3rd/4th grade ~1969 when the school I was going to had run out of classrooms so they made a couple classrooms out of the library and literally put the library in a large trailer structure that was attached to the school and extended into the school's playground.

[FSogol]

8. The trouble with the notion of these "generations" is there are plently of people born between them.

Take my parents, born in 1938 and 1941. They obviously aren't boomers and aren't part of the "greatest generation" (the term applied to the generation activated fighting and supporting the home front in WWII).

For purposes of neatness people link the generation dates together when it isn't true. It should be:

Boomers: 1944-1961 (If you were born in 1964, you weren't taking part in the summer of love, you were 3 years old)
Gen-X: 1964-1984 - Essentially a young student during the crappy Reagan years
Millennials: 1988-1992 - Students or young adults during at the beginning of the 21st century
Gen-Z: Born in the 21st century

This leaves in-betweeners of 1961-1963, 1984-1987, and 1992-1999. Since they are a small group, they get lumped into the larger groups that they don't have much in common with.

[Coventina]

10. Yeah, I've always wondered about my dad, born in 1943.

He's obviously not a Boomer.
(Hated Hippies, but was way younger than Archie Bunker).

All three of his kids are Gen-X.

By your figuring, Millennials are a tiny, tiny group!

Maybe we should just abandon the whole "Generation Project" as not helpful?

[FSogol]

16. True: By your figuring, Millennials are a tiny, tiny group! Another point:

Madison Avenue is the group that wants to divide folks into generational groups so they can sell them stuff easier.

They tell people, "you're part of this generation, this is what you should want, what you should like, and what you should buy! Everyone else is doing it!"

That's why they expand the groups and make them larger. Everyone wants to belong, right?

[anarch]

25. this. to me, this is the salient point as far as generational divides

It's all just broad generalizations, created by people who are mostly trying to sell shit.

"Gen-X," "Millennial," "Baby Boomer," whatever...they're all just labels to sort people out according to their purchasing priorities. We shouldn't have to "market" the concepts of responsibility and citizenship to anyone...a lot of the perceived shifts in priorities with regard to "politics" are due to the steady degradation of our national education system at the hands of venal, self-serving (read: Republican) interests ever since they got temporarily side-tracked by WWII and the progressive legislation that followed...

[FSogol]

28. Exactly. They've moved on past generations into tribes.

They'll now sell products designed to appeal to political tribes.

[BumRushDaShow]

26. "my dad, born in 1943. He's obviously not a Boomer."

I have an uncle who was my mom's younger brother (they were like 13 years apart) and she used to dub that group the "If it feels good, do it". generation.

They were in their 20s during the mid-60s. I.e., they were the "older kids" to the Boomers. When you see all those "young adult" movies in the mid-'60s, those are that generation. They were also a large chunk of the Vietnam War Vets (based on the ages used for the draft).

[brush]

14. Boomers, the post-war baby boom, started in 1946.

[Wintryjade]

17. Exactly. I would be pegged Boomer but was a baby and little kid thru out the free love & drug phase

I have never felt like I should be included in boomer.

[crazycatlady]

20. I'm a 1980 baby

I don't identify with the Gen X generation at all. I don't remember Reagan at all and he was into his 2nd term by the time I started K. The first president I remember was Bush Sr. Not due to policies, but his refusal to eat broccoli (I used that argument at home).


Another thing-- every generation is defined by a historic event where everyone remembers where they were at the time. The millennial's event was 9/11. Someone born after that or who was a very young child at the time clearly does not remember it the way that someone who was in school at the time does (I was in college).

[BumRushDaShow]

27. "I don't remember Reagan at all"

You were lucky!

[Docreed2003]

40. I was born in 1978 and don't feel like a Gen X'er either

I do vividly remember the Regan years and '84 was the first election I remember, mainly because of "Weekly Reader" at school. That being said, I think the kids born in the years around the 80's are really their own group

[crazycatlady]

42. Look up "Oregon Trail Generation"

I think the people born between 1977-1985 fit into there.

I've also heard the term "Xennial" (one foot in one generation, one in the other).

I remember the Bush Sr/Dukakis election and deciding then that I was a Democrat (after asking my teacher what the difference between liberal and conservative was). I debated on behalf of Dukakis at school in 3rd grade. I remember being excited about the election.

[BumRushDaShow]

64. "I remember, mainly because of 'Weekly Reader'

THAT ("Weekly Reader" ) was my first major school introduction to elections with the Nixon/McGovern race in 1972!

[jpljr77]

52. I think you're on to something with the historic event thing

Of course, it should be caveated by noting the first historic event where you remember where you were, because everyone remembers those events regardless of what generation they are a part of.

But there are some interesting events that fall into that construct:

Baby Boomers - JFK assassination (1963)
Gen X - Challenger Shuttle disaster (1986)
Millennials - 9/11 (2001)

Also, a pretty easy pop culture touchpoint for Gen X: Were you ever old enough to legally see Nirvana in concert?

[crazycatlady]

53. I wonder what Gen Z's is

The only ones I can think of for them are mass shootings (Newtown, Parkland, Pulse nightclub, Vegas massacre). Maybe the big one hasn't happened yet.

I know school shootings have really shaken them up, but do they remember exactly where they were when the kids in Newtown or Parkland were gunned down.

(I know there's other school shootings, but I mention Newtown and Parkland as the most talked about-- Newtown because the kids were so young and Parkland because their classmates turned outrage into action).

[jpljr77]

77. It probably hasn't happened yet. But that might be a function of the current age.

The three events I listed dominated everything forever after they happened, media wise. Literally nothing else was discussed because it was the biggest thing to happen in years (decades, even).

But now, everyone knows everything and information is currency so everyone has an angle. There will be people pushing agendas in coverage of literally anything.

Even though it seems like 2001 wasn't that long ago, it was an entirely different age with regard to the media and flow of information.

It would take something MASSIVE to register that way for the next generation. I can't even fathom what it might be. Maybe if those pipe bombs had gone off? Maybe if troops open fire at the border? A legitimate military attack on the U.S.? I have no idea.

What does concern me is the escalation in death in the sequence of events. We went from one to seven to nearly 3,000. So what is the next one going to be?

[Chitown Kev]

57. This...I typed the same thing

I could have gone with the Challenger disaster as that GenX bookend...I usually go with the fall of the Berlin Wall

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

75. Well, that is difficult

I was born in 1979. I remember the Challenger explosion, but not very clearly. I was 7 time. 9/11 I remember quite vividly though because I was 22 then.

Legally? I don't recall there being any law barring children from their concerts. Maybe you mean old enough to be able to go by yourself, drive yourself there, and pay for your own ticket? I was 15 when Cobain died in 1994 and I remembered that clearly because I was a huge Nirvana fan at the time, but I wasn't old enough to get myself to a concert of theirs back then. If you use that as the basis for the cutoff, then the end of Gen X maybe more like 1975.

Those examples are making me think I'm more of an old Millennial than a young Gen Xer.

[geardaddy]

78. I'm an early Gen-Xer and I would say there was an earlier

historic event to consider and that was the assassination attempt on Reagan.

I was 16 at the time and in 10th grade English class when they announced it on the school PA. I was a junior in college when the Challenger Shuttle disaster happened.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

72. Hmm, what's the event for Gen X then? The one where you remember what you were doing at the time

I was born in 1979. Maybe I am a Millennial because 9/11 is probably the first historic event I lived through that I can clearly remember everything I was up to at the time. Things in the 80's and 90's are not as clear because I was a kid still through most of those years.

[crazycatlady]

80. Conventional wisdom says the Challenger

My mom knows where I was at the time (in K) but I didn't hear about it until years later.

[htuttle]

9. Generation Jones should be in there (1954-1964)

Since it includes both Barrack Obama and myself.

We don't fit well with Boomers, since some of our parents were Boomers (or close to it).

Strictly speaking, I'm a 'Cuban Missile Crisis baby".

[Maeve]

41. Yeah, the mid-to-late part of the boom is different from the early boom

Mid-Boomer, here---there was still a huge number of us being born, but our experiences weren't the same. Altho I do remember Howdy-Doody and a lot of the references (and my big brother had a coonskin cap!)
My first political memory is the election of Kennedy when I was in kindergarten.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. What I have seen...

Boomers: 1944-1965
Gen-X: 1966-1982
Millennials: 1983-1996
Gen-Z (or I-Gen): 1996-2013

I don't know if a new label has been created for those born in 2014. Boomers end year and Gen-X's beginning year fluctuate from various places, but I have routinely seen Millennials begin in 1983. There is likely to be some "overlap" with various years and groups.

[Coventina]

13. That seems to indicate that the definitions are for shrinking time slots rather than 20 year

intervals.

Interesting.

[Salviati]

35. Depending on what you want generations to represent, it makes sense.

Generations make sense if we think about them as a cohort of people who grew up with similar cultural influences, and if the rate of change increases over time, then the window in time in which a cohort would all have similar experiences would shrink.

[Behind the Aegis]

38. It's been awhile since I have done any personal research.

Since I was a higher education practitioner, "generations" and "birth order" were some of the groups we studied, among other factors like race, sexuality, gender, religion, etc. Obviously, people aren't going to be 'cookie cutter' images of certain generations and the labelling is really only good for making educated guesses about behavior and possible outcomes in relevant situations. I think the reason we see debate on the years of generations is because different sociologists and others have different markers and rationale for their date choices.

It is interesting how many people are incorrectly going solely after Millennials forgetting that the oldest of that group are 36, when they need to also include Gen-Z. The least likely to turnout for midterms are 18-29 year olds, and that now spans two generational groups. But trends show us younger people are less likely to vote than those older, especially in mid-term elections, like all other groups. This has been the case for years.



So, if you look at the above graph, I don't think it is too fair to "go after" or make assumptions about younger people because of their generational group, but rather look at the 30 year trend and we can see, Baby Boomers (Builder a sub-group someone else mentioned) and Gen-X followed the same patterns we are seeing with Gen-Y and Gen-Z.

[haele]

33. There's a subset of Boomer that are sometimes called Bridgers...

Typically born and raised in more populous coastal regions of the country between 1958 - 1965.
They're closer to Gen-X than they are to Boomer in attitude, tastes, and habits. Most of the other children raised rural, small towns, or more to the interior parts of the U.S. during that time are pretty solidly Boomer, but not the Bridgers.
(BTW, both spouse and I are Bridgers; 1959 and 1965, born in coastal California - and we're not very much like Boomers)

Haele

[Chitown Kev]

58. Generation Jones, in other words

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Jones

[crazycatlady]

43. The new generation (young kids today) will get a name as they come of age

When the oldest are in kindergarten, there's still time.

[Behind the Aegis]

44. Have you heard anything?

In stories and articles I have read, I have yet to see a suggested name for the newest generation. I am sure it will be named at some point, but I am wondering if a name is already floating around in academic circles.

[crazycatlady]

48. I've heard Gen Alpha (comes after Z)

I like "iGeneration" for Gen Z but it hasn't really caught on.

My nieces were born in 12 and 14. Perhaps they're of different generations.

[Behind the Aegis]

49. I am hearing both "IGen" and "Gen-Z" more often.

It will be interesting if "IGen", the newer term, overtakes "Gen-Z". I am not sure I like "Gen-Alpha", kinda creepy, IMO.

[crazycatlady]

50. well 'millennial' overtook 'Gen Y' so it could

I often wonder the life events that will define these kids' generations.

[Behind the Aegis]

51. That's very true.

I wonder too. Sadly, I feel it will be this "presidency" which will provide a backdrop for their formative years.

[Jrsygrl96]

18. Millenials

may only go to 1996 or 1997. I think the last if the millenials are 22 years old right now.

[crazycatlady]

21. the kids too young to remember 9/11 are Gen Z

[FSogol]

23. My youngest son, born in 1996, remembers 911.

We live in the DC suburbs and the whole town closed down. Parents picked up all the kids from school early and went home. By the time my wife picked up our sons, only the teachers were left.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

22. Millenials were born in the mid 80s-early 90s.

They all became adults in the 00s. Millenials are in their mid-late 30s.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

71. Adult as in 18 or 21?

I was born in 1979. I turned 21 in 2000. I am 39 now. I fall into that weird zone of being both an X'er and a Millennial.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

73. 18 is adult. nt

[Thirties Child]

24. Let's not forget the War Babies, the Silent Generation (mine), the Greatest Generation.

I'm not sure of the exact dates. I'm Silent Generation, gave birth to three late Boomers, one early Gen X. We're all Democrats (except the Boomer who lives in the UK and wishes she could tell people she's Canadian). We have all already voted for Stacey Abrams. My Millennial granddaughters are passionate Democrats and will vote.

[TexasBushwhacker]

30. Yes. The Silent Generation was born after the Greatest Generation

who served in WWII. Silents were born and were children during the Great Depression and WWII. Birth years would be approximately 1927 to 1945.

[Thirties Child]

87. Thank your for the dates.

Also for the information that the war babies were also part of the Silent Generation. When I was in college (1953-57), I remember an article in either Time or Newsweek that called us the Silent Generation.

[marybourg]

29. Boomers started in '46.

I’m a member of the “silent generation” ~’ ‘25-‘45, but only given the name later, when boomers were born.

[Act_of_Reparation]

34. Whoever called it the "silent generation" never met my grandmother.

I'll be here all day, folks.

[muriel_volestrangler]

36. Every 18 years - 1946, 1964, 1982, 2000, and now 2018

Boomers are born after the return from WW2. Millennials were born before the millennium, but hadn't yet turned 18. From that, you can work out the Gen X start, and that Gen Z is ending now. We're gonna need a bigger alphabet.

[jpljr77]

39. I always thought 1980 was the cutoff for Gen X and 2000 for the millennial cutoff.

But no such adjustments need to be made to earlier generations, as they are not always the same length.

I would also say that the birth rate began to spike in 1946, thus giving that generation its name. So real Boomers are probably post-WWII to early 60s.

[crazycatlady]

47. I'm 1980 and don't identify with Gen X at all

Perhaps it was the fact that I'm the oldest kid in the family and had strict parents who sheltered me from much of the pop culture of that era (about the only movies I saw as a kid were all G rated, my limited TV time was all kids' shows, etc.) Gen X is considered 70s kids, and I don't think you should be putting people who weren't alive in the 70s in that generation.

Personally I think the generations need to be a shorter time period. Someone born in 1982 is going to have completely different life experiences than someone born in 1993, even though they're in the same generation. LIkewise with 1948 and 1959.

[Iggo]

54. I went to high school in the '70s.

I don't think I fit into any of the above categories and I don't particularly care to.

[Chitown Kev]

56. That's one of the breakdowns

Mostly I do this by specific events though...that is, a Boomer is anyone born after WWII that can remember JFK's assassination...Baby Boomer period ends on November 22, 1963...Even though Obama was born in 1961, he doesn't come off as a ''Boomer'' type...even though both Hillary and Obama are ''Boomers'', technically

A Millennial is anyone born after the fall of the Berlin Wall that can remember the September 11th attacks...so I would say that September 11, 2001 marks the beginning of Generation Z

[xmas74]

59. My daughter and her friends are all Gen Z

She was born in 2000 and her friends within three year windows. Most will tell you the early Gen Z is college age or just finishing. It goes on to around 2010-12, with overlap for the next generation.

[Crunchy Frog]

60. I was born in 1963 and I've never identified as a boomer.

I find these classifications to be highly arbitrary. Theoretically, it would be possible to have a pair of identical twins who belonged to different generations.

[roamer65]

85. I'm 1965 and I'm a GenX as well like you.

I fit more with someone born in 1974 than I do someone from 1961.

[NutmegYankee]

61. I was born in 1980, and don't consider myself gen- x at all.

Earlier definitions of millennial included me but lately they keep moving the start date later and later.

[Recursion]

63. 1980 is a more common starting point for Millennials now

If you had a "Baby On Board" sign on the minivan you rode around in as a baby, you're a Millennial. If you remember the Challenger explosion, you're an X-er.

On the other end, if you don't remember 9/11, you're not a Millennial, but a Homelander/GenZer. So, 1980 - 1996, give or take, is Millennials, i.e., the cohort that came of age in the early part of the new millennium.

[Polybius]

65. They are not all exactly 20 years

Some are substantially shorter than others. It may be based on population births of that generation. X definitely ended before 1984.

[Tarc]

66. Millennials are everyone post-GenX

They've done nothing to distinguish themselves from one another thus far.

[DangerousRhythm]

67. Really, though?

I think some of the Parkland kids might think differently. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[crazycatlady]

70. Gen Z is the post 9/11 kids

Either the ones who were born after then or who were young children when it happened. The oldest of them are between 22-24 depending on how you define them (1994-1995 would probably be my cutoff for millennials).

Some millennials are in their 30s now. Lumping 18 year old voter turnout with them is not apples to apples.

[Jspur]

68. Born in '83

and I'm definitely a millennial. I don't classify myself as an Xer. I have friends who were born throughout the 80's that are a few years older then me or a few years younger then me and I have noticed we all have the same type of beliefs and experiences. My younger brother was born in '87 and we share similar beliefs and similar cultural experience. I have also noticed that I also tend to have similar beliefs to people who were born during the early 90's. So I tend to believe the Millennial range from '80-'94. I definitely feel the kids who are now in their early 20's are totally different than Millennials.

I do believe generation cut offs are real. For example I have noticed that even somebody who was born in '79 is only 4 years older then me tends to have had a different cultural experience then me and have different beliefs. If you think about a late '79 Xer has memories of Reagan as president while I have 0 memories of Reagan and my earliest memory for a president is Bush SR. They also grew up with slightly different technology then I did. There first video game console was the NES and commodore while mine was the SNES.

One thing I have noticed about my generation the millennial is that we tend to like do a lot of activities in groups. Millennials tend to be group oriented while I have noticed Xers tend to be more cynical and the loner type. Another characteristic which is true about Millennials is we are all obsessed with experiences over material objects. That's why businesses tend to hate us.

[geardaddy]

74. Gen Xer here, too.

Actually, I'm a cusper. I was born in early 1965, so I'm either the last of the baby boom or first of the Generation X.

[JustAnotherGen]

79. My understanding was

Generation X ends at 1978. Millenials are a huge group.

I get that some people started their families older - but for the most part . . .

(I was born in 1973) - Gen X's parents are silent and the OLDEST boomers.

Dad born in 41 - mom 47.

If remember where you were when Sally Ride died - But don't remember where you were when Bobby Kennedy died - you are Gen X.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

81. What happened to the Beat Generation?

Too long ago?

[question everything]

83. And the burning question - what comes after Z

Asked before and got interesting replies

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1018882218

[Celerity]

84. just wanted to tuck this in here as well (small discussion on the post iGen/Gen Z name

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1018882218#post23

[WeekiWater]

86. You can find differing gaps across the internet.

A place to keep an eye out for it is in polls. They can drastically overstate the influence of a specific group while adversely underestimating other groups. Some polls I’ve seen thrown around are clearly propaganda and the group commissioning the polls are agenda driven.

[TSheehan]

88. Gen X'ers are overall the most right-wing of the generations, followed by Boomers.

The GIs ("Greatest Generation&quot and to a lesser extent, the Silent Generation were overall very old-school New Deal Democrats.

The Millennials, of course, are more liberal and left-wing than those who came before.