What generation are you?

RiverDog

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I know how it (baby boomer) got it's name. I meant I didn't know why the boomer generation was 18 years while all the rest were 15, but that's how it is.
I didn't mean to suggest that you didn't know how it got its name. My intent was to point out that the term "baby boomer" doesn't really apply to those born after 1960 as the birth rate, i.e. the 'boom', was in the rear-view mirror by then.

"The Pill", oral contraceptives, was approved by the FDA and made available to the public in 1960. It represented a huge societal change towards unmarried sex and helped bring in the "free love" movement, ie a sexually active lifestyle with many casual partners with little if any commitment, amongst young people in the 1960's. That continued until the AIDS scare in the late 70's-early 80's when Yours Truly was feeling his oats.

Having the generation end in 1960 vs. 5 years later is more fitting on several counts and is why I made a false assumption that it did. So @pmedic920, you're not a true boomer! j/k.
 
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Ozzy

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46 and no clue what that makes me. Kind of cool though that we have members all over the spectrum and for the most part we all get along or quickly move past it if we don’t from time to time lol
 

RiverDog

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The worst.
Actually the "silent generation", ie 1928-1945, is probably the worst. Woodstock, acid trips, hippies, et al.

My son-in-law, 37 years old, once commented that my hearing was bad, and my response was "too much Grand Funk" and he looked at me like I had come from another planet. I've also made jokes about my lack of mastery over techy stuff by noting that I'm a boomer, meaning that I was born with a belly button on my stomach, not a USB port.

My dad, born in 1925 and from the greatest generation, would occasionally use the terms "FUBAR" and "SNAFU," but I never asked him what they meant, but his buddies always seemed to understand him. I later came to find out that it was a generational thing that somehow never got translated to my age demographic.
 

fire_marshall_bill

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X, I think, but I might be the subcategory.

I was born in the late 70s, so whatever that falls into...
 

Maulbert

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X, I think, but I might be the subcategory.

I was born in the late 70s, so whatever that falls into...
Yep, Gen X. All of the 70's are Gen X, all of the 80's are Millennials. Also, the Xennial subgeneration is generally considered 1977-1983. Basically, Millennials that don't feel Millennial and Gen Xer's that don't feel Gen X.
 

SNDavidson

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first generation who got to see one of the worst fanbases choke 3 times in a superbowl and lose to a pop star
 

RiverDog

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Here's how I would break out the generations by year:

Born before 1931: Greatest Generation.
1931-1945 Silent Generation
1946-1960 Baby Boomers
1961-1980 Gen X
1981-95 Millennials
1996-2015 Gen Z

I'll stop there. They're not equal in the number of years, but their demarcations represent a point in time where society has changed for one reason or another, ie the Great Depression, WW2, the 60's, 9/11 and so on.
 

Maulbert

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Here's how I would break out the generations by year:

Born before 1931: Greatest Generation.
1931-1945 Silent Generation
1946-1960 Baby Boomers
1961-1980 Gen X
1981-95 Millennials
1996-2015 Gen Z

I'll stop there. They're not equal in the number of years, but their demarcations represent a point in time where society has changed for one reason or another, ie the Great Depression, WW2, the 60's, 9/11 and so on.
I just have to say, every chart, and I mean EVERY CHART, I find online agrees Baby Boomers are from 46-64. The other generations change. But not boomers. It's the most commonly defined.
 

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RiverDog

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I just have to say, every chart, and I mean EVERY CHART, I find online agrees Baby Boomers are from 46-64. The other generations change. But not boomers. It's the most commonly defined.
I understand what the charts say. My argument is that they made the generation fit the years rather than the other way around. For a lot of reasons, ie the introduction of "the pill" in August of 1960, the end of the "boom", Camelot, TV becoming a part of our daily lives ie the Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960, the beginnings of the Vietnam War, the start of the space race in early '61, all of those things make ending the Boomers in 1960 a lot more sense than '64.

The 60's were arguably the most transformative decade of the century, and splitting it in half doesn't seem right. You might as well break off The Greatest Generation in 1935 and let a couple million people not experience the Great Depression and WW2.

The introduction of "the pill" in 1960 caused a huge societal change:

Beginning in 1960, “The Pill” provided many women with an affordable way to avoid pregnancy. Before the pill was introduced many women did not look for long-term jobs because they would need to leave the job market when they became pregnant. Abortion was illegal and presented many health risks if performed. After birth control, a higher percentage of women graduated from school and college, which allowed them to later gain professional careers.[18]

With the invention of the pill, women could safely control their sexuality and fertility. Previous methods of birth control existed, including herbal remedies and early condoms, which were less protective and not legalized.[19] Birth control “was female-controlled, simple to use, highly effective, and most revolutionary of all, it separated reproduction and contraception from the sexual act.”[19] While critics claimed that the pill would lead to immorality, it allowed women to gain some freedoms in making choices about their bodies.[20]
 
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ZagHawk

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I will say I actually think Boomers hate Millennials, but really its the Gen Z that hates Boomers...like I actually heard the term "boomer" used by Gen Z more than any of my Millennial counter parts.

I am '83 so I am Xennial. I definitely relate with both Millenial and Gen X in different ways, also because of where I grew up the technology was just a little more behind the rest of America, so I think that also had its impact on my view of the world.
 

RiverDog

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I will say I actually think Boomers hate Millennials, but really its the Gen Z that hates Boomers...like I actually heard the term "boomer" used by Gen Z more than any of my Millennial counter parts.

I am '83 so I am Xennial. I definitely relate with both Millenial and Gen X in different ways, also because of where I grew up the technology was just a little more behind the rest of America, so I think that also had its impact on my view of the world
Every generation has a certain amount of disdain for their kid's generation. My dad, from the Greatest Generation, hated just about everything about my generation, ie the Boomers, from our music to our hair to the clothes we wore. A WW2 vet, he couldn't understand how so many kids would refuse to serve their country.

My biggest beef with the Millennials is their work ethic, or lack thereof. Based on my experience as a line supervisor, they seem to feel entitled, at least the native-born kids. My daughter, born in '86, used to piss and moan anytime I asked her to help me with the simplest of tasks, like raking leaves or washing the car, while I can remember going with my old man on a weekend to cut and haul firewood then I'd spend an hour or so in the evenings after football practice splitting, hauling, and stacking it on our patio.
 

fenderbender123

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Every generation is different because everything is different for them while growing up. The economy, technology, parenting norms, hobbies, education, etc.

I mean, yeah, duh lol. People seem to forget this, though.

For the most part, I think people need to listen to their elders. They have seen more. Experienced more. They have seen how generations differ and what time does to us all.

This is why I hate insulting boomers. We should be listening to them. Was it easier for them to afford a house? Sure, but we can name a thousand things that we have better than them that they didn't have the luxury of.
 
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