Who are we?
I am writing this, my first blog post, with a view to providing a limited contextual explanation of my viewpoints as related to the different generations, viewpoints that in all likelihood will continue to emerge from my writing.
The Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation, this is the generation of my grandparents. A fine upstanding generation of people who did not need many laws to make their way through life as they had no problem “doing the right thing”.
They trusted their parents, they trusted their government and they knew that they could rely on one another. These people were born into a world of great changes and violence and were and continue to be a stoic bunch.
Their views on life were shaped by the second world war. These people died in their millions in order for us to enjoy the freedoms we take for granted in western society today. They also laid the prosperous groundwork for the next generation, the Baby Boomers.
Baby Boomers were born into a world of prosperity unparalleled in history, a world full of scientific and medical marvels.
They also inherited a very strong social and work ethic from their forebears and truly changed the face of the world forever by firstly, developing and largely perfecting the technologies of their parents generation and secondly, by starting to question their governments decisions regarding their welfare.
In the world of the Baby Boomers, everything seemed possible and their attitude to life reflects this if one looks at the achievements of this generation, things like heart transplants, space travel and many other innovations. The Baby Boomers gave the world the next 2 generations, Generation X and Generation Y.
Generation X was born into a world of counterculture and activism; they are a generation that grew up into the socioeconomic conditions prescribed by the cold war and the military industrial complex. Generation X does not trust their governments or their employers. This is partly the result of them growing up in an age of global political, financial and ecological disasters caused by politicians and the beginnings of globalisation.
Generation X’ers saw a lot of modern technology at its introduction, items such as home computers and video game consoles and the internet. Generation X does not conform to the norms and standards of previous generations and prefers having little to do with those in authority.
Generation Y is the second generation brought into the world by the Baby Boomers. Generation Y grew up with the modern technology as everyday items. Their lives are characterised by having access to a wide range of communication technologies and use of the internet as a social and economic tool. They are the first generation targeted for cradle to the grave marketing strategies and mass media corporations and generally believe what they see on television and in other media, something their Generation X counterparts are far more cynical about.
Generation Y’s outlook is shaped by media prescribed political correctness and as such they have been noticeably more conformist then Generation X, entrusting their welfare to state institutions far more than the two preceding generations. Because of this, some suspect that Generation Y will be very similar to the Greatest Generation.
The main differences in Generation Y and the Greatest Generation stem from Gen Y’s obsession with pop culture and a sexualisation of youth culture that would be anathema to the Greatest Generation.
Finally we have the glorious and beautiful Generation Z, the children of Generation X in the main. These are the children and young adults coming of age today and are also referred to as generation net. The financial instability of the late 2000’s will have an impact of how these youngsters turn out as well as the following years and how society adapts to these social and financial events.
The generation gaps provide only a small insight into characteristics of the various people sharing our planet and should not be used to compartmentalize any given group per say, but it is interesting to note the differences in day to day life!
