What are baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, and Generation Z – and what sets them apart, is this generational identification justified? Source of photo: Prometej.ba Recently, my twelve-year-old niece Aisha told me a joke that I didn’t get, even though I tried. I asked her to repeat, which she did, but the effect was still the same. Seeing my confusion, she shrugged and frustratingly concluded: “Oh, you millennials just don’t get it; this is Gen Z humor.”
I thought maybe it was true.
I’ve long been amused by TikTok videos that depict generational differences. The topics are diverse, but I would highlight those comparing different parenting styles based on the idea that kids are becoming less resilient over time, making those born in the ’80s superheroes compared to today’s children. Then there are those addressing the work ethic of boomers and millennials, where the former happily go to work, adhering to a formal dress code, while the latter dress casually and are far less enthusiastic. Boomers still make phone calls, while millennials communicate through messages. The former are believed to be politically incorrect, while the latter are self-focused narcissists prone to complaining and depression.
Despite generalizations and stereotypes, the popularity of these videos lies in the fact that they are based on certain truths and well-known differences between generations. So, I was interested in exploring them in more detail and trying to understand the reasons behind their emergence.
From boomers to Generation Z
Although these videos consider the oldest generations as baby boomers (from the post-World War II baby boom), born between 1946 and 1964, it’s essential to note that there’s still an older generation, the silent generation. It includes people born from the mid-’20s to the mid-’40s, before and during the wars, which is why they are described as “silent” because they didn’t have an impact on social upheavals, unlike future “louder” generations. However, since they are not active in society due to their age, the creators of these videos don’t find them inspirational, unlike baby boomers, who are their favorite topic.
Baby boomers are mostly the parents of the generation I belong to (millennials) or the grandparents of Generation Z, born between 1946 and 1964. Regardless of where they live on the planet, we can say that they spent at least part of their lives in the most economically and politically advanced state structure in history. Born and raised in the period of hope after the world war, the time of human rights, student and sexual revolutions, they actively participated in all these events and progress. Baby boomers were true Yugoslavs – born and raised in the golden age of that country, they benefited from the best it had to offer, and unlike younger generations, they truly believed in a “better world,” actively participating in its creation. They value real, “physical” social relationships, live contact with people, and watch TV programs more frequently than streaming. Typically, they have the most beautiful handwriting because they spent most of their lives writing by hand. It’s true that baby boomers are often criticized by younger generations and their woke perspectives, being labeled as racists, sexists, homophobes, planet polluters, etc. But, with their civil rights movements, they paved the way for the woke movement. In addition to these characteristics, they are also criticized for their proverbial struggle in the digital world. Although they use the internet and social media, their golden social network is Facebook, and they are digitally illiterate in a broader sense: they find it harder to distinguish fake news from real news and are more susceptible to various virtual scams.
Generation X is no longer boomer, but it’s not quite millennial either; it represents people who are somewhat stuck between these two characteristic generations and have something of both. Born between 1965 and 1980, they are very familiar with the world before the internet and social media, but they had enough time to acquire digital literacy. In English, they are also called latch-key kids – children who wore a key around their necks (which I am part of, although I am younger), as they returned to an empty house since both parents were employed for the first time in history. This generation tends to enter into marital relationships later or less frequently, and they are the first generation to be significantly individualized – the ones who began significant self-development. Therefore, they do not approach work and career as boomers do and are not as focused on work and utility as they want rest and time for themselves. After the “prosperity and progress” of the boomers, this generation realizes the negative political and economic consequences of their actions and rebels against the lifestyle of their parents. In our case, this is quite clear because it is a generation that was a direct participant in the wars initiated by their parents and grandparents – they were too young to cause anything, and old enough to suffer the consequences. However, this division is also visible in countries that did not have such a “historical break,” economically and ideologically. Generally speaking, this is a generation that started advocating for individuality and respect for human rights in a more inclusive and broader sense.
Millennials are people who came of age with the new millennium or grew up in the early 2000s – born from 1980 to 1996. Since they are the first generation that spent the formative years of their lives in the online sphere, it is believed that this influenced their psychology, making them more isolated and narcissistic. Another name for them is the “Me, Me, Me” generation, emphasizing their self-focus and their mental health problems, especially with anxiety and depression. They were raised by late boomers or early members of Generation X, so they were exposed to a more liberal parenting style that was not based on obedience and discipline but rather respected the child’s personality and was more liberal. Childhood became the easiest in history. However, compared to older generations, millennials are dissatisfied, partly because of changed social circumstances – life has become faster and more expensive, and expectations and competition have never been greater. Part of it is also due to a worldview that is far from optimistic and progressive. The world is heading for disaster on many fronts, there are no more correct ideologies. Perhaps this sentiment is best illustrated in this year’s movie “Leave the World Behind” by Sam Esmail, which talks about the collapse, but not because of some traditional external enemy – they are no longer Russians, Arabs, or aliens, but the situation is much more complex. Also, the global picture of the world has changed, and the lifestyle has become more nomadic; millennials are people who are not tied to one place and one job and often work from home or from some part of the planet that is far from the place where they were born, which is far from the boomer image.
Born from 1997 to 2012, Generation Z is a generation that is still growing, but its oldest members are slowly taking over from millennials. We can already talk about some of their general characteristics, although there is still time for more comprehensive definition. They were born with technology, which greatly influenced their learning process and information processing, and they face significant challenges with mental health. They are even more socially conscious than millennials in the sense that they have the most developed ecological awareness – they are aware that older generations have left a pollution problem that will affect
them the most, and they casually accept various gender orientations. We can say that woke culture is implied in them, while millennials had to become aware of it.
These modern kids…
However, despite this latest generational division, it is essential to say that history does not count from the advent of the internet or from the beginning of the 20th century, and the human need for this differentiation is much older. Even before social networks that exist as a constant global reflection of all social phenomena, younger generations separated from the older ones in various ways, either in clothing and hairstyle or worldview, rebelling against them and considering them outdated. On the other hand, older generations have probably criticized the behavior of younger people since ancient Greece, considering it different from their own. It has been noticed that older people mostly criticize those behaviors of the young that they value the most and have “in excess.” For example, authoritarian figures will criticize the lack of discipline in the young, well-read people will criticize the lack of reading habits, and intelligent ones will claim that the young are becoming “dumber,” although the fact is that the average IQ is constantly rising.
This is caused by various factors. Some of them are found in the basics of group psychology and the theory of constructing social identity. People “diminish” the external group and its members to feel better in the group they belong to. Believing in the superiority of their own group and the inferiority of the other group increases self-esteem and solidarity among members. In our society, where religious and national divisions are still the loudest, this is particularly clear. However, where these differences are not so important, other types of divisions are present. Especially among young people who are in the process of forming their own identity, and in that, their chronological age seems like a crucial factor. From there, it is very easy to identify with the characteristics of the generation they belong to, just as, for example, it is easy to identify with the characteristics of zodiac signs.
Moreover, generational identification is even more justified because there are indeed social attitudes and lifestyles that are caused by the time of birth and formation. However, regardless of that, within one generation, there can be greater individual differences than between members of different generations. Our flexibility and openness to new attitudes and changes depend on us, not on the date of birth. It is entirely realistic to change so much during a lifetime that, even though we were born as boomers, we eventually adopt the social attitudes of Generation Z.
The fact is that I didn’t get the joke from the beginning of the text. I don’t know if the real explanation is generational, but if it is, I am sure it’s on me, not on Generation Z.
Emina Žuna, Prometej.ba