I attended a lunch talk yesterday at the Hub (www.the-hub.net - in case you are interested). The theme of the conversation was social innovation in the city - it came down to social cohesion and how to make it happen in a creative, co-creating way.
I never really thought about the role of generations - Generaton X, Y, Z (Digital Natives), Baby Boomers, Baby Busters, Lost Generation etc. But a gentleman at the lunch talk yesterday said to us: you are a pragmatic generation - you are not fighting against anything, you are fighting FOR what you believe in.
While I agree with that, I still believe I am more of an idealist than a pragmatist. After all, I am Generation Y. Until I looked up on Wikipedia the "List of Generations". It turns out, that being born in 1980 still puts me in the Generation X category. Which is a wake up call,
I am looking at my birth date now.... 1980. It really sounds so last millennium.
Pragmatist last millennium. So I sit here and try not to get too passionate about the things I find important, about things I disagree with, about anything. I am trying be be a pragmatist Generation X person.
But since I find it difficult, it gives me hope that I may just not fit the usual description of any generation, since I was born in a particular part of the world, with specific experiences that did not make the Generation X features strong in me.
After all, Generation X,Y,Z only fits some people, not so much others. And that's fine. We do not need to squeeze ourselves into tight little boxes.
Let's just be - passionate or pragmatic - whatever works for you!
2 comments:
Interesting blog, but it’s missing an important part of the equation: Generation Jones (between the Boomers and Generation X). Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten a ton of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009. Here's a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones: http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. And most analysts now see generations as getting shorter (usually 10-15 years now), partly because of the acceleration of culture. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978
Generation Y: 1979-1993
Thank you for your comment! It is interesting, your time frames are different than the ones I have found. Nevertheless, I greatly appreciate your input. I will look up what generation Jones is characterized by. Thanks again!
Eszter
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