For a long time, the people born between 1946 and 1964/1965 were all considered "Baby Boomers" but in recent years the idea of either (depending on how you look at it) a separate generation, or sub-generation called "Generation Jones" has sprung up. The years for "Generation Jones" have been basically put as 1953/1954-1965/1966. What do you think of the two classifications? I think the original Baby Boomer year range was far too big---Almost the length of two generations, nearly 20 years. And I think there was a difference in the culture of the those born in the 40s to those born in the mid 50s. The people born in the 40s tended to be the rockers (Rolling Stones, Yes, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Beatles) and whatnot, for example, whereas the kids of the mid-late 50s tended to be Aerosmith, Punk and Disco kids.

I think the Generations line up should be: Baby Boomers should be: 1940-1954; Generation Jones would be 1954-1963; Generation X would be 1963-1977; Generation Y would be 1977-1985. Pre-Millennial or the "Second Baby Boom' Generation would be around 1985-1996; Millennials 1996 -2005; Post Milennials 2005-present?

What do you think the ranges should be of all of them? And what would you say are the characteristics of all the generations? I mean both in terms of their mindsets, aesthethics (music, movies) and of the major (world and domestic) events or movements of their ''generational lives."?

I was born in 1960 and have never really identified with the 'baby boomer' generation. I agree that the boomer period is way too long and that a sub-generation from the mid to late fifties might apply.

I always thought that the boomer gen finished in 1960 (and I was in the last year). :-\\

I was born in 1960 and have never really identified with the 'baby boomer' generation. I agree that the boomer period is way too long and that a sub-generation from the mid to late fifties might apply.

I always thought that the boomer gen finished in 1960 (and I was in the last year). :-\\

I have read the baby boomers period ended in 1964, so I'm at the tail end ( born in '63), but I don't identify wit the boomers born in the late 40s and early 50s, too much of an age difference.
I was really into the Beatles, stones, Pink Floyd, genesis, Zeppelin, and most of my friends born in 62 or 63 were as well.

  The baby boom is called what it is because it was what it was.  The rapid increase in births started in 1946 with the soldiers returning home from parts distant.  The steep decline in birthrates began in the late fifties/early sixties, thus ending the "baby boom"...

  You're talking about cultural generations, and that discussion is never ending...

  When a child is born, a new generation begins.  The average generation is the average age of parents at the time of birth of their children.  From my grandfather (b. 1915) to my father (b. 1946) to me (b.1969) is three generations.  The average age of my father's parents when he was born was 28.5 years.  The average age of my parents when I was born was 25 years.  The average age of my ex-wife and I when our son was born was 16 years.  Each generation is of a different length...

  The average of 28.5 years, 25 years and 16 years is 23.16 years.  Roughly 20 years, give or take.  That's about right for a modern generation in developed countries...

  Interesting that in the book of Matthew 24:34, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled..."  This "generation" is to include everyone in the world alive at that time...

The term Baby Boomer as a generation isn't defined by the music they listened to, as Davester said, it is defined by the fact that they are the children of vets returning from WWII, and the term speaks to the way we were raised and the advantages we enjoyed being the children of an era of access to education and prosperity unprecedented in the country up until that time.

The term Baby Boomer as a generation isn't defined by the music they listened to, as Davester said, it is defined by the fact that they are the children of vets returning from WWII, and the term speaks to the way we were raised and the advantages we enjoyed being the children of an era of access to education and prosperity unprecedented in the country up until that time.


I know but are not the Baby Boomers considered by the mass culture a ''cultural'' generation so much as a demographic generation?

 
  The Silents were the first dwellers of the new suburbia...

  The Baby Boomer generation is defined by birth rates, perhaps the first to be defined in such a way.  Jones is a media concoction...

  A Baby Bust would include those born as birthrates declined and bottomed-out.  Gen X is a media concoction...

  Birthrates were on the rise again, but not until the late 1970s.  Again, defined by birth rates, Echo Boom is in da house.  Millennial, Gen Y, and whatever are media concoctions...

  If you were born during the "baby boom", you're a Baby Boomer.  If you weren't born during the baby boom, you're something else.  It's the fickle popular culture which affords you the choice.  You get to pick your own identity.  The proof of this lies in the fact that the age ranges for the generations are constantly being shifted to and fro to include more members, or fewer, into the group...

  The question is, "why is it important..?"

I think what people are forgetting is that the US troops came home 2 years after services, so the BB generation really starts around 1942/1943 imo.  However, birth rates didn't spike up until 1946.  A lot people born during WWII ended up acting more like the Baby Boomers than the Silents.

A lot people born during WWII ended up acting more like the Baby Boomers than the Silents.


  How do baby boomers act..?

   How do baby boomers act..?


Most of the hippies and rock stars of the 60s were born during WWII, and they were able to relate to the teenagers at the time.  I wouldn't say they are relatable to those born in later half of the boom though.

Really, most rock stars of the '80s were in that Generation Jones demographic; this contrasts to the "Silent/Boomer cusp" for the '60s and the real Baby Boomers who mainly were '70s stars. Generation Jones is sort of the "yuppie" generation, and basically created and designed the '80s culture, being young adults during that decade. They were too young to be drafted into Vietnam as well, so the '60s never really haunted them as well; more or less being just the "Flower Children".

My parents (who were born in 1956 and 1957) always thought of themselves as boomers but then when I told them about Jones, they completely agree with me now.

I was born in 1960 and have never really identified with the 'baby boomer' generation. I agree that the boomer period is way too long and that a sub-generation from the mid to late fifties might apply.

I always thought that the boomer gen finished in 1960 (and I was in the last year). :-\\


Me too - I was also born in 1960.  Certain aspects of the "Boomer" culture happened too early for me, like Woodstockk - I was only 9 then.

What I've read about Generation Jones sounds spot on for me.

My parents (b. 1940 & 1941) were technically Silent Generation, although they shared much more in common with people born in 1950 (Boomers) than in 1930 (Silent).  My father was in the first wave of hippies.  He was in grad school at Harvard in the early 1960s.  He and his friends borrowed long hair and beards from the preceding Beatniks, along with Eastern spirituality, folk music, health food, marijuana, LSD, Allen Ginsberg, and Charlie Parker.  My dad loved The Beatles and Frank Zappa but had no use for Jefferson Airplane or The Who.  My mother and older sister liked that stuff...and Beatles and Zappa.

In true anti-establishment fashion, Dad dropped out of grad school before completing his PhD.  He completed his doctorate 25 years later at another university and in another subject, but he regrets dropping out of Harvard to this day!

I'm solid Generation X (b. 1969), but felt alienated from my own generation for its social and political apathy.  I also felt we did not make a case against the betrayal of progressive thought in favor of free market greed by the Boomers who became the Yuppies of the '80s. 

Talking about that generation in cultural terms, there's a noticable difference between the early baby boomers and the later boomers.  My dad was born in 1949, he served in Vietnam and was old enough to experience the culture of the 60's.  My mom was born in 1958 and her only memories of the 60's are what she saw on TV.  My mom often doesn't consider herself part of the BB's because she didn't experience the same stuff that people born in the 40's did.  People born in the 40's were going to Woodstock, the people born in the late 50's/early 60's were still in middle school. 

Either way though, it was a great generation.  From a cultural standpoint, the music and the movements are unparalleled by anything else.

GENERATION JONES

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/09/08/alg_koran_terry-jones.jpg

Pastor Jones!

GENERATION JONES

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/09/08/alg_koran_terry-jones.jpg

Pastor Jones!

Gaaaad..That's in two days. It's even getting airtime in Canada's news.

Gaaaad..That's in two days. It's even getting airtime in Canada's news.


Okay, but the picture is so demented.  Usually church's announce pancake breakfast, ham & bean suppers, charity drives, and Bible studies.  This pastor's having a good old-fashioned book-burning!  Witches are next!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/vogel.gif

I'm a core member of Generation Y (born in 1989). My parents were born in '59 and '60 respectively and generally identified as being in the "baby boomer" age group though of a later kind. They grew up with the culture of the 1970's and were children during the mid-late 60's, being exposed to The Beatles, Bob Dylan and other flower favorites. While they loved all that stuff, it was truly the 70's that seemed to resonate with them the most. I think Generation Jones is a good way to separate the second half of the baby boom from the first. It shows how diverse the "Baby Boomers" really were, how some were inspired by political idealism whereas others became more cynical and lashed out with angry forms of music such as punk. Punk, imo, was the musical voice of second wave baby boomers/Generation Jones, just as grunge was to Generation X. I'd also say Generation Jones was to X what the Silent Generation was to the Boomers. Much of what the Boomers take credit for was actually done by the Silent Generation. Likewise, much of what Gen X claims to be its forte was actually developed and improved by Generation Jones. All the big 80's stars (Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Replacements, etc) were all part of Generation Jones and many of the key figures in the Seattle Grunge scene alongside Kurt Cobain and co were actually Jonesers too, including many members of Soundgarden (Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil). Also, the main influences for Gen X music such as grunge/alternative and rap/hip hop were set in the late 70's-early 80's by trends in punk rock and street rapping.
Let's hear it for the second half of the post-war Boom. All cheers for Generation Jones!

Okay, but the picture is so demented.  Usually church's announce pancake breakfast, ham & bean suppers, charity drives, and Bible studies.  This pastor's having a good old-fashioned book-burning!  Witches are next!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/vogel.gif


Only if they weigh the same as a duck....

I have always identified myself as a baby boomer-even though I am towards the end of the generation. When Carlos & I first hooked up he was trying to convince me that I WASN'T a baby boomer (he is a baby boomer by every definition-his father served in WWII & he was born right after the war). I convinced him that I was a baby boomer because all my siblings (with just one sister & myself born in the '60s, the rest were born in the '50s) were indeed baby boomers and aren't I in the same generation as my siblings? He said, "Good point" and never argued with me on that issue again. However, my parents did not serve in WWII (but my grandfather did). My parents were teens during the war-so by the definition of soldiers returning home after the war and having mega kids, none in my family fall into that category. They just had mega kids anyway.  :D ;D ;D ;D



Cat

Gen Jones might have some currency as a cultural generation, but as a biological generation, it doesn't make any sense.