So, What Cultural Generation are you? Are you a baby boomer (post WW2 until about 1964 or 1965)?
Generation X?
Generation Y?
Generation Z?

Oh Warped..how do I find out what I am? ( google it...)


I guess I am a tail end baby boomer. The question is: Do I really care?

Baby Boomer here. The funny thing is, Carlos is the beginning & I am the end. When we first hooked up, he was trying to convince me that I wasn't a Baby Boomer. I told him, "All my siblings are Baby Boomers and aren't I in the same generation as my sibs?" I had proven my point!


Cat

Let's see if I can sum this up...

Boomer culture started with psychedelic rock in the late 60s (or maybe with the British Invasion in the mid-60s?) and lasted through the Disco era (late 70's/early 80's). They pioneered suburban childhood and were the first to grow up with television, through which they witnessed man walk on the moon. Nixon/Ford/Carter were their youth presidents.

Hair metal in the mid-80s/early 90's and grunge in the mid-90s spanned Generation X culture. The Reagan/Bush1.0/Clinton presidencies, the AIDS epidemic, fall of the Berlin Wall, and Gulf War are some of the things they experienced in their youths.

Gen Y culture started with boy bands in the late 90s/early 2000s and has lasted up to the early 10s with dance pop. They are the first generation to own or learn how to use computers as children and cellphones as teenagers. Bush/Obama presidencies, 9-11, and the 2008 recession.

I expect Gen Z culture to rear its ugly head sometime next year ^_^


I'm Gen Y (born in 1990) but some sources have tried to put me in Gen Z :o The general consensus however is that Gen Z doesn't start until 1995 or so.

I did google it actually because I didn't really know there were cultural labels of people, and it turns out I might be either an X or a Y. It doesn't even make sense.

And then why do previous generations have a name and then there is x, y and z? That makes people feel bad, lol like we aren't good enough to even have a generational name...

well, Gen Y are often called "Millennials" since we came of age in the new millenium (born in/after 1982). "Echo Boomer" is another term used since we're the children of the Baby Boomers so the birthrates went back up for a while. Gen X is called so because it was a comparatively small generation sandwiched between the Boomers and the Millenials and they didn't know what to call it.

I am 'Peak Y':

And that's how I see the divisions:

Early Y: 1982-84 (kids of the late 80's,early-mid 90's, teenagers of the late 90's, early 00's)
Peak Y: 1985-87 (kids of the 90's, teenagers of the early-mid 00's)
Late Y: 1988-90 (kids of the mid-late 90's and early 00's, teenagers of the 00's.
Y/Z-cusp: 1991-93 (kids of the late 90's, early mid 00's, teenagers of the late 00's, early 10's.
Early Z: 1994-96 (kids of the 00's. teenagers of the early-mid 10's).
and so on

well, Gen Y are often called "Millennials" since we came of age in the new millenium (born in/after 1982). "Echo Boomer" is another term used since we're the children of the Baby Boomers so the birthrates went back up for a while. Gen X is called so because it was a comparatively small generation sandwiched between the Boomers and the Millenials and they didn't know what to call it.


I am definitely an X then because I wasn't born in or after 1982.

I did google it actually because I didn't really know there were cultural labels of people, and it turns out I might be either an X or a Y. It doesn't even make sense.

And then why do previous generations have a name and then there is x, y and z? That makes people feel bad, lol like we aren't good enough to even have a generational name...

I agree, see I was born in 1967, so I fall on this Baby Boomer/Gen X cusp, and neither of those really describe me or a lot of my friends and peers born around the same time.

But I lived through both the Nixon/Ford/Carter years during my youth (pre/early teens) AND though Regan, Bush, Clinton too (in my teens to 20’s), I experienced and lived through a lot as a “youth” from the 70’s to the early/mid 90’s.

So where does that put me? I mean, I “experienced” all kinds of things, from Watergate and Led Zeppelin, to the Cure and Iran/Contra, to Nirvana and the Gulf war, but that doesn’t DEFINE me or who I am, and it certainly doesn’t really qualify me for a special group with any special characteristics. We all have way too many different life experiences to fit into any easily defined “generation” anyway.

The whole Gen X, Y Z stuff is really all hooey to me. It doesn’t mean anything in, and of itself. The media (itself being the made up of the previous generation and somewhat out of step with the current one) created all of this. They were sooo set and used to putting an identity to the Baby Boomers, and the War Generation (WWII) and Depression Era Generations, etc., that when they got to us (Gen X), they couldn’t put a “label” on it so easily.

I’d like to think my age group wasn’t so easily defined, so they, the media, just gave up and named us Generation “X” (like the X used to define an unknown, i.e. Malcolm X, X factor, etc). Gen Y and Z followed.

Instead of being in any “generation”, I’d rather say I was born in 1967, and if you want to know about me and my characteristics, well, it’s complicated...ask me.

I did google it actually because I didn't really know there were cultural labels of people, and it turns out I might be either an X or a Y. It doesn't even make sense.

And then why do previous generations have a name and then there is x, y and z? That makes people feel bad, lol like we aren't good enough to even have a generational name...


Gen X were called "baby busters" some years ago ( and maybe still are?). Baby busters are kids of baby boomers.

I am Generation X.

Gen X were called "baby busters" some years ago ( and maybe still are?). Baby busters are kids of baby boomers.


My parents are Baby Boomers<3  I didn't know until I actually looked it up lol.



I am definitely part of the X generation. I was born in 1980 and according to the page I read, it includes anyone born between 1965 to 1980...that's inclusive.

Gen-X (1969)

Born in 1981, and I recognize both generation X and generation Y things.

It seems I fall in between those.

Born in 1981, and I recognize both generation X and generation Y things.


What exactly are those X things you can relate to?

I happen to be one of four siblings who span three different generations. My half-brother is an X'er (he was born in 1980), my half-sister and myself are both Y'ers (born in 1983 and 1991, respectively), and my little sister is a Z'er (born in 2000).

I happen to be one of four siblings who span three different generations. My half-brother is an X'er (he was born in 1980), my half-sister and myself are both Y'ers (born in 1983 and 1991, respectively), and my little sister is a Z'er (born in 2000).


That's really interesting. Probably each one of you had different childhood experiences; your half-brother basically in the 80's-early 90's, you half-sister in the late 80's-mid 90's, you in the late 90's-early/mid 00's and your sister in the mid 00's-early 10's.

Y/Z cusp. Idk really.

I'm what's called a first wave millennial/early Gen Y, spanning from about '82-'86(I'm '85 born).

I'm a '91er and I consider myself to be a part of Generation Y (the tail end of it).

I  was born in 1991 consider myself Generation Y. I was heavily into boy bands...  :D

I am 'Peak Y':

And that's how I see the divisions:

Early Y: 1982-84 (kids of the late 80's,early-mid 90's, teenagers of the late 90's, early 00's)
Peak Y: 1985-87 (kids of the 90's, teenagers of the early-mid 00's)
Late Y: 1988-90 (kids of the mid-late 90's and early 00's, teenagers of the 00's.
Y/Z-cusp: 1991-93 (kids of the late 90's, early mid 00's, teenagers of the late 00's, early 10's.
Early Z: 1994-96 (kids of the 00's. teenagers of the early-mid 10's).
and so on


Generation X: 1965-1975
X/Y cusp: 1976-1979
Y: 1980-1992
Y/Z cusp: 1993-1995/1996
Z:1996/1997 up to a point, that I don't care to calculate

1990 so right in the middle of Y, though some people would say near the end or even in Z.  ;D

I'd say the generations in Western and developed Asian countries are roughly:

c. 1925-1939 the so-called 'silent generation'. too young to fight in world war 2 but old enough to remember it. possibly the first generation that truly had a teenage experience.

1940-1963 baby boomers - basically the older hippies down to the youngest people who could remember the moon landings etc

1964-1981 gen xer's - the 80s/early 90s generation

1982-1997 gen yer's - the millennials, the original digital natives. children of the 90s and early 00s and young adults of today. lately a trend has developed in which gen y is increasingly restricted to only 80s born or at most up to the very early 90's born but personally i see nothing to justify that, being children born very well into the 90's tend to be into much the same fads and music that 80's born were into.

1998-c.2015 gen zer's - today's children basically. i think at this point it's too early to say what defines this generation, most of the characterizations of this generation are the exact same things people said about gen y.

Gen-X. Although I dislike the label thing because of the stereotypes that go with it.

1990 so right in the middle of Y, though some people would say near the end or even in Z.  ;D

I'd say the generations in Western and developed Asian countries are roughly:

c. 1925-1939 the so-called 'silent generation'. too young to fight in world war 2 but old enough to remember it. possibly the first generation that truly had a teenage experience.

1940-1963 baby boomers - basically the older hippies down to the youngest people who could remember the moon landings etc

1964-1981 gen xer's - the 80s/early 90s generation

1982-1997 gen yer's - the millennials, the original digital natives. children of the 90s and early 00s and young adults of today. lately a trend has developed in which gen y is increasingly restricted to only 80s born or at most up to the very early 90's born but personally i see nothing to justify that, being children born very well into the 90's tend to be into much the same fads and music that 80's born were into.
1998-c.2015 gen zer's - today's children basically. i think at this point it's too early to say what defines this generation, most of the characterizations of this generation are the exact same things people said about gen y.


Oh goshy gosh. People born in 1996 therefore drank Crystal Pepsi and listened to MC Hammer before they were even born? Gee, why couldn't I be a whizz kid like that? Someone that remembers the 80s like me should be far away from those who started 1st grade in 2000 or later.

Y clique: 1979 - maybe 1994
Z clique: No later than 1995 - 2009

Oh goshy gosh. People born in 1996 therefore drank Crystal Pepsi and listened to MC Hammer before they were even born? Gee, why couldn't I be a whizz kid like that? Someone that remembers the 80s like me should be far away from those who started 1st grade in 2000 or later.


I actually agree with this. I also feel very distant from those born in the mid-90's. Even though I don't remember much about the 80's, I still had experiences which they hadn't. Late 90's-mid 2000's teenage life is a different kind of story in comparison to early 10's teenage life.

I might repeat myself, but mid-90's born people seem more mature and closer to "us" since they are already in their late teens and will hit 20 pretty soon, while late 90's are still in their early/mid teens.

I am in the cusp b. 1982.  I really don't see any difference between someone born in 1981 and 1982, were both true cuspers, right on the edge of X and right before Y.  I really see the true Y's beginning in 1981 - 1983 and will continue until the late 90's or so.  I don't think anyone born in 1979, 1980 could relate the the Y culture.  They are too old for it and would've been teenagers when Y's were still kids or being born.  They would've been 80's kids.  They also would've graduated high school the time many Y's were in elementary school.  1979 - 1980 is the last true X, 1981-1982 cusp, 1983 - 1998 and beyond is definitely Y.

Gen-X. Although I dislike the label thing because of the stereotypes that go with it.


Such as....
???

Oh goshy gosh. People born in 1996 therefore drank Crystal Pepsi and listened to MC Hammer before they were even born? Gee, why couldn't I be a whizz kid like that? Someone that remembers the 80s like me should be far away from those who started 1st grade in 2000 or later.

Y clique: 1979 - maybe 1994
Z clique: No later than 1995 - 2009


Well someone born in 1958 was too young to be a hippie but they're still not a Gen X slacker. Being part of a generation doesn't mean you'll have the exact same experience or won't miss out on some things the older members of your generation experienced.

1987 so I'm gen Y (whatever that means) by pretty much every definition. 


Well someone born in 1958 was too young to be a hippie but they're still not a Gen X slacker. Being part of a generation doesn't mean you'll have the exact same experience or won't miss out on some things the older members of your generation experienced.

But isn't that what being part of a generation entails (common experiences)?

An 82er (gen Y by most accounts) is bound to have more common experiences with a 79er (gen X) than they do with a 93er (gen Y).  It's just simple mathematics.  This is why I don't care for the whole concept of generations.

1987 so I'm gen Y (whatever that means) by pretty much every definition. 

But isn't that what being part of a generation entails (common experiences)?

An 82er (gen Y by most accounts) is bound to have more common experiences with a 79er (gen X) than they do with a 93er (gen Y).  It's just simple mathematics.  This is why I don't care for the whole concept of generations.


I think a generation means you share some experiences, not necessarily all of them.

A good analogy. Someone from Vancouver would share the experience of being Canadian with someone from Toronto, but they would share a closer experience of the weather with Seattle.

Likewise, someone born in 1982 would share the experience of being under 20 when Y2K and 9/11 happened with someone born in 1993, but they would share the experience of being a child in the '80s with someone born in 1979.

Does that make sense? I think generations are like nations, they are artificial constructs that have some justification but at the borders things tend to bleed together and someone close to the border will in many ways share more with people just barely over the line than with people within the same line but very far away.

Such as....
???


The stereotype of the GenX was that we were slackers that didn't care about anything, sat around on our bums all day, eating cereal because we were too lazy to cook, and complaining about how the generation before didn't understand us and owed us a living.

Of course, there are stereotypes that go with any generation, I guess.

Does that make sense? I think generations are like nations, they are artificial constructs that have some justification but at the borders things tend to bleed together and someone close to the border will in many ways share more with people just barely over the line than with people within the same line but very far away.


The key difference being, nations have physical borders.  A generation's border (and the entire concept of generations for that matter) is all theoretical.

People of a similar age obviously have some similarities, but grouping everyone born in a random 20-year time frame together, and assigning them stereotypes because they happened to be born in that time frame, just seems silly to me.

The key difference being, nations have physical borders.  A generation's border (and the entire concept of generations for that matter) is all theoretical.

People of a similar age obviously have some similarities, but grouping everyone born in a random 20-year time frame together, and assigning them stereotypes because they happened to be born in that time frame, just seems silly to me.


Agreed.

People of a similar age obviously have some similarities, but grouping everyone born in a random 20-year time frame together, and assigning them stereotypes because they happened to be born in that time frame, just seems silly to me.


That's why I am always saying that Generation Y already stopps around the early 90's in my opinion. 2000 or even 2004 is ...****...

The key difference being, nations have physical borders.  A generation's border (and the entire concept of generations for that matter) is all theoretical.

People of a similar age obviously have some similarities, but grouping everyone born in a random 20-year time frame together, and assigning them stereotypes because they happened to be born in that time frame, just seems silly to me.


Yeah I would agree with that. I'm pretty skeptical of the concept of generations as it seems like more of a way to exclude people, but I do think there is some degree of merit to it because time changes not linearly but rather in fits of punctuated equilibrium followed by long periods of slow change. For example relatively little changed from 1947 to 1963 but from 1963-1970 you saw huge and rapid change. Same with 1992-2000's very rapid changes vs the smallish changes that have taken place from 2000-today (unless you live in China!).

Yeah I would agree with that. I'm pretty skeptical of the concept of generations as it seems like more of a way to exclude people, but I do think there is some degree of merit to it because time changes not linearly but rather in fits of punctuated equilibrium followed by long periods of slow change. For example relatively little changed from 1947 to 1963 but from 1963-1970 you saw huge and rapid change. Same with 1992-2000's very rapid changes vs the smallish changes that have taken place from 2000-today (unless you live in China!).


What you've said actually fits quite well into the Howe/Strauss generational theory, which says generations are defined by the distinct cultural periods they came of age in(called turnings). That post-war period of stability is called a first turning, a era of strong institutions and weak individualism. The period of rapid cultural change you speak of is called a second turning or awakening era, it is essentially a rebellion against the bland culture and perceived soullessness of the first turning. This period began in 1963 and lasted until the early '80s, to me this period represents the liberation of the individual and attack on authority. The last 20-25 years(which was a third turning) have felt less changeful in a cultural sense because by the time society got to the mid/late '80s it was pretty much fragmented and less cohesive, the institutions that were attacked in the second turning are have weakened by that point. Second turnings are the periods that bring what feels like a new culture to society, the last second turning before the '60s and '70s one was around 1890-1910, what is called by historians as the progressive era. Fourth turnings(which began in 2008 and the last one 1929-1945) are also very changeful, but on a more institutional/economic level, but certainly it does change the culture too by "cleansing it out". Basically society changes dramatically every 45-50 years, oscillating between periods of changes in inner values(second turning) and revival of civic authority/society restructures itself(fourth turnings) so since we are only at the very beginning of this fourth turning things will get even more hectic in the years to come.

If the theory holds we should be experiencing a major cultural upheaval around circa 2050.

If the theory holds we should be experiencing a major cultural upheaval around circa 2050.


I hope it's much, much sooner than that! We need it. The earth needs it.

I hope it's much, much sooner than that! We need it. The earth needs it.


Well we are already at the beginning of a period of rapid change, it will be cultural change but in a much different way than what happened during the '60s and '70s where institutional authority was heavily attacked. If there is EVER a time period to respond to problems quickly and mobilize society around a common goal it is definitely a fourth turning, the society just has to feel very desperate(the direction it is heading towards now). Think about what came out the last fourth turning, a whole new society, new infrastructure, the suburbs and new middle class, ect. It literally seems like one world ended and another one began after 1945! This period of major change and upheaval should be over by 2030, then we get back to an era of little change and stability. The millennial generation might play the biggest part in what the world will be by 2030(since the generation is coming of age in a fourth turning), if society solves the problems of this fourth turning(which so far looks to be the fundamental structure of the global economy) then the millennial generation will come out victors(like what happened to the US after World War 2) but if we end it horribly(like what happened after the Civil War) then it might permanently scar the generation for life.

If the theory holds we should be experiencing a major cultural upheaval around circa 2050.

Why 2050? ???

Why 2050? ???


The turnings typically last around 20 years or one phase of life, since the current fourth turning began in 2008 with the global financial crisis, the next one(a first turning like the Gilded age circa 1865-1888, post-war fifties period circa 1945-1963) should begin around circa 2030, 20 years from 2030 is 2050. Like I said in the previous posts second turnings redefine cultural values of a society, it is a period of rapid cultural change and upheaval like what happened during the late '60s and '70s.

I casted the lone vote for Generation Z; but really, I look around at all the dumb, reality tv people my age and definitely feel more sophisticated, and I'm still a valuable part of certain things not having to do with the internet or media. 

In other words: I'm embarrassed by all the ignorant people I'm probably associated with so: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_malddqtB2i1qd1thv.jpg

Generation Y. Early digital native, in the sense of growing up with a computer, but remembering before the Internet owned our lives and old enough to be out of touch with ipods, the Wii, etc. I still feel like a TV should have one remote, not five and that movies need to be rewinded.  ;D

I'm born in Generation Z but feel like a Gen Y'er in terms of technology :p

I'm born in Generation Z but feel like a Gen Y'er in terms of technology :p


What do you mean about technology? You were just born when the internet was already starting to get household.  ;)

What do you mean about technology? You were just born when the internet was already starting to get household.  ;)


Yeah, I think you could make a good argument '95 is the beginning of Generation Z because it's the first year the Internet became popular outside of geekdom. By late 1996 you started seeing .com listings on many commercials and advertisements so it was definitely 1995-96 that marked the Internet's entry into the mainstream, at least in the English speaking world and a few other countries. Globally speaking the Internet didn't really become mainstream until the early to mid 2000s so Gen Y might have somewhat of a later date range there. I'd imagine in say Croatia or something being born in 1990 is quite similar to being born in 1983 in Australia or America for that reason.