How is someone born in 1969 and 1980 in the same generation but not someone born in 1989 and 2000 when they’re both the same years apart ? Someone born in 1969 came of age in the 80s while someone born in 1980 came of age in the 90s, that’s about 10 years apart from each other, what changed and didn’t between both that time span that makes both of them part of the same generation(Gen X) while not the same for someone born in 1989 and 2000 since one is part of Generation Y(The Millennials) while the other is Gen Z ?  ???

Also what makes early 80s(1981-1983) babies millennials in some studies when they mostly came of age in the 90s along with the rest of Gen X and were kids during the 80s and very early 90s.

Why is the Boomer generation so long but the Millennial one so short just spanning from the Mid 80s to early 90s(at least the who actually do claim being Millennials anyways)

Why is the Boomer(1946-1964) and Gen X(1965-1980) generation about the same in length but the Millennial one gets cut short in the Late 90s usually lasting from 1981-1996.

The rampant fast paste of technology, political change and culture. Someone born in 1989 will probably remember a world pre internet and post internet as a child. They also witnessed what life was like during the rise of cellular phones. Someone born in 1999 does not remember anything of the sort...

"Generation" is a very slippery word. It's hard to pin down a meaning. But a generation, to have a name, has basically got to be quantifiable and quaifiable. The Baby Boomers, the first generation to have a name (pre-Boomer generations like the so-called "Greatest Generation" were given names after the fact) are called that because between the post WW2 years of 1946 and 1964 an enormous BOOM of babies were born. A massive amount. So it's simply a numerical fact. They would have been "Boomers" even if the 60s (the generation that truly defines Boomers) had not been the way it was. Even if there had never been JFK, The Beatles, Vietnam, Woodstock, moon landing, etc, Boomers would still be Boomers by virtue of the fact that they were born in this big boom of births between 1946-1964. They'd just have different characteristics. The relatively small Generation X was named that because they came along in what was, at the time, the long, long shadow of the enormous Baby Boomers. There are fewer of them because they came AFTER the boom. Get it? (Not coincidentally, the start of Gen X pretty much coincides with the introduction and widespread availability of the oral contraceptive, "the pill".) Being in the shadow of the Boomers nobody could really put their finger on what this emerging generation was all about. Hence "X", or "the unknown factor".  The name "Generation X" has nothing whatsoever to do with the placement of the letter X in the alphabet, so to call subsequent generations "Gen Y", "Gen Z" and "Gen Alpha", which is REALLY stretching it, is manifestly foolish. The name "Millennial" quickly replaced the meaningless "Gen Y". Being born in the shadow of the Boomers and being relatively quickly eclipsed by the technology of the Millennial era, one still wonders what Generation X, the unknown generation, the "X" factor, really stands for. Given that they came of age in the era of garbage 80s music and fashion, and an era of greed legitimized by Reagan, the poor dears really have nothing to hang their hat on. So far, Generation Z seems stuck with the meaningless name. I prefer "iGen", myself. it's descriptive., but I wonder if future eras will understand it. "i" being a brand name after all. "Zoomers" is just too babyish sounding, and being "babyish", if I may generalize, is more a characteristic of Millennials, according to some.  So, like I said, "generation" is slippery.

"Generation" is a very slippery word. It's hard to pin down a meaning. But a generation, to have a name, has basically got to be quantifiable and quaifiable. The Baby Boomers, the first generation to have a name (pre-Boomer generations like the so-called "Greatest Generation" were given names after the fact) are called that because between the post WW2 years of 1946 and 1964 an enormous BOOM of babies were born. A massive amount. So it's simply a numerical fact. They would have been "Boomers" even if the 60s (the generation that truly defines Boomers) had not been the way it was. Even if there had never been JFK, The Beatles, Vietnam, Woodstock, moon landing, etc, Boomers would still be Boomers by virtue of the fact that they were born in this big boom of births between 1946-1964. They'd just have different characteristics. The relatively small Generation X was named that because they came along in what was, at the time, the long, long shadow of the enormous Baby Boomers. There are fewer of them because they came AFTER the boom. Get it? (Not coincidentally, the start of Gen X pretty much coincides with the introduction and widespread availability of the oral contraceptive, "the pill".) Being in the shadow of the Boomers nobody could really put their finger on what this emerging generation was all about. Hence "X", or "the unknown factor".  The name "Generation X" has nothing whatsoever to do with the placement of the letter X in the alphabet, so to call subsequent generations "Gen Y", "Gen Z" and "Gen Alpha", which is REALLY stretching it, is manifestly foolish. The name "Millennial" quickly replaced the meaningless "Gen Y". Being born in the shadow of the Boomers and being relatively quickly eclipsed by the technology of the Millennial era, one still wonders what Generation X, the unknown generation, the "X" factor, really stands for. Given that they came of age in the era of garbage 80s music and fashion, and an era of greed legitimized by Reagan, the poor dears really have nothing to hang their hat on. So far, Generation Z seems stuck with the meaningless name. I prefer "iGen", myself. it's descriptive., but I wonder if future eras will understand it. "i" being a brand name after all. "Zoomers" is just too babyish sounding, and being "babyish", if I may generalize, is more a characteristic of Millennials, according to some.  So, like I said, "generation" is slippery.


Ok so if I’m getting this right the Boomers came of age in the 60s and 70s, while Gen X came of age in the 80s and 90s, Millennials came up in the 2000s(hence Millennium) while Gen Z has and will come of age in the 2010s and 2020s ? Seems kinda short for millennials lol

Ok so if I’m getting this right the Boomers came of age in the 60s and 70s, while Gen X came of age in the 80s and 90s, Millennials came up in the 2000s(hence Millennium) while Gen Z has and will come of age in the 2010s and 2020s ? Seems kinda short for millennials lol


You got it.

You got it.


I’m really upset Millennials only get one full decade to themselves since it goes against the pattern of they previous and next generation, Zoomers just sounds like a meme nothing to be taken serious, like you said Igen is just a brand name, and Millennials being babies ? I don’t get it, where did that even come from, was it because they got labeled snowflakes by boomers and Gen X for being activists online ?