Generations defined, the "Greatest", Boomers and beyond

The "Greatest Generation" refers to Americans who fought/lived in the era of World War II, preceded by the Lost Generation of the 20s and immediately followed by the Silent Generation of the 50s.

"Baby boomers" refers to the huge group of people born between 1946 and 1966.

One-third of American employees today are boomers. With many of us retiring within the next 5-10 years, there will be an equally huge gap in the economy: not enough qualified native workers available, for one. Companies are bound to employ immigrants and foreign workers. Trends such as part-time jobs, flex hours, telecommuting and outsourcing have been results of boomers.

What else will be strained? the tax system, retirement benefits, healthcare costs and insurance coverages as well as financial markets.

The labels for the generations following baby boomers are a bit muddied depending upon the source, but, in general, are as follows:

"Generation Jones", aka "Cusp Boomers", born between Baby Boomers and Generation X (between mid 1950s and mid 1960s), also referred to as Jonesers or as GenJonesers in the U.S., U.K., Western Europe, Australia and in New Zealand.


"Generation X", aka the 13th Generation or "Baby Busters", born between mid 1960s and 1980, are highly entrepreneurial and tech-savvy individuals, contributing to the growth of the web and social media such as -- the founders of Amazon, Dell, Google, MySpace, Wikipedia and Yahoo. (Gen Xers were featured in the movie, Reality Bites)

"XY Cusp Generation", aka the MTV Generation or the Doom Generation, born between mid-70s and mid-80s.

"Boomerang Generation", aka Generation ‘Why’, born between 1977 and 1989, usually prefer to return home to parents, while taking care to continue with their own social and professional lives, hence the term "boomerang".

Boomer parents are often referred to as "Helicopter Parents" for their constant hovering and participation in their children's lives, a distinct difference from Boomers own parents from the "Greatest Generation".

"Generation Y", aka Echo Boom, or Millennials, are born after Generation X, usually in the 80s and 90s.


"iGeneration", or the Internet generation, the sub-generation comprised of late born Gen Y (1991-1999) and early born Gen Z (2000-2005). Bet Apple is happy with this designation!


"Generation Z" is the youngest of all the generations so far.

Check http://www.blogger.com/www.BabyBoomCaretaker.com for more resources on generational trends. Good to know if you are marketing ANYTHING as each generation tends to have their own uniqueness to which you must adhere.