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Do ‘Generational Groups’ apply to only western matters?

posted 7 years ago by ALurker (485)
12 replies | jump to latest

[As in the Lost Generation, GI, Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation Jones, Generation X, Millennials/Generation Y, Generation Z, Generation Alpha, and such]

Whenever I hear the age card being revoked by generational titles, sometimes I wonder if that would make it a global matter or just a western matter (especially in countries like America and Britain).

Can an average baby boomer or millennial experience from Africa and Latin America be on the same level as those baby boomers and millennials from North America and Europe? What about of Silent Generation, Centennials, Gen X, and such elsewhere in the world?

Also, do you believe in stereotypes made about each generation? Do you fall into such particular kind of stereotypes made about your own generational group?

On a side note, I also would like someone to try to answer this one question for me about Gen Z as well if possible:
-What official transition ends between millennials and generation Z? After 1995 or 1999?
-What official nicknames do Gen Z like to go by? A lot of the sources seem to be all over the place when it comes to an unofficial nickname. Gen Y are millennials, Gen X are sometimes known as the 'MTV Generation'. I'm just curious what Gen Z would go by the most out of 'post-millennials', 'centennials', 'igeneration', and 'homeland generation'.

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

I think before '89,our parents...i speak in Romania...caught defferent times.Now days the kids are only concerned only about fun.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 7 years ago

Yes, they are mostly applied to Americans. However, if a country has similar developments (in some aspects) as in the USA, they should be applicable too. Britain and almost all of western Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, etc. These generation classifications are imprecise and non-scientific anyway so they can be modified into whatever the community expects.

Stereotypes are always based on truth even when the stereotype itself would not be always true. To believe in a stereotypes, I don't know... believe seems like a strong word. I think I consider stereotypes, consciously or otherwise. I'm affected by them. They infuenced my perceptions.

[–] ALurker (485) 7 years ago

That's what I figured too.

[–] Kazak (2199) 7 years ago

-What official nicknames do Gen Z like to go by? A lot of the sources seem to be all over the place when it comes to an unofficial nickname. Gen Y are millennials, Gen X are sometimes known as the 'MTV Generation'. I'm just curious what Gen Z would go by the most out of 'post-millennials', 'centennials', 'igeneration', and 'homeland generation'.

This generation has been all but officially termed iGen, that being people who have never known life without a well established and fully integrated internet. There's now a generation after the millennials, god help us all. (I actually think millennials get a bad wrap.) (I'm an Xer, fwiw.)

[–] ALurker (485) 7 years ago

Yep. Two in the matter of fact as of now. The so-called Alpha generation are literally just children right now of this decade. Don't have to worry about the distinction of the latter group just yet. I agree that millennials get too much bad rep at times (I'm one and found myself a bit moderate on a lot of things). A lot of previous generations seem to do around one point anyways and I kind of saw that as an excuse to invoke a bit of ageism/juvenoia in a workingenvironment.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 7 years ago

Can be used as an excuse to invoke ageism? Sure. But anything can be used as an excuse today.

Still, disrupting technology can indeed change how a group of people do and think. Internet and mobile internet are those. They are so prevalent and important to almost all aspects of day-to-day life, it's virtually impossible not to be affected by.

Freedom of the press changed how information is sought. It sparked free thinking, being the epitome of freedom and rebel attitudes.

The Internet then changed how information being delivered forever. No longer big media outlets have absolute control to information. It reinforces free-thinking even more. However, it also brought a bad side: over-information and low trustability.

And then comes the always-connected mobile Internet. This is I think the most important thing happened recently. It defined a new generation. It took free-thinking to extreme heights and sometimes into the absurd, i.e., flat earthers, anti-vaccination, etc. but also brought seemingly unlimited creativity (kickstarters, crypto-currency, microtransactions, etc.)

What a time to be alive!

[–] ALurker (485) 7 years ago

I agree with you on how internet and technology also play a huge role into this and can influence a group of people in a new way too. As you said, based on how information is being sought.

[–] McQualude (4231) 7 years ago

X, Y, and millennial are marketing wank, not legitimate distinctions.

[–] ALurker (485) 7 years ago

At most, they sound like excuses to invoke some sort of ageism at times when describing particular age groups and generations.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (78608) 7 years ago

Agree
'Generation' crap is very questionable...
Im not buyng into this stuff

[–] Kazak (2199) 7 years ago

I do think the term has been artificially granted some currency during the baby boom when an inordinately large number of people were all born around the same period creating a de facto generation.

[–] McQualude (4231) 7 years ago

Baby boomer was legit, although they stretched it out a bit.