For those of us born between 1977-1981 (or so)
 

What generation are we really in? We're not quite part of the current young technical generation (they're defined as those born in 1982 or later) nor are we really Generation X. After all, we were merely elementary school kids during the Brat Pack era and the was already in high school or approaching high school by the time "everyone" had an email address. Are we like those born in the early 1960s, who are technically Babyboomers, but didn't really fit with those who were born in say, 1950?

Re: For those of us born between 1977-1981 (or so)
 

General definitions for the generations (the birth years may vary) :

1946-1964 - Baby Boomers
1965-1975 - Generation X
1976-1981 - Generation Y

I think that a generation spans 18 years. Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. Generation X is technically the next 18 years, but I think that they are calling people born from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s Generation Y.

You know, it's weird. We don't hear too much about the so-called "Generation Y". Ten years ago, they were talking about Gen X. Now, they're talking about those who were born after 1982. Where does that leave us?

Re: Re: For those of us born between 1977-1981 (or so)
 

No.

1945-1960 = Baby Boomers (Truman-Eisenhower)
1961-1974 = Gen X (Kennedy - Nixon)
1975-1992= Gen Y (Ford-Bush The Elder)

The Presidential administrations, IMO, are much better demarcation points. What's really asinine is hearing people who were born in 1980 referred to as Generation X - umm read the book please :rolleyes:

Re: Re: Re: For those of us born between 1977-1981 (or so)
 

Not necessarily. I believe it was either The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times that recently had an article about how those born in 1964 didn't want to be referred to as Baby Boomers because they couldn't relate to those born in the late 40s and early 50s. There was also a recent book that came out that said that those born after 1982 were part of the Millenium Generation (or something like that).

ETA: The Boomer Initative defines Baby Boomers as those born between 1946-1964.

I'm a child of boomers, but I'm not part of the so called Millenium Generation (as aren't most children of older boomers)

I'm right in the middle of Generation X. In the early 1990s Gen X was all over the media along with grunge music and flannel wearing slackers with McJobs. It was pretty depressing to be reduced to a stereotype. Before the label Gen X stuck, we were called the Lost Generation and the Baby Busters. I guess we were considered a mystery since there were so few of us when compared to the baby boomers. *shrug* We're kind of squeezed in the middle of the boomers and their offspring.

That's me! ;)

Well, according to "experts" (Michael Adams is counted as one) there are 4 major generations alive now

Silent Builders
Baby Boomers
Generation X
Millenial children

with each generations being about 24 years or so. I don't remember most of the exact dates (I've seen a couple talks on this and Michael Adams has written at least 3 books on the subject) but 1982 is the "birth" of the Millenial generation.

So, technically those of us born 1977-1981 are Gen X though, the amount we feel that really varies. If you look at how the Gen X were raised, I am very Gen X, which a lot of my contemporaries who came from family with better financials are more Millenial in type. It really varies. :)

Michael Adams is full of shite. Generation X comes from Douglas Coupland's book and even including people born in 1974 I'm probably pushing it. He called the generation after them "Global Teens" which along with the definitiion he gives makes much more sense.

Sorry everyone but this is one of those things that makes me nuts.

In Canada we are known as the buster generation - those born between 1967-1979 - this is when Canadian women were having fewer children. Those born in the 1980's are known as the boom-echo - women started having more children again, but not to the extent that was seen in the boomer generation. Also, GenX are actually baby boomers, but are born at the tale end of that generation.

It's interesting how there are so many different theories on demographics and generations.


Taualumna, if you haven't read Boom, Bust & Echo 2000, it's a great book. It talks about demographic and population trends in Canada.


The generations according to Boom, Bust & Echo...

born 1914 and earlier - Pre-World War I
1915-1919 - World War I
1920-1929 - The Roaring Twenties
1930-1939 - The Depression Babies
1940-1946 - World War II
1947-1966 - The Baby Boom: "Things are tough for the late-1950's group, but not nearly as bad as for the back end of the boom that arrived just after them. These are the 3.2 million people born from 1961-1966. They are the same age as the characters in Douglas Coupland's novel Generation X, which gave the early 1960's group its name" - David K. Foot
1967-1979 - The Baby Bust
1980-1995 - The Baby-Boom Echo
1996 -2010 - The Millenium Busters

I was born in 1981 and I was always told that I was part of Generation Y. I've never associated myself with being part of Gen X. If I remember correctly from my sociology classes, Gen Y is 1976-1992 but I could be wrong.

My brother was born in 1968, me in 1977 and my sister in 1981.

My brother was probably technically GenX, but he didn't have the grunge thing going on.
I just missed technically being GenX, but that's what I've always associated most with. Probably because I grew up with my brother and feel more connected with that pop culture than GenY's pop culture.
My sister is definately GenY. Or Milleniel or whatever you want to call it.

I think if you were already in high school (or close to it...give or take a year) when Kurt Cobain died, you're not really the part of the Millenial generation.

recognize.
 

1982 rules.

The baby boomers weren't some random generation picked by years. There was a huge population explosion during those years, a "baby boom". The pill came out in 1960 and took a few years to get popular, so by 1964/65, the number of babies being born dropped significantly. My brother was born in 1962, me in 1965. His high school class had over 1100 kids in it. Mine had just over 700 and the class behind me dropped to 400 or so! HUGE decreases in the number of babies.

I think the other generational labels are just silly, a way for the press to stereotype people. Baby boomers are baby boomers because a whole bunch of them were born at once (and therefore will be retiring at once!).

Dee

but but butbutbutbutbutbut i don't have a cultural identity w/out a label, do i?

someone let me know, for christ's sake

You my dear are part of the BTSG. The Big Truck Signature Generation. Sort of like when Prince had the NPG except without all the auxiliary sluts and buttless pants.

I have no accurate this stuff is, but this page was interesting and discusses what a lot of you have mentioned.

http://users.metro2000.net/~stabbott/genxintro.htm

So why do they call the 1982 - whatever group the "Millenial Generation" or the technical generation or whatever? What supposedly defines us?

i would wear purple leather pants if it would increase the number of bad-hair-wearing ("high ponytails" ahoy!) sluts in my midst - this hairy ass is in the air!

"then, in the morning . . . prince made us pancakes."

I swear to god people paint all of you (I'm not one by 2 years) with a brush that goes something like this

* high organized planned childhood
* very high amounts of parental intervention at the univesrity level
* very high sense of duty
* internet dependant
* practical practical practical
* you do not fear authority, you only fear the concequences of your actions (ie, you're only scared if you get caught)

All of this stuff is huge at my university right now in the steps were have taken towards residence life and first year programming (yes, even before double cohort).

blah blah blah I don't know if I believe half this stuff.

Re: Re: Re: For those of us born between 1977-1981 (or so)
 

I was born in 1975. Am I Gen X or Gen Y? I'm having an identity crisis now... :p

Because most people born in 1982 graduated high school in 2000.

I am a reject of the 70's and a child of the 80's :D I was born in 79 lol

What about me? I'm younger than all you guys...'85. All my siblings are younger than me, '87, '94, '95, 2000! What do you call us younguns? I'm not really feeling that Millenium stuff because my baby sister was born when I was a junior in high school...What happened to young adult, middle aged? Have they went out of style or what?:p

My parents were baby boom children and as their offspring, I though my sister andf I were part of the baby boom echo.

i guess i'm part of the millenial generation... born in 1982 and graduated in 2000.

it's funny cuz my boss (who's mid-late thirties) told me that we're the same generation. :eek: nice to know i'm not, now! :D

Thank you! I was in 10th grade when he died. I relate A LOT more to the Gen X'rs. I'm on the cusp, 1976.

I never really listened to Nirvana, but I was 14 and in Grade 9 when he died. It was also the same year that the movie Reality Bites came out. My entire grade was in Ottawa on a Canadian History trip that year and most of us saw that it on movie night :)

Me too.

Take comfort in the fact that though we may be stuck between X and Y, we do have the distinct honor of being "Bicentennial Babies". Take that, everyone not born in 1976! :P

From what I've read late 70's are Gen Y (or millenial). Everything I've read about Gen Y has it starting in either 77 or 78 going through until early 90s. Yeah I think I was 13 when Kurt died... I still remember people having HUGE buttons with his face on it and stuff (mostly the older kids...)

It's actually interesting what they say about our generation. In one of my classes we were given a packet of stats and info that a research firm put together to present to various companies who would want to market their products to Gen Y and what they had to say about us was quite interesting. This website says it's 1981, but I found just as many that said it starts in 1977... none of these things are set in stone things anyway... the generation labels are basically created for marketing purposes....

Gen Y defined

Generation Y Defined
generation y :
born between 1981 and 1995, generation y members in America are more than 57 million strong. The y generation is the largest consumer group in the history of the U.S. Other names for gen y include Echo Boomers and the Millennium Generation.