Now I am admittedly conservative and old-school. Growing up in rural Kentucky, I have always been and remain a product of country living and attitudes. And up until a few years back, that fact never really occurred to me with any significance. I raised my family and pursued my career. I traveled a bit and interacted with folks from other parts of America; but never really on a very extensive level. Perhaps it was a somewhat sheltered life, but it was a good life. I have been truly blessed. I grew up with folks like me and the wanderlust for globetrotting never really took hold.
As I enter into the senior years of my life, I spend more time considering how diverse and stratified our population is; and the context of that consideration is not what it once was. For most of my life, I thought about population diversification in terms of race, gender, income, etc. These days, I think about the rich textures of our citizenry in terms of generations.
https://knoema.com/egyydzc/us-population-by-age-and-generation
https://www.statista.com/statistics/296974/us-population-share-by-generation/
In 2019, the Millennials will pass by the Boomers and become the dominant (at least numerically) generation in America.
https://insight.factset.com/millennials-outnumber-baby-boomers-but-dont-count-them-out
And what does this say
about our country? First off, it says
that I am increasingly out of touch with everyday culture and society and
things don’t seem to make as much sense as they once did. The music on the radio is not quite as
appealing as it once was. The
entertainment content and plotting follows lines that are somewhat illogical to
me. And the advertising that I see
coming from all directions…that is nothing but a ball of confusion. It is simultaneously stunning, creative,
offensive, frustrating, curious, mystifying, stupid, irrational, entertaining,
brilliant and, on rare occasions, entertaining.
I draw two conclusions from this media marketing blitz. First, it is clearly the Millennials and the Gen Xers that are exercising the most influence with American marketing. I can usually discern what my issues might be with the Gen Xers; the Millennials simply befuddle me. I think this may be because the Gen Xers bookend my generation, while the Millennials are a generation apart. Secondly, the groups of young professionals that are driving the marketing industry appear to live in socially-environmental bubbles and create their product more so for their peers than for the consuming public at large. They appear to be far more interested in social consciousness, political correctness, and instructive living than they are in selling merchandise. If you are like me, I wonder to myself after viewing most commercials….Why do they think THAT would make me want to buy their product?
I draw two conclusions from this media marketing blitz. First, it is clearly the Millennials and the Gen Xers that are exercising the most influence with American marketing. I can usually discern what my issues might be with the Gen Xers; the Millennials simply befuddle me. I think this may be because the Gen Xers bookend my generation, while the Millennials are a generation apart. Secondly, the groups of young professionals that are driving the marketing industry appear to live in socially-environmental bubbles and create their product more so for their peers than for the consuming public at large. They appear to be far more interested in social consciousness, political correctness, and instructive living than they are in selling merchandise. If you are like me, I wonder to myself after viewing most commercials….Why do they think THAT would make me want to buy their product?
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It occurs to me that
the reason for my dissonance is not necessarily the message, but the
messenger. They are not selling stuff to
me; they are selling stuff to each other. This observation, the fact that these newly
predominant Millennials and Gen Xers tend to circulate in streams of like minds
and like consciousness, might explain much.
It feeds the fact that we are a nation solidly divided in political
terms. As a young adult and maturing
individual, I relied on the news as it was presented to me. Certainly I was able to listen to, consider,
and digest what I encountered in the way of broadcast news. But my sources were limited and though the
faces and personalities varied somewhat, the overall effect was rather
monotonous. The generations that have
followed mine have been blessed with many more sources of information. The internet offers a literally limitless
supply of data and facts with which to feed and cultivate opinions.
At first blush, one might think this would ultimately lead to a more enlightened and broader-thinking attitude; a more diversified and varied set of ideals and principles among our citizenry. But it seems instead to have led us down a path that enables each of us to find the validation and confirmation for our own personal beliefs and philosophies with such ease that…we do just that, at the expense of entertaining differing beliefs and philosophies. This tribal tendency has always existed with humans, but the shrinking global community has somehow accelerated its influence over our lives. We all find comfort in being with like-minded friends and co-workers. We are now equipped to choose from the endless menus of entertainment and academics those sources that buttress our personal agendas. We fill the hours of our days with these sought after certifications that tend to make us far too certain of our own wisdom and correctness.
My father’s world was not his father’s world. My son’s world is not my world. Generational change and evolution is inevitable. I know this to be true and proper and yet still…I chaff at the reality of hard lessons learned and earned by my generation being so carelessly regarded by my children’s generation. Every succeeding generation has its moments of triumph and failure; its glories and its shame. Comparing one generation to another on a meritorious scale is an exercise in futility; rather like comparing athletes from different eras. A fair comparison is impossible because the context is never the same. I want so much for my children and grandchildren to be spared the pain and heartache of the hard lessons I learned in my life. I want them to understand the preciousness of every moment and the unique joys that are liberally sprinkled throughout our lives. But ultimately we will all face the fact that we each live in our own space and time. We each occupy a particular place on this planet separated from all others by six degrees or so. We exist for a while…then we are gone. Just as I struggle with understanding the Millennials and the Gen Xers; so will they someday struggle with understanding their successors. Such is the world and such is life.
I am reminded of the old saying by philosopher George Santayana…"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." It serves each of us, regardless of our generational identification, to study and preserve the lives and times of those that precede us in this world. In our own ways, we need to honor their sacrifices made selflessly for those that came after. We need to learn from their mistakes. We need to draw conclusions from their episodes and trials. We can honor their heritage and traditions while simultaneously creating our own. We need to appreciate their contributions and, in turn, better understand that we too will be judged by those who come behind us. There are limits to life lessons that can be taught; some must be lived to be learned. We are all limited in our abilities to play professor for the future generations.
I suppose there is an irony here that implies no matter how much we may care for those that follow us, the lessons we might teach have limited application. Those lessons, after all, were from a different time and place and played out in an entirely different environment. You can love your children in an unqualified fashion. You can try and create a safe and nourishing home for them in which to grow and mature. You can attempt to instill fundamental principles of justice, dignity, ethics, and honor in their character. But at some point, we simply have to surrender them to their wings and understand that their sun is rising as our sun sets.
The Silent Generation: Born 1928-1945 (73-90 years old).
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-silent-generation-definition-characteristics-facts.html
Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (54-72 years old). They number about 76.4 million, 25 percent of the population. Millennials have just recently passed the Boomers numerically. According to Gallup, about a third of today's workforce comes from the 75 million-strong Baby Boom generation. The oldest Boomers turn 70 next year and the youngest are in their early 50s. More than 44 million of them are still working.
https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/06/us/baby-boomer-generation-fast-facts/index.html
https://www.prb.org/justhowmanybabyboomersarethere/
https://seniors.lovetoknow.com/Baby_Boomer_Statistics
Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old).
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/08/why-generation-x-might-be-our-last-best-hope
Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (22-37 years old). A “Millennial” is a person reaching young adulthood around the year 2000. There are about 84 million, 26 percent of the population. Within the next two years, 50 percent of the U.S. workforce is expected to be made up of Millennials. It will be 75 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/millennials-millennial-generation
Generation Z: Born 1995 and later.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-beall/8-key-differences-between_b_12814200.html
At first blush, one might think this would ultimately lead to a more enlightened and broader-thinking attitude; a more diversified and varied set of ideals and principles among our citizenry. But it seems instead to have led us down a path that enables each of us to find the validation and confirmation for our own personal beliefs and philosophies with such ease that…we do just that, at the expense of entertaining differing beliefs and philosophies. This tribal tendency has always existed with humans, but the shrinking global community has somehow accelerated its influence over our lives. We all find comfort in being with like-minded friends and co-workers. We are now equipped to choose from the endless menus of entertainment and academics those sources that buttress our personal agendas. We fill the hours of our days with these sought after certifications that tend to make us far too certain of our own wisdom and correctness.
My father’s world was not his father’s world. My son’s world is not my world. Generational change and evolution is inevitable. I know this to be true and proper and yet still…I chaff at the reality of hard lessons learned and earned by my generation being so carelessly regarded by my children’s generation. Every succeeding generation has its moments of triumph and failure; its glories and its shame. Comparing one generation to another on a meritorious scale is an exercise in futility; rather like comparing athletes from different eras. A fair comparison is impossible because the context is never the same. I want so much for my children and grandchildren to be spared the pain and heartache of the hard lessons I learned in my life. I want them to understand the preciousness of every moment and the unique joys that are liberally sprinkled throughout our lives. But ultimately we will all face the fact that we each live in our own space and time. We each occupy a particular place on this planet separated from all others by six degrees or so. We exist for a while…then we are gone. Just as I struggle with understanding the Millennials and the Gen Xers; so will they someday struggle with understanding their successors. Such is the world and such is life.
I am reminded of the old saying by philosopher George Santayana…"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." It serves each of us, regardless of our generational identification, to study and preserve the lives and times of those that precede us in this world. In our own ways, we need to honor their sacrifices made selflessly for those that came after. We need to learn from their mistakes. We need to draw conclusions from their episodes and trials. We can honor their heritage and traditions while simultaneously creating our own. We need to appreciate their contributions and, in turn, better understand that we too will be judged by those who come behind us. There are limits to life lessons that can be taught; some must be lived to be learned. We are all limited in our abilities to play professor for the future generations.
I suppose there is an irony here that implies no matter how much we may care for those that follow us, the lessons we might teach have limited application. Those lessons, after all, were from a different time and place and played out in an entirely different environment. You can love your children in an unqualified fashion. You can try and create a safe and nourishing home for them in which to grow and mature. You can attempt to instill fundamental principles of justice, dignity, ethics, and honor in their character. But at some point, we simply have to surrender them to their wings and understand that their sun is rising as our sun sets.
The Silent Generation: Born 1928-1945 (73-90 years old).
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-silent-generation-definition-characteristics-facts.html
Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (54-72 years old). They number about 76.4 million, 25 percent of the population. Millennials have just recently passed the Boomers numerically. According to Gallup, about a third of today's workforce comes from the 75 million-strong Baby Boom generation. The oldest Boomers turn 70 next year and the youngest are in their early 50s. More than 44 million of them are still working.
https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/06/us/baby-boomer-generation-fast-facts/index.html
https://www.prb.org/justhowmanybabyboomersarethere/
https://seniors.lovetoknow.com/Baby_Boomer_Statistics
Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old).
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/08/why-generation-x-might-be-our-last-best-hope
Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (22-37 years old). A “Millennial” is a person reaching young adulthood around the year 2000. There are about 84 million, 26 percent of the population. Within the next two years, 50 percent of the U.S. workforce is expected to be made up of Millennials. It will be 75 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/millennials-millennial-generation
Generation Z: Born 1995 and later.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-beall/8-key-differences-between_b_12814200.html
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