Gen Z. Millennials. Baby Boomers. It’s hard not to see eye-catching headlines about generations these days. And it’s easy to feel like many of these headlines are just clickbait, empty window dressing. But is that really the case?
At Pew Research Center, we believe that talking about generations is useful, but there are some important considerations readers should keep in mind whenever they come across a news article or study about generations.
Generational categories are not scientifically defined. The dividing line that categorizes some people as Gen Z and others as millennials is not clear, definitive, or universally agreed upon. name Recruitment methods vary depending on the generation. Millennials or Gen Y? Gen Z or iGen?
People born on the borders of these generational groups feel especially uncomfortable being lumped together with people much older or younger than them, and for good reason. Media and researchers, including the Pew Research Center, have found that generational boundaries do not have Hard science.
Generational labeling can lead to stereotypes and oversimplifications. Just as all millennials and baby boomers are not the same, neither are all southerners, all Catholics, or all black Americans. Common experiences and identities should be recognized and, in the best cases, can even be empowering, but they should not come at the expense of individuality.
Discussions about generations often focus on differences rather than similarities. Conflicts tend to attract more attention than agreements, so be wary of news articles or research that assume or exaggerate generational gaps that may in fact be very small.”OK Boomer” has become a cultural meme, but it may be overstating the divide between younger and older generations. After all, most of us have some combination of loving parents, grandparents, children, and grandchildren, and family life is interconnected.
Traditional views of generations can carry an upper-class bias. History tells us that baby boomers in the 1960s and ’70s were strongly opposed to the Vietnam War. This belief is based on high-profile protests on college campuses and at political events. But many quality surveys from that time show that younger Americans, most of whom didn’t attend college, also opposed the Vietnam War. more Gen Z is more supportive of war than older generations who lived through previous conflicts, and modern readers should similarly question whether their stereotypes of Gen Z are biased toward upper-middle-class experiences.
People change over time. When you hear people say that kids today are completely different from kids of the past, it’s worth pausing for a moment to think about it. everytime Children face a different environment than their parents, and it’s common for elders to express some concern or caution. (“Why is his hair dyed green?”)
Don’t assume that what you see today is what you’ll get tomorrow. People change as they get older, pursue careers, and start families. Just as today’s Baby Boomers are different from when they were younger, Gen Z will undoubtedly be living in the world differently by 2050. Generational Signals can Youth can be permanent, but youth in itself is not a permanent state.
So, is it all just hype?
If this leaves you feeling skeptical of generational labels, that’s okay. I encourage you to approach generational discussion with a healthy dose of skepticism, and to hold generation-focused media and research organizations (including Pew Research Center) to high standards.
Despite these caveats, we believe generational thinking can help us understand how societies change over time. The eras in which we come of age can leave us marked by shared experiences and perspectives. Events such as terrorist attacks, wars, recessions, and pandemics can shape the opportunities and mindsets of those affected by them.
Similarly, historical advances such as the end of racial discrimination, effective birth control, the invention of the internet, and the rise of artificial intelligence have the potential to fundamentally change people’s lives, and younger generations are often at the forefront of these changes. Across It moves everyone in some direction across generations.
Terms like Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers should be thought of as general reference points, not scientific fact. Pew Research Center will continue to use these and other terms to help readers navigate a changing world, but we will use them sparingly and only when data supports using a generational perspective.
Source: Generation Z – Research and data from Pew Research Center – www.pewresearch.org
