Baby Boomer

A Baby Boomer is a Western person born in Post–World War II Baby Boom.

• Context:
  • They can (typically) be associated with a Baby Boomer Generation Population.
  • They can (often) be characterized by their experience of significant historical events.
  • They can (often) be influenced by a time of economic prosperity and significant cultural shifts in the Western world.
  • They can (often) be a parent of Millennial Person.
  • They can (often) exhibit values such as a Strong Work Ethic, Independence, and Competitiveness.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • a Baby Boomer, 1960, experiencing the height of the Cold War and the space race during their childhood and adolescence, would be 0 to 14 years old.
  • a Baby Boomer, 1970, entering the workforce and facing the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement, would be 6 to 24 years old.
  • a Baby Boomer, 1980, navigating their careers during major economic shifts and the early years of the technology boom, would be 16 to 34 years old.
  • a Baby Boomer, 1990, established in their careers and possibly raising families, witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall, would be 26 to 44 years old.
  • a Baby Boomer, 2000, approaching midlife and facing the dot-com bubble burst, would be 36 to 54 years old.
  • a Baby Boomer, 2010, many nearing retirement age, dealing with the aftermath of the global financial crisis, would be 46 to 64 years old.
  • a Baby Boomer, 2020, largely retired or in the process of retiring, potentially facing health challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, would be 56 to 74 years old.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Silent Generation, the generation preceding the Baby Boomers, born between 1925 and 1945.
  • Gen Xer, individuals born from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, following the Baby Boomers.
  • Millennial Person, the generation following Generation X, born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s.
• See: Generation Jones, Post-war Economic Boom, Generational Conflict, Retirement Wave, Cultural Revolution, Social Movements, Consumerism, Demographic Shift.

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References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers Retrieved:2024-5-6.
  • Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom. The dates, the demographic context, and the cultural identifiers may vary by country. Most baby boomers are the children of either the Greatest Generation or the Silent Generation, and are often parents of Gen Xers and Millennials. In the West, boomers' childhoods in the 1950s and 1960s had significant reforms in education, both as part of the ideological confrontation that was the Cold War, and as a continuation of the interwar period. Theirs was a time of economic prosperity and rapid technological progress. In the 1960s and 1970s, as this relatively large number of young people entered their teens and young adulthood—the oldest turned 18 in 1964—they, and those around them, created a very specific rhetoric around their cohort, and the social movements brought about by their size in numbers, such as the counterculture of the 1960s and its backlash. In many countries, this period was one of deep political instability due to the postwar youth bulge. In China, boomers lived through the Cultural Revolution and were subject to the one-child policy as adults. These social changes and rhetoric had an important impact in the perceptions of the boomers, as well as society's increasingly common tendency to define the world in terms of generations, which was a relatively new phenomenon. This group reached puberty and maximum height earlier than previous generations. In Europe and North America, many boomers came of age in a time of increasing affluence and widespread government subsidies in postwar housing and education, and grew up genuinely expecting the world to improve with time. Those with higher standards of living and educational levels were often the most demanding of betterment. In the early 21st century, baby boomers in some developed countries are the single biggest cohort in their societies due to subreplacement fertility and population aging. In the United States, they are the second most numerous age demographic after millennials.

2024

• Scott Galloway. (2024). “How the US Is Destroying Young People’s Future.” TED Talk
  • NOTES:
    • Older, wealthier Baby Boomers have used their political influence to protect their own financial interests, such as restricting housing development through zoning and permitting, which has artificially inflated property values and made housing less affordable for younger generations.
    • Baby Boomers have consistently voted for policies that benefit their own generation at the expense of younger generations, such as protecting and expanding Social Security while resisting investments in education, healthcare, and other areas that would benefit younger people.
    • During the pandemic, older, wealthier Baby Boomers, such as business owners, were prioritized in bailouts and stimulus measures, while younger workers and students received less support, further widening the generational wealth gap and reducing economic mobility for younger generations.

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers Retrieved:2016-5-1.
  • Baby boomers are people born during the demographic post–World War II baby boom approximately between the years 1946 and 1964. This includes people who are between and years old in . According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the term "baby boomer" is also used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise date definition, even within a given territory. Different groups, organizations, individuals, and scholars may have widely varying opinions on who is a baby boomer, both technically and culturally. Ascribing universal attributes to a broad generation is difficult, and some observers believe that it is inherently impossible. Nonetheless, many people have attempted to determine the broad cultural similarities and historical impact of the generation, and thus the term has gained widespread popular usage. ...

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