Is it really that easy to generalize and lump a generation of people into a group with similar traits? A couple of articles caught my attention today in Forbes and Bloomberg that talks about Generation X and Generation Z and I think, for the most part, ring true.
Gen-X comprised of latchkey kids and the children of two working parents. They were the first group to experience living with divorced parents. Gen-Xers bridged the gap between minimal technology and the beginning of the tech boom. They lived through the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
Forbes.com
While the Boomers and the Millennials are changing the culture of the nation for the worse Generation Z may be the firewall that prevents our nation’s total descent into the dustbin of history.
Where the Millennials are easily propagandized Generation Z seem to be more skeptical. Where the Millennials had to be protected and have everything explained to them Generation Z likes to figure it out themselves. Where Millennials continually need to feel appreciated Generation Z doesn’t much seem to care. There is a pragmatism to this new generation that hopefully will permeate for generations to come.
And although Gen X didn’t agree on everything (The Cure or The Smiths? Nirvana or Pearl Jam?), in recent years they’ve rallied around one defining idea: Baby boomers are a bunch of self-indulgent narcissists, and their helicopter parenting transformed their millennial kids into entitled mini-mes. Generation X parents have purposefully tried to raise a different kind of kid, influenced by their own upbringing.
Bloomberg.com
“Boomers really wanted it to be easier for their children, and they succeeded,” said Dorsey, the Gen Z consultant. “When we interview Gen X, they tell us they don’t want our kids to end up like entitled millennials.”
Oh, and who do we have to thank for this? My generation. Generation X. You’re welcome.