Naming a generation seems to take FOREVER… and it’s fuzzy too. Honestly, if my husband is “technically” a baby boomer (born between 1946 and 1964) and I’m technically an x-gener (1960-1980) you’d think there would be a huge age difference or major cultural difference in our childhood memories. But no – we both watched reruns of Mary Tyler Moore, Barney Miller, Andy Griffith, and the Dick VanDyke Show. Music – well, I do remember the Solid Gold Dancers but really, I remember spending Saturday morning with Dick Clark – and then Fat Albert.
I also remember the debate over naming Generation X when I was in high school. For a few months “Pepsi Generation” was batted about because Michael Jackson’s accident. How lame, eh? Basically, my generation earned its name because we had no political motivations (children during the end of the cold war), were considered self-centered, and selfish. Yeah – the name is insulting. We saw the birth of the personal computer, the internet – although it really was nothing back then. However my generation saw The END of the cold war; tearing down the Berlin Wall; and let’s not forget ‘Just Say No’ from Nancy Reagan. And we are named “X” because we have “nothing” special… The “next” generation is named by the previous generation (the voting population) and it seems to me they aren’t nice about it. In my goal to #BeBetty I say we change that now. I call upon our generation to celebrate and appreciate the differences between our generations.
Now there’s Generation Y or the Millennials (1980s to late 90’s) and the name is still fluctuating so we still have time to rename them something nice. These are Gen X’ers kids – named Gen Y by people who never liked Gen X and feel the same way about our children. Really the main cultural differences between generations are technology, television shows, and music. Why don’t we recognize those differences?
I believe THAT should be the determining factor and a great name for the next generation. Are you Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest? Honestly, baby boomers would probably tilt their head and ask, “What’s a Seacrest?” while Gen X’ers would know – Clark. Sure, Seacrest took his place but Clark was our childhood, our New Year’s Eve buddy. My kids know who Dick Clark was but they associate their music with Ryan Seacrest.
Therefore, I declare you can keep BabyBoomers, but then the next generation shall be named Dick Clark and the following generation will be Ryan Seacrest. After that??? Well, obviously 2010-2030 should be Generation i or SmartPhone, or Selfie – right? It’s not mean and it is a huge part of their culture.
Who is with me? Share this with your friends – start referring to GenX as Clark and the next generation as Seacrest. We can make a change for the positive… #BeBetty
English
Trackbacks and Pingbacks