Which generation are you? Demographics Which generation are you?

What do you know? What is a Baby Boomer? What is Generation X? What is a Millennial? What is the name of your own generation?

BTW, what is demography? : the statistical study of population It looks at births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, and other statistics which illustrate the changing structure of human populations

What is a generation? Other names for it are “cohort” or “age group” In general, a generation is a group of people who are about the same age and have experienced, most often as children or young adults, specific historical events, such as an economic crisis, an economic boom, a war, or significant political changes. These events may influence their views of the world.

The Lost Generation Born between 1883 and 1900 They came of age during WW1 Ernest Hemingway described them as having been wounded by the war – whether actually or metaphorically

The G.I. Generation Born 1901-1924 AKA “the Greatest Generation'“ = those who fought in World War II They came of age during the Great Depression Survival was a key trait to this generation They are generally community- oriented, had strong loyalty to jobs and had a sense of personal civic duty

The Silent Generation Born from 1925-1945, AKA “the Lucky Few” Not as many babies are born during economic depressions and wars There are a few reasons why they are called the ‘silent generation’ One was that during this time, there were anti-Communist witch-hunts going on in the USA; this made it dangerous for people to speak freely about their opinions and beliefs. They became cautious about where they went and whom they were seen with The generation’s traits included being civic-minded, cautious and loyal and respectful to authority.

Baby Boomers Born between 1946 - 1964 They make up approximately 1/3 of the population After the end of WW2, birth rates across the world spiked (the baby ‘boom’) Women started working more Marriage rates declined and divorce rates increased dramatically

Baby boomer traits Hardworking, not as adaptable Strong work ethic Independent and self-assured Highly competitive Disciplined Agents of social change

Landmark Events Landing on the moon (1969) Vietnam War (1965-1973) Hippie Movement (1960s) Civil Rights Movement (1960s)

Popular Culture/ Tech Technology: TV, transistor radio, audio cassette, records Music: Elvis, Beatles, Rolling Stones The first TV generation

Effects of Baby Boomers Pension payout Health costs: dementia, obesity Housing issues How will we pay for all of them?

Generation X People born 1965 – 1980 Term popularized by Canadian author Douglas Coupland

Generation X Traits Highly educated, active, balanced, happy, family oriented, more independent Their worldview is based on change “A generation in search of human dignity and individual freedom” “Latchkey kids” – many families had working moms

Landmark Events End of Cold War and fall of the Berlin Wall Watergate, Ronald Reagan Chernobyl disaster Introduction of personal computer, Internet and cable tv AIDS epidemic

Popular Culture Technology: VCR, Walkman, IBM PC, Atari, original Nintendo “MTV Generation” – saw the emergence of music videos, electronic music, punk Madonna, Michael Jackson, the birth of hip hop

Generation Y - Millennials Born between 1981- 2000 Echo Boomers (children of the baby boomers) Nintendo Generation

Millennials http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/20/generation-y-jobs-canada_n_2334262.html

Millennial Traits Confidence, tolerance, entitlement, narcissism Less religious Switch jobs frequently Increasingly liberal attitudes “Peter Pan” generation – delayed adulthood Tech-savvy

Landmark Events Columbine shooting, September 11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, recession, Oklahoma city bombing, the rise of social media (Facebook)

Popular Culture Technology: Internet, Email, DVD, Playstation, Xbox, iPod Music: Eminem, Britney Spears, Nirvana, Jennifer Lopez Reality TV The first computer generation

What the internet used to be like in the 1990s You probably only had 1 computer in a “computer room” You couldn’t use the internet at the same time as your landline You had to listen to this every time you connected: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g sNaR6FRuO0 You had to install the internet with a CD There were tons of search engines like Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, Alta Vista

You could find the directions to get somewhere on Mapquest, but then you had to print them out and bring them with you We used Instant Messaging like ICQ, AIM, MSN Messenger We all had ugly Geocities websites (checkout Websites from Hell)

Generation Z Also called Post-Millennials, Generation Net (Gen Net) Born since 2000 (some people consider 1995 the start) This is YOU guys Before we go on, get with a partner/group and try to list the Traits, Landmark Events, an Pop Culture/Technology that is important to your generation

Traits Reliant on technology, social media, “digital natives” Feelings of insecurity due to terrorism and recession Innovative, entrepreneurial, highly conscious of the challenges they face More stress, more risk-adverse, lower attention span Tolerant of homosexuality, multiculturalism Helicopter parents “Generation Lay-Z”

Landmark Events Barack Obama being elected European terrorist attacks Syrian refugee crisis Arab Spring What else??

Popular Culture Technology: ipad, Google, Twitter,Instagram, smartphones, apps Music: Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Drake Watching Netflix and Youtube more than TV, creating memes, using emojis

What comes next? What would you call the generation after Z? The next generation has not been officially named yet but the name “Generation Alpha” is becoming popular It will possibly be anyone born after 2010 India and China will be monumentally influential in the world

Children confused by slightly older technology Kids react to old computers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7EpEnglgk Teens react to 90s internet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0mg9DxvfZE Kids react to VCRs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kesMOzzNBiQ Kids react to Gameboy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pCp8g- VjOs