The PEW Research Center has presented updated information & statistics about the generations and the gaps that define them. Baby Boomers, named for the time of well.. a lot of babies made following World War II, had been rocking the United States as the largest generation – until now. Millennials are on their way to becoming the largest living generation. Another change is that the Millennial generation is dropping the generational label. One of the biggest takeaways from recent data is that Millennials do not typically identify with the term “Millennials”.
These generational names have primarily been created by social scientists and market researchers. For reference, the generations are:
- Greatest Generation – Born before 1928
- Silent Generation – Age 70-87
- Baby Boomer – Age 51-69
- Generation X – Age 35-50
- Millennial (Generation Y) – Age 18-34
The national survey by the Pew Research Center was conducted March 10-April 6 with 3,147 adults who are part of the American Trends Panel, a nationally representative sample of randomly selected U.S. adults surveyed online and by mail. Respondents were given five commonly used terms for generations, including the “Greatest Generation,” and asked whether they considered themselves part of these generations.
The survey finds that some generational names – particularly Boomers – are more widely recognized than others. Among all respondents, fully 89% say they have heard of the Baby-Boom generation, while 71% have heard of Gen X. A majority (56%) have heard of the Millennial generation, but just 15% of all respondents (including only 27% of Silents) have heard of the Silent Generation.
The report goes into different areas of comparisons & contrasts across the generations such as: traits (positive/negative/neutral) and label identification.
Check out these stat charts about the Positivity of Baby Boomers versus the Negativity of Millennials:
What generation are you a part of? Do you identify with the above characteristics?
Tags: Baby Boomer Generation X Generational Gaps Greatest Generation Millennials Silent Generation
