Generation "X", generation "Y", generation "Z" — these expressions often flash in the articles of sociologists and demographers, HR specialists and marketers. But what do these letters mean?
The greatest generation (1900-1923).
The silent generation (1923-1943).
The baby Boomer generation (1943-1963).
Generation X ("X") (1963-1984).
Generation Y ("Y") (1984-2000).
Generation Z "Zed" (since 2000).
Generation M "Multy tasking" (2015).
The boundaries are calculated with an assumption of plus or minus 3 years, and for people who are at the junction of generations, the features of both are often characteristic.
Baby boomers
The category of baby boomers includes people born in the period from 1943 to 1963. The generation received the name because of the post-war surge in the birth rate. The events that had the greatest impact on the formation of the values of people of this generation are, of course, the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet "thaw", the conquest of space, uniform standards of education in schools and the guarantee of medical care.
They grew up in a real superpower. These people are optimists, team, collective people. The best sport for them is football, hockey. The best holiday is tourism. In other people, they have a great respect for curiosity. Now representatives of this generation, "boomers", are quite active, go to fitness centers, swimming pools, master new gadgets and the Internet, travel to other countries as tourists.
Currently, most baby boomers are retired, although there are those who are still working. A distinctive feature of this category of people in Russia is good health and enviable endurance.
Generation X are people born from 1963 to 1983. Generation X is also called the lost or unknown generation. They grew up against the background of the Cold War, the deficit, and the beginning of perestroika. Many X's grew up in a single-parent family, and working parents allowed them to lead an independent life. Often this generation is called "children with a key around their neck." In political life, the X's are little active because of their individualism, less patriotic than their fathers.
Their distinctive features are the ability to rely only on themselves, alternative thinking, awareness of what is happening in the world, willingness to choose and change. By and large, people of this age category are singles who are focused on hard work and achieving individual success. They have been moving through their careers for many years, adhering to the chosen direction.
The "autumn" generation Y, which was born from 1983 to 2003, grew up against the background of global upheavals: the collapse of the USSR state, terrorist attacks, epidemics. But the passage of time has introduced new symbols – the rapid development of information technology. Thanks to the Internet and cellular communication, the generation of igreks received the nickname "generation of the thumb", for its ability to type SMS with the finger of one hand.
Y's can easily communicate with strangers online, but in real life they have communication problems. In the virtual world, y's create their ideal world, where their rules and laws reign. Therefore, the generation is characterized by great naivety and ignorance of the realities of this world.
The Y generation was often pampered by parents who grew up in years of total scarcity. For this reason, independence is not a distinctive feature of Y. In everything, this generation strives to get positive emotions: shopping, entertainment centers, movies, quests.
Y-players don't like to start professional growth from the lowest levels, they want to receive awards and high fees right now, just for what they are. At the same time, they strive to achieve professionalism in several areas at once, strive to obtain versatile information, which is a plus in the modern world.
Generation Y Jokes
We were born – the USSR collapsed, went to school – default, entered university – the crisis began, found a tolerable job – the end of the world. It's like a generation of lucky ones.
Those born after 2003 belong to generation Z. They saw the restoration of the power of our country, supported our winning athletes at the Olympics and World Championships. There are computers in their school, repairs have been made, the yards are clean, new playgrounds and sports complexes have been installed.
Representatives of generation Z actively use tablets, iPads, VR and 3D reality. Often the term "generation Z" is considered as a synonym for the term "digital person". Generation Z is interested in science and technology (for example, it is assumed that many representatives of the generation will be engaged in engineering and technical issues, biomedicine, robotics), as well as art. It is assumed that the generation will be economical and will lead a healthy lifestyle.
Generation Z Jokes
When I was a child, I was not accepted as a padawan, at the age of 10 I did not receive my first Pokemon, at the age of 11 I did not receive a letter from Hogwarts… If my uncle does not give me a ring of omnipotence by the age of 33, or a wizard does not knock on my door at the age of 50, I will stop hoping and go looking for a job...
Generation next
If we follow the theory of Strauss and Howe, the generation that will replace zero (representatives of this generation will begin to be born in 2023-24) will be the generation of Artists, the "new silent generation". We can't predict exactly what it will be like, but we can remember what the previous one was like. Here is what the Times wrote sixty years ago: "In anticipation of the pointing finger of fate, modern youth works tirelessly and without grumbling. The most amazing fact about this young generation is their silence. With very few exceptions, you won't see them in the stands… They don't write manifestos, they don't make speeches, and they don't carry banners."
In the same way as for the silent of the twentieth century, for the "new" the main values will be collective values (social networks will play an important role in their lives); they will probably work a lot, and in their free time they will go to virtual worlds, just not books (as 100 years ago), but computer games.