Generations: The Real Differences Between GenZ, Millennials, GenX, Boomers and Silents - and What They Mean for America's Future by Jean Twenge
an interpreted summary and a prediction
This was a fascinating read; is there any other subject we love more than ourselves? Twenge has spent over 30 years looking at generational shifts and this book essentially summarizes the recent history of our humanity. Each gen gets an extended chapter that includes demographics like ethnicity, cultural touchstones like popular names, and key characteristics, as well as reasonable explanation for those characteristics. Her cohesive theory for generational shifts is grounded in both technology and the continuing pursuit of individualism. My small summary here will not do justice to Twenge's work, and it especially cannot replace her numerous graphs.
Silents (1925-1945): 6% of the pop; 78.1% white, 8.1% hispanic, 8.2% black, 4.8% asian
Silents are so named because they took their parents' set of values without argument. This was the generation of 'sex within marriage.' They married younger than any other gen - often in their teens - and had more children: 3.8 at it's peak. Along with the highest rate of marriage came an equally high rate of divorce (then consequent remarriage). Because marriage is such a staple in this gen (along with advancements of medicine for male spouses), the average 75yo woman now lives with a partner instead of the expectation of being a widow. Silents have the least amount of mental distress and the least suicidality; perhaps being old enough to remember the horrors of war but young enough to not be drafted has had a gratitude effect.
Boomers (1946-1964): 21.1% of the pop; 76.1% white, 8.5% hispanic, 9.3% black, 5.0% asian
The famous baby boom - so large that the nation was forced to become child centric (then teen centric, then career-centric, etc as they moved through their life stages) was the start of the nation taking note of generational difference. Whatever the Boomers did, American culture shifted around them. No wonder they had an inflated sense of self. This gen started the shift away from a collectivist culture to an individualist culture. Gone were the business suit, hats, and close-cropped hair that men traditionally wore: the 70’s alone is a cavalcade of individual self expression of colours, patterns, and lapels! Self-focus, self-help books, and new-age spiritualism were examples of a nation turning inward. And as the words 'unique' and 'identity' went into high usage, the instance of 'give' in books dropped below the use of 'get'. Boomers have the highest rates, at the youngest ages, of drug and alcohol use (which might factor into why this cohort has an especially high rate of suicide and 'deaths of despair' - deaths cause by substance abuse that may or may not be accidental - at the age of 50 or 60. Turns out early exposure to drugs might affect long term mental health). This was the first ME generation and their higher rates of divorce reflect that. But this gen also was the start of widening income inequality, an effect that wouldn't be obvious until the plentiful labour-based jobs disappeared and non-college educated Boomers fell far from their former cohort. As a group, total satisfaction levels are high, but when striated for white and black, and college and no college, it is revealed that college educated blacks' happiness rose (while black, no college stayed steady) and white non-college educated whites' happiness dropped (while college educated whites stayed steady). This is the type of info is useful when considering the shocking election of Trump.
GenX (1965-1979): 18.5% of the pop; 62.7% white, 16.6% hispanic, 12.8% black, 6.7% asian
Note that generations are becoming more narrow, from 20 years to 15 as technology moves faster, and that multi-culturalism begins to take it's first tiny steps. This gen is dwarfed on either side so it's understandable that cynicism and negativity was the first trait assigned to the often neglected and/or forgotten generation. Add self-esteem (a continuing trend from the Boomers) and that melds into their prideful boast of 'growing up tough'. They were the newly hatched latch-key kids in the narrow timeframe between Boomer women getting both a college education and a career, and the later fear-mongering of child abduction. Most of that latch-key time was spent in front of the tv, back when there were only 3 major networks and no VCRs - meaning that GenX was the last generation to have a unified pop culture experience before it splintered in the face of multi-channel cable, the internet, and (now) streaming. Speaking of the internet, GenX is the last cohort to have lived in an analog world and although they embraced computers - most stopped their technological evolution at email and their social media at Facebook. GenX is considered to have had the shortest childhood and the longest adolescence. They are the first to uncouple having babies from marriage, reversing the order for the first time and creating such nomenclature as 'living together.' Children of divorce, they reacted by staying together at an increasing rate, and had a surprising level of fertility: women with 3 or more children increased while women with zero children decreased. GenX also flipped the nation's primary reason for entering college, from gaining an appreciation of ideas to the more mercenary desire of money. And even though teen suicides were twice the rate of Boomers, by the time they reached adulthood, GenX's main traits of independence, thick skin and openness to new ideas yielded a stable mental health that was actually better than Boomers at their age.
Millennials (1980-1994): 20.5% of the pop; 63.7% white, 20.8% hispanic, 13.1% black, 7.3% asian
Born to mostly Boomer parents, here was the most planned and wanted generation of children: doted on, continually validated and given the highest levels of education. It's no wonder they are known for their abundant self-esteem. This is the age of grade inflation AND homework reduction as attitudes like “I should get an 'A' if I attend the majority of classes” take root. Entering college, their climbing Narcissistic Personality scores were only stopped by the 2008 recession. Digital natives, they eschewed using phones for talking and instead were the first to text when cell phones didn't yet have a keyboard and pioneered a new short-form language. Their self-confidence seemed well placed as the world rapidly changed and Millennials were best suited to adapt to new technologies. They had the first slow childhood and slow adolescence, pushing the age of marriage even further (if they married at all) and cratering the fertility rate. Perhaps it's too early to judge the number of children and marriages, but other evidence is pilling up: decreasing levels of living with romantic partners, increasing levels of living with parents, and decreasing levels of sexual activity (for both the married and the never married!) Building on GenX's desire for wealth, Millennials now added a thirst for fame, creating the new class of Influencers. But whereas GenX had poor mental health in adolescence which improved in adulthood, Millennials are the opposite, their levels of depression and disappointment have spiked in adulthood. Perhaps their high expectations are to blame. Or maybe the designation of first digital native was mistaken as being forever relevant and it came as a shock when GenZ adapted even quicker to technology, deftly navigating the new pitfalls of social media, and stole their crown (with a sarcastic bite to boot). Plus Millennial negative perception does not bear out: whereas they think they are poor, the data actually shows them to have the highest median household income, adjusted to inflation, in the 25 to 34 yo age group and only a slight reduction in home ownership compared to Boomers and GenX.
GenZ (1995-2012): 23.0% of the pop; 52.9% white, 23.4% hispanic, 15.3% black, 6.9% asian
The biggest takeaway is that self-esteem, which started with Boomers and kept climbing until it's peak with Millennials, has plummeted. 30% of teen girls and 12% of teen boys suffer from clinical-level depression, and suicide rates are skyrocketing. Twenge makes a convincing case that digital media use is the most likely reason. As platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok grew, this cohort spent less than an hour a day socialising in-person. They also got less sleep (a known risk for depression) with their phones cradled beside their faces. Their lack of connections lead to loneliness and anxiety. When Twenge notes: "For a democracy to survive, its citizens need to believe that the system is fair, that the country functions reasonably well... It helps to have an inspiring origin story about how the country was founded," it is alarming to see GenZ's pessimism, already so strong in the present, extends to 250 years ago. And indeed much of it is a self delusion. GenZ say income inequality is the worst ever when it was far greater between 1980 and 2000. They report, in higher and higher numbers, that women experience discrimination in college admissions even though they receive far more degrees than men. Dignity culture has given way to victimhood culture and birthed the crybully where the pleasures of aggression are added to the comfort of feeling aggrieved.
Besides the trait of poor mental health, the next most recognised attribute of GenZ is their quick adoption of LGBTQ identities, some quicker than others. In 2015/16 most GenZ were skeptical of transgender identities but in five short years, two-thirds now reported as supportive. An entire category of non-binary came into being and has increased by a factor of 10 since 2014. The sharp increases in young adults identifying as transgender occurred almost exclusively among female-to-males, while male-to-females remained consistent. The same cohort, females, are largely responsible for increased non-heterosexual identities: a full 23% of GenZ women identify as bisexual, twice as many as Millennials. And yet, this gen is experiencing a sex recession with the percent of 18 to 25 yos who didn't have sex in the past year hitting 25% for women and over 30% for men. Is this because of the ubiquity of porn? The stigma of approaching new people without their consent? With the longest childhood yet, this cohort is delaying experiences such as alcohol, pot, getting a driver's license, and taking risks. The only thing they are doing at younger and younger ages is coming out to friends and family, sometimes as young as twelve. There is still so much ahead for this generation but if I had to predict their behaviour based on what is known about previous gens, this is how I would break it down: starting with the Boomers, each gen has moved farther from a collectivist culture to an individualist culture. And the focus on self gets stronger with each gen. Add Genx's cynicism and scepticism of authority and you get GenZ dismantling and rebelling in the only 'self' arena left: gender. But don't forget the Millennials' strong sense of entitlement and wish for fame. GenZ's unique gender deconstruction requires an audience and is dependant on validation from others; they are entitled to it. So it's the first full teen rebellion that is broadcast from the safety of their bedrooms and with full parental support. How can this be sustainable? Prediction: the next gen will call it cringe and they will quietly close their accounts.
I don't think there is any way the Silent Generation was 4.8% Asian. Maybe that was the "other" category including Native Americans also (who are absent otherwise).
Contrast with this?
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Fourth-Turning-Is-Here/Neil-Howe/9781982173739