Generation XYZ

We are in twenty first century and society is now in generation “Z” classification. For those who are unaware of the classification let me explain the intricacies of classification. Per Webster dictionary the term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.  Each generation born under certain time period has been defined with a certain category and traits. So the time line goes something like this Generation Baby Boomers from 1946 to 1964, Generation X from 1965 to 1982 (proudly acclaimed our generation and current workforce), Generation Y 1983-2001 and Generation Z from 2002-2012. To begin to understand how individuals in different generations act and react, one must first start with understanding oneself. Begin by seeing where you fall on the “Generation Timeline” above. Since this timeline represents a conglomeration of many views, the starting and ending dates (birth years) of the generations are subjective, not scientific or fully agreed-on time spans. However, this subjectivity poses no real problems since the variation of years is not significant enough to impact the big picture of a generation’s description.

The generation baby boomers falls within those born of the post war baby boom between 1946 and 1964. The name most likely comes from a book about the baby boom in America written by Landon Jones. In fact, the last half of the baby boomers years is sometimes referred to as the “Jones Generation.” Generation Baby Boomers represented the children born in the period from shortly after WWII until about 1964. They were born into a period of prosperity and emphasis on youth and education. Growing up they witnessed many watershed changes in American society and now are a very large group facing the challenges of aging and retirement.

Then comes the Generation X, that’s us. Our generation who grew up to sitcoms like Simpsons, Friends and MTV. Generation who brought many technological innovations, gave world wide web (internet) to the world. We tend to distrust government control of anything - we don't want the government meddling in our bedroom, our computer, or our income. We are by products of “consumer economy”, where our spending habits impact economy. Our generation is the one who is supporting the Medicare, social security and the federal government with our tax dollars. We are also addressed as the “Sandwich generation” who are taking care of our parents as well as our young unemployed youths.

Baby boomers define us as lazy and we lack the depth or direction to add value to society. Their "theory" suggests we are lazy, apathetic, and care little about the world and even more notable, we are lost.

I want to defend our generation from this claim, our generation has sought balance in our lives. Our motto is “work to live not live to work”. Unlike Baby boomers who were relentless and everything was serious. We Generation X’ers  find time to add fun to our busy live. We also know how to “stop and smell the roses.”

Now let’s talk about Generation Y, this is the generation that grew up with technology, they are plugged in twenty four seven. This is the generation that prefers to email or text, rather than having an actual conversation. This is the generation who is pampered by their parents “Generation X”. More than that they are ambitious, seeks challenges and are result oriented. Career is very important aspect of their life. They are more giving and thrive with team assignments. Socially they are the generation with the highest divorce rates.

Finally Generation Z.. does it equate to zero.. they the youngest in the society ladder, yet most clueless and careless generation. This is the generation who is connected, morally irresponsible and tend to Google or Bing most of their school assignments.

Generation Z has diminishing attention span, they are the generation who were initially diagnosed with attention deficient disorder “ADD”. Most of the kids from this generation have issues focusing and are struggling in schools. They are unable to analyze or decipher complex data. They will be the ones who will be lost with out the GPS or bored without their handheld music devices. 

So for the coming years more power to the Generation X’ers as they have taken the societal burden on their shoulders. In end all societies go through cycles. Picture might look bleak from outside, but it might not be the case after-all we have survived four thousand years. There is no paper record, am sure each generation was smarter than the other one to make it millennium.