
JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy assassinations.President Biden is the first member of the Silent Generation to become President. This generation was characterized both by wealth and conformity. Divorce and having children out of wedlock were taboo. Men tended to stay at their jobs for their whole lives. Women also had children at an average younger age than any other generation. 1925-1945ĭescribed by some as “‘grave and fatalistic,’” the Silent Generation is known for not wanting to go against the government or the “system.” They had higher employment rates than either the Greatest Generation or the Baby Boomers, but men’s and women’s roles were traditional, with women generally staying at home. The Silent Generation (the Lucky Few), b. The majority of them were religious, and there was a significant increase in the level of education during this time. They built modern America by helping to develop its infrastructure and gave rise to the suburban middle class. The members of this generation are known for their strong work ethic, high morals, and sense of duty. Generation” because of their service in WWII. News anchor Tom Brokaw is credited with naming this group the “Greatest Generation,” but they are sometimes called the “G.I. Eliot captures the disillusionment and overindulgence of the members of this group. The works of early twentieth century writers such as Gertrude Stein (credited with coming up with the generation’s name), Ernest Hemingway, F. Brittanica says, “The generation was ‘lost’ in the sense that its inherited values were no longer relevant in the postwar world and because of its spiritual alienation from a United States that…seemed to its members to be hopelessly provincial, materialistic, and emotionally barren.” People use the term “Lost Generation” to refer to those who entered adulthood around the time of WWI and who suffered loss or disillusionment as a result of the war. We’ve done our best to give estimates based on the sources we found.Įxcept for where other links are cited, we’ve gathered the following information from CNN,, and studies cited by BuzzFeed. Not everyone agrees on the exact name for each generation, nor do they agree on the precise year when each begins and ends. As Business Insider explains, “Defining generations helps researchers see how coming of age during certain historical events and technological changes the way people see the world.” What are the primary generations of the 20th and 21st centuries? Nevertheless, we still think that evaluating the generations is helpful because of the truths we can glean.

Also, there could be multiple, contradicting trends within one generation. We simply can’t generalize trends across a culture and cover the experience of every individual. We can define a “generation” as “a group of people born within a certain period of time whose shared age and experiences shape a distinct worldview.”Īs you read through this guide, bear in mind that whenever we’re talking about large masses of people, we can’t avoid stereotyping them. What is a “generation” and why do they matter? In this Guide, we want to look at how the generations have changed over time, what has shaped Gen Z’s views on life, and how that knowledge can help you connect with your kids better. American society has gone through incredible change in the past few decades, which has especially impacted how teenagers see the world because of their age and level of development. In the U.S., the most recent generation to come of age is Generation Z, or Gen Z. They’re like “ Millennials on steroids”…except when they’re not like Millennials at allĪre you looking at today’s teenagers and wondering why they’re always online or how on earth their views on sexuality, government, and life in general can be so drastically different from yours?
