By Naomi Langston
You’ve probably heard all the buzz about ‘Gen Z,’ ‘Millennials,’ and ‘Boomers’—these labels are everywhere! And if you’ve spent time around different generations, you’ve likely noticed just how much they can differ in their experiences, values, and perspectives.
Clearly, there are a lot of nuances and exceptions to these generational differences, and this article discusses an overview of some of the trends among generations so that you can discover which one describes you the most. In Part Two of this series, we’ll talk about how each of these generations tends to handle their professional lives. In Part Three, we’ll discuss how each generation views finances and what trends they have with managing them.
Here’s an overview of the living generations we have so far (dates are according to Britannica, although please note that there is a lot of variety if you are born around the cusp of the generation, where you might relate to a lot of things from a different generation close to yours that you were not technically born in):
Baby Boomers (1946–64)
Most Baby Boomers were raised in a post-World War II environment where the world was rebuilding after a huge tragedy. Many of them adjusted to living with more limited resources. Their parents were often really frugal, and many of them adopted this mindset, too. According to a study from Johns Hopkins University, this generation really values hard work and loyalty while also being fairly competitive with others.
A huge strength of this generation is the sense of camaraderie and strong beliefs it holds. It also highly values family, and many got married much younger than more recent generations and had more children. Working hard, being dedicated, and taking care of the physical needs of those you love seem to be a huge focus of Baby Boomers.
When it comes to technology and communications, according to Iberdrola, “They went through the entire period of technological evolution and the rise and development of the media.” They have experienced so many phases of our technological advancement and carry some unique perspectives on how they have firsthand seen it change our world.
Gen X (1965–80)
Gen X is a unique middle generation between Baby Boomers and Millennials, and it shares many similarities with the generations before and after it.
While carrying much of the same driven and hard work mentality as Baby Boomers, Gen X also adopted a lot of individualism and independence, according to Iberdrola. A big difference between their mentality and Baby Boomers’ is that they much prefer having flexibility and adopting a better work-life balance (Johns Hopkins University).
Mediaculture states that Gen X makes most decisions based on what will be the safest, most secure option without taking many risks. They are experts at finding what is practical and best for their own lives and for others, and tend to base their lives on these values.
Millennial/Gen Y (1981–96)
Millennials (also called Gen Y) are the first generation to start to integrate new advances in technology into their college and young adulthood years. They are the last generation not to have grown up with constant access to screens or iPhones and to see the digital takeover (Johns Hopkins University).
While Gen X began to set a better standard for work-life balance, Millennials took off with it and began to prioritize it in all areas of life. You’ll notice that millennials began to value the simple things in life, even in a classic millennial aesthetic characterized by neutral colors, blank surfaces, and simple shapes. Even more than that, they’re passionate about having values (Michigan Scouting) and look to live them out in everything that they do.
Gen Z (1997–2012)
Gen Z is still emerging, as many are still in high school, college, or are very young adults. It has yet to be seen how they will affect the workforce and culture as they continue to take up more of it. Gen Z is the first generation to be born into our tech-developed world. According to Johns Hopkins, “Gen Z has been named “the first global generation,” with access to everything (and everyone) at just one click of a button”. This access comes with a big weight and responsibility to be aware and active in things that are important to them, as ignorance has never been an excuse.
Gen Z depends on technology without really understanding how it works. However, they are beginning to see and understand its negative effects, such as how increasing social media consumption can correlate with mental health struggles.
A huge value of Gen Z is authenticity and genuineness. With so much access to the world online that can feel fabricated and filtered, Gen Z often craves truth and respects bold and individualistic ideas.
Gen Alpha (2013-2024)
Gen Alpha, almost the newest generation except for Gen Beta babies being born in 2025, are still younger than high school age, and we don’t know what they will value yet. We imagine their world will be even more connected and developed than Gen Z, with hopefully some more studies around technology so that they are able to use it more appropriately. This generation has also been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which happened while most of them were in preschool or elementary school. Most of them won’t remember much of the world before the pandemic when so many things turned online and have remained there.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Naomi lives in Pittsburgh, PA but her roots are from a little Christmas tree farm in upstate New York. She works in marketing for Greater Europe Mission, an international nonprofit organization. She’s always finding ways to make room in her budget for traveling and reads over 100 books each year.
