Thursday, April 21, 2005

more about generational dynamics

Fascinating to find be reminded yesterday that:

My parents, the G.I's, the subject of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, are surviving and thriving after the Great Depression, the Great War (WWII) and parenting the boomers. America's most revered Generation.

The Silents, my parents-in-law and many of my most influential teachers, have an uncommon passion to connect with their grandchildren, have more spending power than any previous generation and are responsive to bargains, discounts and promotions, growing up as they did with Green Stamps.

That my generation, the Boomers, see aging as mandatory but growing old as optional. No wonder I like the phrase, "50 is the new 30." No wonder I love it when people say "I thought you were in your 40's" when I tell them I competed in the Senior Games.

My nephew's generation, the X'ers, are more of a "me" generation than all others, and that focus has some advantages. X'ers are first to have their own media (radio, cable TV, Internet). They're street-smart, tech-savvy multi-taskers who make my life better and show me incredible talent and tolerance.

Our kids, the Millenials, feel like a generation because of 9-11 and the war in Iraq. They share values including: a sense of nation, giving, patriotism, heroism, selflessness. That they're more of a "we" generation that's close to their parents and their peers. They're growing up with great expectations for their generation.