# What generation am I? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153 "2020-01-09T01:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/41 "2020-01-10T15:07:35Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > I am perplexed by terms like “Boomer”, “Gen X”, “Gen Y”, “Millennial” and so on. The problem is that I just don’t know which term is supposed to apply to me. > > I was born in 1967. My parents were born in 1941 and 1942. My wife was born in 1970. Her parents were born in 1947. My sister was born in 1971. My kids were born in 1990 and 1995. > > So, where do we fit in all those generational nicknames? Sounds like you’re a GenXer on the cusp of Boomer, with Jupiter rising in the house of Hipster. ETA: Unless you have a man-bun. Then we have to start over. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/42 "2020-01-10T15:22:28Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > So, I throw my hands up and reiterate that this generation stuff is all zodiac/personality test style hogwash. I wouldn’t say that. I’m not saying it’s important which generation you belong to, but certainly there are shared experiences among time periods that do effect and shape a population. My kids are growing up always having known the internet and the type of technology where if you want something now, you can have it. Want a movie? Just click on a button. Want a song? Ask Alexa. Looking for an obscure spice? Order it online. Their childhood and experiences will be quite different than mine, and I expect this to affect their personalities and how they process and see the world, and what they expect of it. Clearly, on an individual to individual basis this will vary a lot. I don’t feel most of my friends fit the Gen X stereotype, but we certainly, as a group, do have a lot of generational traits in common, given our shared experiences and upbringings. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/43 "2020-01-12T20:23:43Z")
Generation X is considered to be from 1965 to 1980. Millenials 1981 to 1995. Generation Z (Gen Z or Zoomers) from 1996 to 2012. The next generation 2013 til now. I was born in 1975 and am member of Generation X. If someone asked I would describe myself as a 80s GenXer because the vast majority of my childhood was immersed in 80s pop culture. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/44 "2020-01-12T21:11:43Z")
My kids were born 94,95,97 and they are what i think of for your typical millennial. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/45 "2020-01-12T21:26:17Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > I am perplexed by terms like “Boomer”, “Gen X”, “Gen Y”, “Millennial” and so on. The problem is that I just don’t know which term is supposed to apply to me. > > I was born in 1967. My parents were born in 1941 and 1942. My wife was born in 1970. Her parents were born in 1947. My sister was born in 1971. My kids were born in 1990 and 1995. > > So, where do we fit in all those generational nicknames? If your parents were of age to serve in WWII you’re a Boomer. If your parents are Boomers you’re Gen X. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/46 "2020-01-13T00:24:42Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Well written. (I’m an advertising strategist and researcher, so I work with the cohort/generational descriptors at times, as well.) > > There are few hard-and-fast universally-accepted definitions of the start dates and end dates of the generations; about the only one that is pretty close to universal, I think, is that the Baby Boom started in 1946. > > Anyway, the generations, and the _rough_ ranges for their birth years: > Greatest Generation: 1901-1924 > Silent Generation: 1925-1945 > Baby Boom: 1946-1964 > Generation X: 1965-1980 > Millennials: 1981-1996 > Generation Z: 1997-2012 My grandparents were born in 1890 and 1900, and they were quite formative for me – is there a name for their generation? Is there a description of their archetype? How about Great Grandfather Napier, whom I never met but whose influence on the family was so keenly felt – born in 1849, he might fit into what named generation? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/47 "2020-01-13T00:47:13Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > My grandparents were born in 1890 and 1900, and they were quite formative for me – is there a name for their generation? Is there a description of their archetype? > > How about Great Grandfather Napier, whom I never met but whose influence on the family was so keenly felt – born in 1849, he might fit into what named generation? I don’t think any generations before the 20th century have ever been named. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/48 "2020-01-13T01:00:37Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I don’t think any generations before the 20th century have ever been named. A Wikipedia article suggests that the cohort/generation born between 1883 and 1900 (that is, the cohort which fought WWI, in the same way that the Greatest Generation fought WWII) is sometimes referred to as the [Lost Generation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Generation). Although the term comes from Hemingway’s 1926 novel _The Sun Also Rises_ (and was apparently coined by Gertrude Stein), I’m not sure how often it was actually used, contemporarily, to refer to members of that generation. ---
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/49 "2020-01-13T01:17:22Z")
Also depends on geolocation, mindset, culture, education, etc, not just age span. But you know that. Being Xgen myself, I always considered to be a bit more tech and mind “progressive” so my mindset can nicely mingle up to late millennials, but it stops there. I hate modern social media. And youths trespassing my lawn. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/50 "2020-01-13T01:44:42Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A Wikipedia article suggests that the cohort/generation born between 1883 and 1900 (that is, the cohort which fought WWI, in the same way that the Greatest Generation fought WWII) is sometimes referred to as the [Lost Generation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Generation). > > Although the term comes from Hemingway’s 1926 novel _The Sun Also Rises_ (and was apparently coined by Gertrude Stein), I’m not sure how often it was actually used, contemporarily, to refer to members of that generation. Strauss and Howe name their generations back to the [1400s.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory) That said, I think “Lost Generation” is the last one I remember seeing outside of a Strauss & Howe context. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/51 "2020-01-13T01:45:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A Wikipedia article suggests that the cohort/generation born between 1883 and 1900 (that is, the cohort which fought WWI, in the same way that the Greatest Generation fought WWII) is sometimes referred to as the [Lost Generation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Generation). Fair enough. I always associated that term with Britain and maybe France, rather than the US. They were in the war longer and suffered lots more casualties and a larger percentage of their young men suffered shell shock. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/52 "2020-01-13T01:53:10Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I don’t think any generations before the 20th century have ever been named. Strauss and Howe, whose 1991 book “Generations” is the basis for most of this stuff, have named generations going back to 15th century England The generations appear in cycles of four (a Saeculum)—High/Prophet/Idealist, Awakening/Nomad/Reactive, Unraveling/Hero/Civic, and Crisis/Artist/Adaptive. American independence starts approximately at the Revolutionary Saeculum. Revolutionary Saeculum Awakening Generation (prophet), 1701-1723 Liberty Generation (nomad), 1724-1741 Republican Generation (hero), 1742-1766 Compromise Generation (artist), 1767-1791 Civil War Saeculum Transcendental Generation (prophet), 1792-1821 Gilded Generation (nomad), 1822-1842 (Hero generation skipped) Progressive Generation (artist), 1843-1859 Great Power Saeculum Missionary Generation (prophet), 1860-1882 Lost Generation (nomad), 1883-1900 G.I. Generation (hero), 1901-1924 Silent Generation (artist), 1925-1942 Millennial Saeculum Baby Boom Generation (prophet), 1943-1960 13th Generation (Gen X) (nomad), 1961-1981 Millennial Generation (Gen Y) (hero), 1982-2004 Homeland Generation (Gen Z) (artist), 2005- This stuff is all interesting but overall it’s just another kind of astrology. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/53 "2020-01-13T01:53:11Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Fair enough. I always associated that term with Britain and maybe France, rather than the US. They were in the war longer and suffered lots more casualties and a larger percentage of their young men suffered shell shock. True but an analogous things can be said about Viet Nam and the draft which is one of the defining characteristics of Boomers in the US. (Of course WWI was orders of magnitude worse than Viet Nam). ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/54 "2020-01-13T03:41:13Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > If your parents were of age to serve in WWII you’re a Boomer. If your parents are Boomers you’re Gen X. What if your parents were kids during WWII? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/55 "2020-01-13T04:39:43Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > What if your parents were kids during WWII? Then you are like me, most likely Tweener/Generation Jones. They are sometimes called the Notch between Boomers and Greatest Generation. I don’t recall the details anymore but it has to do with an unfavorable way that their Social Security was calculated which could have been undone. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/56 "2020-01-13T11:03:08Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > What if your parents were kids during WWII? See post No. 52 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/57 "2020-01-15T00:49:38Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Then you are like me, most likely Tweener/Generation Jones. They are sometimes called the Notch between Boomers and Greatest Generation. I don’t recall the details anymore but it has to do with an unfavorable way that their Social Security was calculated which could have been undone. Unless your parents were older. My Dad was a kid in WWII but I was born in 1975, definitely generation X. You’d have to define it by the typical age of parents in your cohort rather than your actual parents’ ages. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/58 "2020-01-15T00:53:11Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Unless your parents were older. My Dad was a kid in WWII but I was born in 1975, definitely generation X. You’d have to define it by the typical age of parents in your cohort rather than your actual parents’ ages. Of course. That’s why I said “most likely”. There are all kinds of outliers. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/59 "2020-01-15T01:04:09Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Boomers vividly remember floppy disks (A drive). Gen X-ers remember 3.5 inch diskettes (B drive). Millennials have no clear memory of anything before CD/DVD disks (Drive C). \CD and later DVD drives were Drive D, while C Drive was/is the (primary) hard disk.\ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153/60 "2020-01-15T01:24:58Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > \CD and later DVD drives were Drive D, while C Drive was/is the (primary) hard disk.\ 🙂 I also don’t remember the B drive being explicitly 3.5 inch. Maybe if you had two drives, one 5.25 and another 3.5, then the 5.25 would be A and the second would be B, but by the times I was using PCs and not Commodores regularly, I swear all my 3.5" drives were A. I assume this is also something you could set in the BIOS maybe? It’s been so long… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-generation-am-i/846153.md?page=4)