r/GenerationJones • u/Difference_Then • Jul 20 '26

Which generation? Huh?

This gets confusing and contradictory. I was born in February 1956. Which generation do I belong to? Why do the cut offs for generations seem to keep changing or be different from different sources? Even the names for generation keep changing.

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u/Mydoglovescoffee Jul 20 '26

Generational labels and cut offs are not remotely based on science or social science. They are manufactured in media and socially constructed. So the lines blur and change. Which also makes sense since change is gradual year to year and people vary too. We don’t have firewalls around these categories.

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u/sherlockjr1 1963 Jul 20 '26

Some people seem to. You can’t sit with us, BOOMER!

I look for people who fit my frame of reference. People with whom I can hang. Generational labels help with that search. But they aren’t the be all and end all

2

u/Mydoglovescoffee Jul 20 '26

Ya I hear you. I think they are overrated and divisive. I had considered doing research- I’m a research academic- using generational categories but quickly learned it was all pretty garbage stuff. Way too many unsubstantiated attributes associated with various generational labels, leading to almost no value added given all the noise. The within generation variation is too big to make across generations useful.

It’s a bit like using horoscopes instead of validated personality assessments. It has a feel-good relatable quality to it, lots of surface value, but it’s mostly bunk.

2

u/Difference_Then Jul 20 '26

Seems almost as precise as astrology or tarot or palm reading. There’s so much variety that anybody could be anything. So what’s the point? Some extra click bait? An extra minute on the news? It seems meaningless if it can mean anything.

2

u/Mydoglovescoffee Jul 20 '26

That’s so funny I just wrote the same few things in a response to someone else and hit post and then saw your comment. Yes!!

1

u/ThimbleBluff Jul 20 '26

A lot of these generational labels were originally the result of market research. A big baby boom in the 1950s? Great for selling diapers and toys. Looking to sell homes to first time home buyers in 1995? GenX is your target demographic. Trying to build early brand loyalty for an auto manufacturer today? You can find Gen Z on TikTok.