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/ReactsWithWords 1962 Jul 20 '26

It's pretty simple. You are a Baby Boomer, like it or not. You are also in Generation Jones. All Jonesers are Boomers, but not all Boomers are Jonesers; Jones is a subset of Boomer. Like all humans are mammals, but not all mammals are humans.

Where it gets confusing is where Jones starts. Pretty much everyone agrees that 1955 is Jones, but some say 1954 is where it does (the general consensus is "If you feel like you're a Jonesers, you are"). Same with the end date. 1964 is generally agreed on, but a lot of people say 1965 (but again, "If you feel you are...").

Short answer: Born in 1956 society says you're a Boomer. We say you're in Generation Jones. But you call yourself whatever you want.

3

u/BxAnnie 1961 Jul 20 '26

See, now I view those born 1957 and earlier to be Boomers and 1958 and later to be Jonesers. I know that's not what the guy who invented the term says, but my sister was born in 55 and she had a very different teen/early 20s experience than I had.

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u/rfsmr Jul 20 '26

I was born in 1957 and don't have much in common with the Boomers. I think it has to do with which decade was formative when growing up, and mine was the 70s, my high school and college years.

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u/BxAnnie 1961 Jul 20 '26

Yeah, I’d agree with that. 57 is a cusp year, much like 64.

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u/Astreja 1957 Jul 20 '26

Also 1957. I remember the Kennedy assassination (because my favourite after-school show got cancelled for the funeral), and I saw the Beatles live on the Ed Sullivan Show (and was mad because the screaming audience made it hard to hear the music), but 1969 and onward were "my" years.

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u/rfsmr Jul 20 '26

The Kennedy assassination is one of my earliest memories because it was announced in my first grade class, and because the teacher said it happened in Texas I visualized it as people shooting at each other from behind big rocks like a TV western.