A special two-hour documentary televised in March on PBS takes a candid look at the generation believed by many to have changed it all! Featuring aging gerontologist Ken Dychwald, Ph.D., (left) the topic of discussion is the 78-million people who make up the Baby Boom Generation.
The “Boomer Century: 1946 to 2046,” is based on a book of the same title written by author Richard Croker. The program and publication focus on the formative years to reveal the personality traits of a generation that has rewritten the rules for work, marriage and parenthood, and now retirement and aging.
The documentary examines what has been referred to as the first generation, a generation that had more freedom for self expression, experimentation, and opportunity than any other. Yet as boomers begin to age, the documentary points to the fact that they will have to take a closer look at their own lives.
Will they rewrite traditional retirement and redefine aging, or face the unknown less prepared to live longer, with poorly planned retirement, workforce challenges, and health care costs?
The Boomer Century, underwritten by Vanguard, features influential people such as Rob Reiner, Oliver stone, and Tony Snow, and discusses how the generation has transformed every aspect of society. It points fun at what is considered a very self centered age group.
Dychwald, author of the “Age Wave” and other publications, says the number of people born between 1946 and 1964 equates to one child born every 8 seconds, or 10,000 a day. He says as parents of boomers lived through their greatest challenges with the Depression and world War II, boomers will face their toughest years in the last stages of life. To learn more, visit www.boomercentury.com/