Confusing by Definition
In discussions about the Baby Boom Generation, it is apparent that many people confused. And there are a few good reasons why...
For purposes of clarification, baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, however there are four generations that should be explored in association with the baby boom. Prior to the baby boom, there was what been dubbed the Silent Generation, those born between 1925-1941. Post WW II years lead way for the Baby Boom Generation, those born between 1946-1964 or what some believe are those born between 1946-1953. It has been suggested that those born between 1954-1965 are a generation called Trailing-Edge Boomers or Generation Jones, children of the 60s.
Generation Jones has been referred to as the lost generation between baby boomers, followed by Generation X. It should be noted that the children of Baby Boomers have in some cases been called Echo Boomers.
While 1945-1955 reflect the post-World War II demographic boom in births, there is a growing consensus among generational experts of the two distinct cultural generations: a 1942-1953 Baby Boom Generation, followed by a 1954-1965 Generation Jones. Boomers and Jonesers had different formative experiences which gave rise to dramatically different personalities.
In the book, Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers, author Brent Green discusses marketing to Leading-Edge vs. Trailing-Edge Boomers, each carrying a different collection of attitudes and interests. Green defines Leading-Edge Boomers as those born between 1946 and 1955, while Trailing-Edge Boomers are defined as those born between 1956-1964.
Leading-Edge Boomers, writes Green, “shared teenage encounters with the galvanizing experiences of Vietnam, and the “cultural revolution,” including modern feminism, civil rights, and environmentalism. “They came of age when pugnacious social and cultural forces crashed in on the Eisenhower era, and President Kennedy's Camelot. They are most associated with the protest movements of the sixties, as well as over publicized experimentation with sex and drugs.”
It can be argued that the defining event of early baby boomers was the protest over the draft, which ended in 1973. Anyone born after 1955 was not subject to a draft. Green says the ten years including 1946 to 1955 are therefore defined as the baby boomers or as Leading-Edge.
“Trailing-Edge Boomers entered college and started careers after the Vietnam War ended in early 1975, and most experienced a more peaceful, less culturally chaotic period,” writes Green. “They began their young adult lives with ebullient expectations - a sense that the world is my oyster.” They also confronted something new: sky-high interest rates, and extreme economic competition due to the surge in their age group.
“Trailing- Edge Boomers were offered a plethora of credit cards, many accumulated enormous consumer debts, and had difficulty launching careers or creating long-term financial stability,” said Green.
Cultural differences between the two generations is captured by author Douglas Coupland in the book “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture.” The term "X" concentrates on people born between 1965-1975.
In the United States, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling is generally recognized as the nation's first baby boomer. She was born in Philadelphia on January 1, 1946, at 12:00:01 a.m. Casey-Kirschling applied for Social Security benefits on October 15, 2007, signaling the start of applications from the post World War II war generation. Kathleen Casey- Kirschling, a former teacher from New Jersey, applied for benefits online over the Internet to receive her first payment by direct deposit.
Marketing
The 78 million children born between 1946 and 1964 also represent a first; they are the first generation that has been targeted for marketing. Boomers comprise nearly 28 percent of the adult U.S. population. Author Steve Gillon says marketing goods and services is the one thing that set the baby boomers apart from other generation groups particularly because they were the first generation that grew up with television. Gillon writes, the fact that "almost from the time they were conceived, boomers were dissected, analyzed, and pitched to by modern marketers, who reinforced a sense of generational distinctiveness." This concept is supported by the articles of the late 1940s, particularly one published in Newsweek, identifying the increasing number of babies as an economic boom. (Newsweek, August 9, 1948, "Population: Babies Mean Business.”)
Today, baby boomers are probably the most versed generation on longevity and aging; however, they have difficulty managing their time, and money. They are living longer, working longer, and delaying retirement in most cases - longer. Their parents are living longer, their children are seeking a better education, and they themselves are having children later in life. Boomers are also the first generation to be living within three generations, "sandwiched" in between. The "sandwich generation," coined in the 1980s, referees to baby boomers who must care for both elderly parents and young children at the same time.
The age wave theory suggests an impending economic slowdown when the boomers start retiring during 2007-2009.