Baby Boomers in America

Baby boomers are the demographic of people who were born just after the Second World War; this would give the baby boomer generation an approximate date of between 1946 and 1964 .  World war two ended in a 1945, and as a rule of thumb baby boomers are the children who are born as the war ended, as families settled down again.

The name baby boomers described many different people , and in this article you must appreciate that it would be too simplistic to over generalise .  Nevertheless, here are some interesting facts about baby boomers. Richard Adler, is Research Affiliate at the Institute for the Future (IFTF) in Palo Alto, CA, where he recently co-led a project on Baby Boomers: The Next 20 Years. Here is his TED Talk.

Baby boomers grew up at peak levels of income, and had a general belief that things would improve over time.  In fact, they did. Baby boomers have worked for almost all of their adult lives , they had good pension schemes , they paid for housing when it was relatively cheap, and many had the opportunity to retire early . They’ve lived for a long time , and they will continue to live for much longer.

Arguably baby boomers thought of themselves as a special generation, at least one which was superior and different to those that proceeded it. 71-76,000,000 American children were born between 1946 and 1964 and this is a relatively high number. In Britain for example, baby boomers held about 80 per cent of the UK’s wealth, and are happy to spend money on holidays and experiences.

Here are some relevant and interesting facts about baby boomers :

• Born between 1946 and 1964. Two sub-sets:
• the save-the-world revolutionaries of the ’60s and ’70s;
• and 2. the party-hardy career climbers (Yuppies) of the ’70s/’80s.
• The “me” generation.
• “Rock and roll” music generation.
• Ushered in the free love and societal “non-violent” protests which triggered violence.
• Self righteous & self-centred.
• Buy it now and use credit.
• Too busy for much neighbourly involvement yet strong desires to reset or change the common values for the good of all.
• Even though their mothers were generally housewives, responsible for all child rearing, women of this generation began working outside the home in record numbers, thereby changing the entire nation as this was the first generation to have their own children raised in a two-income household where Mom was not omnipresent.
• The first TV generation.
• The first divorce generation, where divorce was beginning to be accepted as a tolerable reality.
• Began accepting homosexuals.
• Optimistic, driven, team-oriented.
• Envision technology and innovation as requiring a learning process.
• Tend to be more positive about authority, hierarchal structure and tradition.
• One of the largest generations in history with 77 million people.
• Their ageing will change America almost incomprehensibly; they are the first generation to use the word “retirement” to mean being able to enjoy life after the children have left home. Instead of sitting in a rocking chair, they go skydiving, exercise and take up hobbies, which increases their longevity.
• The American Youth Culture that began with them is now ending with them and their activism is beginning to re-emerge.