What’s a generation and why does it matter?
“Boomers can’t use technology.”
“Gen Xers are just cynical.”
“Millennials are so entitled.”
“Gen Zers have no attention span.”
Maybe you’ve heard these generational stereotypes. Perhaps you’ve even said one or two of them yourself! Tellingly, these complaints are typically uttered by someone outside of that generation. It’s where we get phrases like “OK, boomer!” from a Millennial, frustrated by something the older person hurled their way.
Or, conversely, consider this commentary from an older generation:
“[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances … They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.”
That little chestnut comes to us via the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in the 4th century B.C.! [Rhetoric (Book II, Chapter 12)]
Yes, generational divides are nothing new. Throughout history, the elders have been frustrated by the weaknesses they perceive in the kids, while that generation bemoans that the older folks “just don’t understand.”
In Young Life, we are trying to understand. We truly want to know the adolescents making up Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Yes, know about them, but also know them, so we might better care for them and their needs. To do this, though, it’s helpful to understand the larger context of generations, and what all the fuss is about.
WHAT GENERATION ARE YOU?
In her book, Generations, Dr. Jean Twenge states the United States is currently populated by six generations:
- Silents (Born 1925-1945)
- Boomers (Born 1946-1964)
- Generation X (Born 1965-1979)
- Millennials (Born 1980-1994)
- Generation Z (Born 1995 – 2012)
- Generation Alpha (Born 2012 – 2029)
Twenge points out, “The era when you were born has a substantial influence on your behaviors, attitudes, values, and personality traits. In fact, when you were born has a larger effect on your personality and attitudes than the family who raised you does.”
She adds that, while traditionally the word generation was used in regards to family relationships, today the term is “more commonly used to refer to social generations: those born around the same time who experienced roughly the same culture growing up.”
DO GENERATIONS MATTER?
Aren’t generations just social constructs lumping people together based upon birthdates?
And even though they’re of the same generation, didn’t someone born in 1965 experience a completely different adolescence than someone born in 1979?
And don’t gender, race, religion, etc., play a part?
And even if I am a Millennial, Gen Zer, or Gen Alpha, what if I don’t feel like one?
All of these (and numerous other questions) are quite valid, yet much too broad to tackle in this space. Again, a great resource for deeper exploration is Twenge’s book, Generations.
Wherever you stand on generational labels or the dividing lines of birth years, however, one thing is for certain. No one gets to choose the year in which they’re born, nor the events that accompany their adolescent years, which affect us far more than we know. The authors of Young Life’s latest RELATE study explain,
“A generation is shaped by the formative cultural and technological shifts that occur during adolescence — when identity and perspectives are solidified. For Baby Boomers, that included post-WWII growth, expanded rights and personal freedoms, a global entertainment industry, the space age and cars. Gen X was shaped by changes in family dynamics and divorce, the advent of computers and cable TV, global economic trade, the AIDS epidemic and fewer global conflicts. Millennials experienced child-centered parenting, a U.S. recession, global terrorism and, of course, the advent of social media and smartphones.”
Every one of the aforementioned groups has undergone significant change, but it’s hard to imagine a generation experiencing more rapid and unprecedented shifts across social and technological landscapes than generations Z and Alpha. Within this ever-present digital age, has there ever been a time where an adolescent has faced such intense scrutiny and pressure towards themselves and their ideas as they do today?
Along with these unprecedented external pressures, they’re also facing their own internal battles. As the RELATE study points out, “They’re navigating the already difficult transition out of childhood and into young adulthood and early life. Amidst all of these technological and cultural shifts, adolescents are still developing mentally and emotionally. Their brains are still being formed, and they lack the framework for interpreting or navigating these realities on their own.”
And this is why we believe generations do matter.
They always have. And that’s because every generation represents a group of adolescents who needs to hear about the Savior. In Young Life, we’ve been caring for adolescents in every generation since the Silents, and learning what it means to meet them where they are. We began in the heart of the Great Depression when the seeds of Young Life were planted, and continued into World War II — the mission was officially incorporated just 52 days prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Since then, we’ve ministered to kids dealing with every historical and social event the world has to offer (while experiencing it ourselves!).
In the RELATE study, kids are indeed talking about their generation, and the study helps define some of the traits today’s adolescents are encountering. Traits like …
- Being the first generations to experience an AI companion
- Witnessing declining numbers of close relationships with adults
- Craving face-to-face time in a digital world
- Enjoying less unstructured hangout time with their friends
This is precisely where Young Life enters into the life of a Gen Zer and Alpha. Demonstrating that we want to be trusted adults in their lives, spending unhurried face-to-face time with them, listening to their dreams and fears for today and tomorrow.
Whatever the name of the generation, the adolescent years (roughly age 10 to mid-20s) are fraught with social, physical, emotional, and mental changes. Navigating them alone can be a frightening, perilous journey.
Navigating them with a caring adult who walks alongside them, while pointing them to the God who created them to live in this precise generation “for such a time as this,” can make all the difference in the world.
