It’s Time to Stop Talking About “Generations”
The New YorkerFrom boomers to zoomers, the concept gets social history all wrong.
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It’s an internet battle for the ages. Gen Z thinks Millennials are cheugy and cringe with their Harry Potter Sorting Hat quizzes and their avocado toast. Millennials want the TikTok-obsessives of Gen Z to know that they were the original digital natives. Both generations are apparently united in their loathing of the Boomers, who are probably complaining about kids these days on Facebook. But what, if anything, actually defines a generation? Here’s a curated guide to the web’s favorite demographic debate.
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From boomers to zoomers, the concept gets social history all wrong.
The video-based platform may not have created generational animosity, but it’s happy to fan the flames.
Many researchers are skeptical about analyses of generational divisions, noting that it is limiting to collapse all distinctions except for birth years. But that hasn’t diminished the appeal of generational markers.
Bobby Duffy joins us to debunk stereotypes around generational trends, and illuminate the real challenges facing different generations.
An online project at Virginia Tech presents the uncensored views soldiers expressed as they served.
Enormous differences separate today’s protest movements from those of the 1960s. But they may ultimately prove united by the magnitude of the change they impose.
Intergenerational anger is nothing new for millennials and Gen Z.
The average caregiver is a 49-year-old woman, and the demands of caregiving seem likely to increase.
When millennials talk about being burned out, they are pointing to the failures of capitalism.
For a generation that has come of age in the clutches of covid and curated feeds, the ’80s represent analog freedom and fun.
Child-development researchers are asking whether the pandemic is shaping brains and behaviour.