Hi there, how are you doing? Hopefully, you’re doing well. Tell me, how old are you? No, wait – don’t say anything. I think I could guess your age. If you only take the quiz I prepared for you, the answers will be revealed. Do you think I can correctly guess how old you are? I think there’s only one way to find out.
Before we get started, did you know there were different ways to categorize different generations? It can differ from one part of the world to another. Many variations exist in the Western world, including Western Europe, the Americas, and Australasia.
The Lost Generation, also known as the “Generation of 1914” in Europe, is the generation of people who reached adulthood during or immediately following World War I. The term is believed to be coined by the American novelist Gertrude Stein. “Lost” in that context refers to the “directionless, wandering, disoriented” feelings haunting the generation that survived the horrible ordeal of the war. In a deeper sense, the lost generation was “lost” because the conservative moral and social values of their parents were no longer relevant in the post-war world. More generally, the Lost Generation is considered to be made up of individuals born between 1883 and 1900.
The Greatest Generation (also G.I. Generation or World War II Generation) follows The Lost Generation and is generally defined as people born from 1901 to 1927. The individuals from this generation were shaped by the Great Depression and fought in World War II. Journalist Tom Brokaw wrote about American members of this group in his book The Greatest Generation, which popularized the term. The Greatest Generation members tend to be the parents of the Baby Boomer generation. The youngest members of the Greatest Generation, if using 1925 as the last year they were born, would be in their 100s as of the year 2020.
The Silent Generation, known also as The Lucky Few, came of age in the pre–World War II era. The Silent Generation is generally defined as people born from 1928 to 1945. The term “Silent Generation” was first documented in a 1951 Time magazine article, which claimed that the most surprising fact about this generation was its silence: “By comparison with the Flaming Youth of their fathers and mothers, today’s younger generation is a still, small flame.” One of the suggested reasons for that name is that as young adults during the McCarthy Era, many members of the Silent Generation felt it was better to keep their heads down and don’t speak up. The term “Silent Generation” is also used to describe a similar age group in the UK, but has been at times described as an allusion to the fact that the children of this generation were taught to be seen and not heard.
Baby boomers or simply boomers are the people born following World War II from 1946 to 1964. During the post-war baby boom, increased birth rates were observed, making this generation rather large. In the United States, many older boomers may have fought in the Vietnam War or participated in the counterculture of the 1960s, while younger boomers came of age in the 1970s. The term is used also outside of the United States, but boomers in other countries can be described differently. For example in China, boomers lived through the Cultural Revolution and were subject to the one-child policy as adults.
Generation X or Gen X is the generation following the baby boomers. The generation is in general defined as people born between 1965 and 1980. The term has also been used in different times and places for several different subcultures or countercultures since the 1950s. In the United States, Gen X is sometimes called the “baby bust” generation because of a drop in birth rates following the baby boom. It has on occasion been called the “middle child” generation, as it follows the well-known baby boomer generation and precedes the millennial generation. Gen Xers were the first generation to grow up with personal computers to some extent, becoming tech-savvy as a result. They also experienced uncertain economic times as children and young adults in the 1980s and ’90s.
Millennials are also known as Generation Y; this name refers to people born in the early 80s up to mid-90s. Across the globe, young people have postponed marriage. Millennials were born at a time of declining fertility rates around the world, and are having fewer children than the generations before. Millennials have been described as the first global generation and the first generation that grew up in the Internet age. The generation is characterized by high usage of and familiarity with the Internet, mobile devices, and social media, which is why they are sometimes called digital natives.
Generation Z, known as Zoomers, refers generally to individuals born in the mid-to-late 90s and up to early 2010s. Pew Research Center describes Generation Z as spanning from 1997 to 2012, while Statistics Canada describes Generation Z as spanning from 1993 to 2011. Zoomers were raised on the internet and social media, being around new technology from a young age. Generation Z is the youngest, most ethnically diverse, and largest generation in American history, comprising 27% of the US population. The oldest members of Gen Z are starting their post-education years, with new careers and, possibly, families; the youngest are 10.
Generation Alpha is the one following Zoomers. Researchers and popular media typically use the early 2010s as starting birth years and the mid-2020s as ending birth years. By the end of the 2020s, Gen Alpha will be moving into adulthood and the workforce. Generation Alpha is the first to be born entirely in the 21st century. As of 2015, there were some two-and-a-half million people born every week around the globe, and Gen Alpha is expected to reach two billion in size by 2025. While they are the youngest generation, they have brand influence and purchasing power beyond their years.
Now that you know which generation you belong to – can we guess your age? Take the quiz and try to test us! Do you think we will guess correctly? We’re curious to know. Have fun!
