What is a generation?
The basic definition of a generation is a group of people who were born in the same time period and share the same chronological location in history. In depth, this means that because this group lives in the same time area, also share the same experiences and key events in history, while they are at the same age. In this way, this group of people experience similar political, social and economic realities, which are influenced by similar popular cultures and thus develop similar worldviews. This is called commonalities. Of course, every individual is unique, and experiences different socioeconomic backgrounds because of their parents's believes, the school or sport you go to, what religion you were taught, etcetera. However, you can draw an overal conclusion because a generation does share the same government and global issues. This concludes that a generation has the same methods for cooperation, communication, reasoning and working with social media.
The worldviews of a certain generation are usually developed in their first 15 years of life, during childhood and early teenage years. These basic values stay relatively stable through the rest of their lives. A generation is usually about 20 years in length, because this is the time that people come of age and start having their own children. When these new parents raise their children, they do this slightly different than their own parents did. In this way, the basis of the differences between two generations is already formed, and the cycle of a new generation starts again.
We tried to investigate wether this statement is true, by asking Indian students about it. We did this by letting the students fill in the questionnaire. In the following paragraphs we will first discuss the generations on a global perspective, and then analyse the results of a local perspective.
The results show that the students (who are born in a different generation than their parents) think different about how their parents treat them. This will influence the way they will communicate and raise their own children. As well, they mostly agree with their friends. This shows that people of the same generation are well able to cooperate and communicate with each other. Being born in a certain generation influences your opinion towards each other and towards yourself.
Generations overview
On this page, you are going to learn more about the different types of generations worldwide. How they thought, what major things they went through, how they behave etcetera. Later, we will go into depth even more, by only focussing on the national perspectives of the Netherlands and India
GI Generation
The first generation we want to discuss is the GI Generation. This generation is born from approximately 1900 to 1920. Death was a big and main thing these days. The life expectancy was around 47 years old, the families were large, however many offspring did not become older than 5 years old and 20% of the women died due to childbirth. The education was poor and there were no or few antibiotics. Their mind was set to war.
The dominant characteristic of the GI generation is their civic mindedness. Because they grew up with the image of The Great War, the parents wanted to raise these children as clever and cooperative. Therefore these children liked predictability and stability, bringing military discipline to home, work, school and even religious places.
The GI generation worked together as a team, obeyed the hierarchal chains of command, stuck to their task without complaint, and thus formed the manpower of the engine that beat not only the second World War, but also the Great Depression. Another major characteristic that was important for this generation, was the clear division between men and women.
Silent and Traditionalist Generation
The generation that followed the GI’s was the Silent and Traditionalist Generation. They were born between the 1920s and 1945. This generation was influenced by the Great Depressin and the Second World War, thus serious times. Children weren’t supposed to make any sound, and had to do their duty. They were hard working, structured and conservative. They worked very hard, because they believed that by little hard work, you wouldn’t make it. Most even continued to work after they retired. They saved every single penny.
Baby Boom Generation
The next generation was the Baby Boom Generation, also known as post-war generation, which lasted from 1946 to the early 1960s. This generation grew up with big ideas and optimistic visions. Politicians fought for freedom, astronauts going into space and a revolutionary state of mind. At a young age, this generation went to an university. Also, this generation became the youngest Presidents and Prime Ministers. They wanted to hold onto power, in politics, corporates and religion, for several decades. These Boomers have created more wealth than any other generation because they are so hard working, driven and goal orientated.
Cusp Generation
Before we move on to the X-generation, there is another generation in between which are called the cusp. In theory, this is an overlap between two generations (in this case, the Baby Boomers and X-generation) where they are influenced by both era’s. Cuspers tend to ‘choose’ only characteristics from one of the two generations, rather than both.
This means that the Boomer-Xer cusp group lives a life with two faces, and therefore is able to fit in both generations. They know when to wear a suit and tie, know how to behave appropriately, they know how to ‘play the game’ by attending office parties so that they are seen, even if they do not enjoy the party. However, when they get home, the suit comes off and the ripped jeans are pulled on. They put in their ear rings and spike up their hair. Under their suit, they wear beaded necklaces, bracelets and tattoos where nobody can see them.
X Generation
The fifth generation that follows is the X-generation, which are also known as the latchkey kids and were born in the late 1960s and 1980s. They are children of divorce, experiencing an era of crisis, the energy crisis and the collapse of communism. Nobody really knew what was going on. This resulted to the adults leaving the children alone, always busy, both parents working. Because the pill was invented, this generation marries slow and take time to have children for their own. Although at the time the generation was labelled as the ‘slacker generation’, the Xers turned out to be quite calm after all. They put family values first. So, instead of working hard, they preferred to spend quality time with friends and family.
Y Generation
The second-last generation is the Generation Y, which lasted from the 1990s until the 2000s and is also known as the Millennia’s. This is the most interesting generation for us, since our investigation is done upon these students. The Y’s grew up after the cold war, and it is a new era of globalisation, communication, technology and wireless connectivity. There is lots of diversity and exposure of other cultures. This generation grows up quick, some would say too quick. These children are very protected, which results to lots of confidence. Sometimes this even evaluates into arrogance. Because they grew up, helping their parents navigate new technology, they believe their parents need a lot of their help.
Eric Chester, in “Employing Generation Why?” writes that Gen Y have, more than any other young generation, an ability to “filter out every command, every request and every instruction that is not bundled with acceptable rationale… they demand reasons and rationale, so the traditional ‘because I said so’ isn’t going to cut it with them.”
The Y generation is very aware of the fragile environment. Obviously, they want to change the world. In almost every country in the world, this generation is growing up in an age when social values are shifting faster than they ever have. This results to the Y’ers making different and new life choices. These choices are exaggerated by the new forms of communication: media. They are also very much aware of how important education is, but are also pressured continuously because of education and expectations. To conclude, they are smarter, safer, more mature and want to change the world.
Generation Z
The last generation is Generation Z, and it lasts from 2000 until …. When this ends, is obviously unknown, since this generation is still growing and developing. It is the newest generation which grew up with lots of technology and a fast changing environment. Just like the Y generation, they ‘grow up’ faster and thus earlier. Until now, this generation is very similar to the Y generation, and there is too less information or distinguishing characteristics to draw a conclusion.
India
Traditionalists (1928 – 1945)
In the 1940s and 1950s, India became an independent nation. The teens grew up with Mahatma Gandhi in the spotlights, fighting for independence. Obviously, India was very proud, and patriotism was all across the country. Although, they were very happy and proud, the living conditions were difficult. There was a poor economy, short life expectations, lots of people were illiterate, there was not much development, economically. It was not going to improve soon, because in 1947 the Indo-Pakistani War started. Because of the patriotic bride of the new established independent nation, this generation was loyal to family and community.
Boomers (1946 – 1960)
India was in these years shifted to a socialist economic model. Indira Gandhi was in charge and developed and improved nationalization of industries, public works, social reforms and public investment in education. Political factions grew and a the Indian national Congress was split into two, the old and new congress. There were multiple wars going on, the Sino- Indian War and Indo-Pakistani War (twice). However, the country itself was growing. There was improved agricultural productivity, but it did not make much difference. It was a sluggish economy, and for the teens, options were limited. Family, group and caste also played an important role. You had to obey which status you were in.
Generation X (1961 – 1979)
Indira Gandhi was accused of corruption, and was removed from her power, and later also killed by her bodyguards. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi took over and turned out to be a better ruler by loosening up the business regulations, lower restrictions on foreign investment or imports and reduced bureaucracy. He also expended the telecommunication industry, software, informatication technology, etc. There were still political conflicts, since the Bofors scattered the image of Rajiv’s honest leadership. Rajiv was killed by a suicide bomber, and Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister and initiated further economic liberalization and reform. Though, this did not work well since over 75% left to live in the United States. So, the X generation grew up with lots of different perspectives and voices. The Caste System weakened, and thus the X’ers were more able to look for education and economical opportunities were rising
Generation Y (1980 – 2000)
The teens of this generation saw the development of a large middle-class and increasing demand for production of consumers. India grew rapidly and many IT businesses (34) are in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking. The Y’s were excited to become part of the country’s broad economic opportunity, so young employees want to live up to the rapid tempo of the rest of the world.
Generation Z (2000 - …)
As said before, we are not able to discuss this generation, since there is too less information on the still developing generation.
The Netherlands
The Dutch generations do not differ from the Global generations. The traditionalists, Boomers, X and Y generations did not experience any characterising events, which the rest of the world experienced, like India did. The Netherlands was in good contact with the rest of the world, and therefore it would not be interesting to explain the different generations, since there is no distinguishing difference.
GI Generation
The first generation we want to discuss is the GI Generation. This generation is born from approximately 1900 to 1920. Death was a big and main thing these days. The life expectancy was around 47 years old, the families were large, however many offspring did not become older than 5 years old and 20% of the women died due to childbirth. The education was poor and there were no or few antibiotics. Their mind was set to war.
The dominant characteristic of the GI generation is their civic mindedness. Because they grew up with the image of The Great War, the parents wanted to raise these children as clever and cooperative. Therefore these children liked predictability and stability, bringing military discipline to home, work, school and even religious places.
The GI generation worked together as a team, obeyed the hierarchal chains of command, stuck to their task without complaint, and thus formed the manpower of the engine that beat not only the second World War, but also the Great Depression. Another major characteristic that was important for this generation, was the clear division between men and women.
Silent and Traditionalist Generation
The generation that followed the GI’s was the Silent and Traditionalist Generation. They were born between the 1920s and 1945. This generation was influenced by the Great Depressin and the Second World War, thus serious times. Children weren’t supposed to make any sound, and had to do their duty. They were hard working, structured and conservative. They worked very hard, because they believed that by little hard work, you wouldn’t make it. Most even continued to work after they retired. They saved every single penny.
Baby Boom Generation
The next generation was the Baby Boom Generation, also known as post-war generation, which lasted from 1946 to the early 1960s. This generation grew up with big ideas and optimistic visions. Politicians fought for freedom, astronauts going into space and a revolutionary state of mind. At a young age, this generation went to an university. Also, this generation became the youngest Presidents and Prime Ministers. They wanted to hold onto power, in politics, corporates and religion, for several decades. These Boomers have created more wealth than any other generation because they are so hard working, driven and goal orientated.
Cusp Generation
Before we move on to the X-generation, there is another generation in between which are called the cusp. In theory, this is an overlap between two generations (in this case, the Baby Boomers and X-generation) where they are influenced by both era’s. Cuspers tend to ‘choose’ only characteristics from one of the two generations, rather than both.
This means that the Boomer-Xer cusp group lives a life with two faces, and therefore is able to fit in both generations. They know when to wear a suit and tie, know how to behave appropriately, they know how to ‘play the game’ by attending office parties so that they are seen, even if they do not enjoy the party. However, when they get home, the suit comes off and the ripped jeans are pulled on. They put in their ear rings and spike up their hair. Under their suit, they wear beaded necklaces, bracelets and tattoos where nobody can see them.
X Generation
The fifth generation that follows is the X-generation, which are also known as the latchkey kids and were born in the late 1960s and 1980s. They are children of divorce, experiencing an era of crisis, the energy crisis and the collapse of communism. Nobody really knew what was going on. This resulted to the adults leaving the children alone, always busy, both parents working. Because the pill was invented, this generation marries slow and take time to have children for their own. Although at the time the generation was labelled as the ‘slacker generation’, the Xers turned out to be quite calm after all. They put family values first. So, instead of working hard, they preferred to spend quality time with friends and family.
Y Generation
The second-last generation is the Generation Y, which lasted from the 1990s until the 2000s and is also known as the Millennia’s. This is the most interesting generation for us, since our investigation is done upon these students. The Y’s grew up after the cold war, and it is a new era of globalisation, communication, technology and wireless connectivity. There is lots of diversity and exposure of other cultures. This generation grows up quick, some would say too quick. These children are very protected, which results to lots of confidence. Sometimes this even evaluates into arrogance. Because they grew up, helping their parents navigate new technology, they believe their parents need a lot of their help.
Eric Chester, in “Employing Generation Why?” writes that Gen Y have, more than any other young generation, an ability to “filter out every command, every request and every instruction that is not bundled with acceptable rationale… they demand reasons and rationale, so the traditional ‘because I said so’ isn’t going to cut it with them.”
The Y generation is very aware of the fragile environment. Obviously, they want to change the world. In almost every country in the world, this generation is growing up in an age when social values are shifting faster than they ever have. This results to the Y’ers making different and new life choices. These choices are exaggerated by the new forms of communication: media. They are also very much aware of how important education is, but are also pressured continuously because of education and expectations. To conclude, they are smarter, safer, more mature and want to change the world.
Generation Z
The last generation is Generation Z, and it lasts from 2000 until …. When this ends, is obviously unknown, since this generation is still growing and developing. It is the newest generation which grew up with lots of technology and a fast changing environment. Just like the Y generation, they ‘grow up’ faster and thus earlier. Until now, this generation is very similar to the Y generation, and there is too less information or distinguishing characteristics to draw a conclusion.
India
Traditionalists (1928 – 1945)
In the 1940s and 1950s, India became an independent nation. The teens grew up with Mahatma Gandhi in the spotlights, fighting for independence. Obviously, India was very proud, and patriotism was all across the country. Although, they were very happy and proud, the living conditions were difficult. There was a poor economy, short life expectations, lots of people were illiterate, there was not much development, economically. It was not going to improve soon, because in 1947 the Indo-Pakistani War started. Because of the patriotic bride of the new established independent nation, this generation was loyal to family and community.
Boomers (1946 – 1960)
India was in these years shifted to a socialist economic model. Indira Gandhi was in charge and developed and improved nationalization of industries, public works, social reforms and public investment in education. Political factions grew and a the Indian national Congress was split into two, the old and new congress. There were multiple wars going on, the Sino- Indian War and Indo-Pakistani War (twice). However, the country itself was growing. There was improved agricultural productivity, but it did not make much difference. It was a sluggish economy, and for the teens, options were limited. Family, group and caste also played an important role. You had to obey which status you were in.
Generation X (1961 – 1979)
Indira Gandhi was accused of corruption, and was removed from her power, and later also killed by her bodyguards. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi took over and turned out to be a better ruler by loosening up the business regulations, lower restrictions on foreign investment or imports and reduced bureaucracy. He also expended the telecommunication industry, software, informatication technology, etc. There were still political conflicts, since the Bofors scattered the image of Rajiv’s honest leadership. Rajiv was killed by a suicide bomber, and Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister and initiated further economic liberalization and reform. Though, this did not work well since over 75% left to live in the United States. So, the X generation grew up with lots of different perspectives and voices. The Caste System weakened, and thus the X’ers were more able to look for education and economical opportunities were rising
Generation Y (1980 – 2000)
The teens of this generation saw the development of a large middle-class and increasing demand for production of consumers. India grew rapidly and many IT businesses (34) are in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking. The Y’s were excited to become part of the country’s broad economic opportunity, so young employees want to live up to the rapid tempo of the rest of the world.
Generation Z (2000 - …)
As said before, we are not able to discuss this generation, since there is too less information on the still developing generation.
The Netherlands
The Dutch generations do not differ from the Global generations. The traditionalists, Boomers, X and Y generations did not experience any characterising events, which the rest of the world experienced, like India did. The Netherlands was in good contact with the rest of the world, and therefore it would not be interesting to explain the different generations, since there is no distinguishing difference.