Time to Wake Up.

According to a recent Business Insider article, Baby Boomers aren’t the early-risers they once were. A poll from MSN found that this group tends to wake up later than the working population, with nearly 30% waking up after 7am. Compare this to the 85% of adults under the age of 65 waking up earlier than 7am!

Differences in Breakfast Habits.

 But how do the generations differ in their morning routines once they’ve woken up? The poll found that Baby Boomers are much more likely to exercise and eat breakfast in the morning compared to the other generations. Over 40% of those surveyed in the 65 and older range said they eat breakfast, compared to only about 20% for Gen Z and Millennials.

When it comes to exercise, nearly a third of Baby Boomers do some sort of workout in the morning, compared to only 18% of Gen Z and Millennials.

Where the generations exercise matters, too. Gen X is increasingly joining health clubs, and what they look for in a club differs widely from other generations.

How Generations Consume News.

All generations like to read the news in the morning, but they differ widely on where they find their news. Millennials and Gen Z are far more likely to look for the news online (50%), and Baby Boomers are the most likely (over 40%) to get their news on television.

While Baby Boomers are by far the most likely group to read a physical newspaper, only 13% of them do so, with the numbers decreasing sharply by generation. Just 1% of those in their 20’s read the morning paper! With about one-quarter of Baby Boomers reading their news online, it’s clear that digital news is the most prevalent way Americans read the news in the morning.

Want to Solve Your Generational Challenges?

We lead national and international Gen Z, Millennial, and generational studies for our clients every day. We also keynote events around the world, helping businesses better understand their customers and workforce.

Let us know how we can help you. Send us an email or give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide a little information for you to review.

Keep the conversation going. Follow The Center on Instagram @TheGenHQ or on Twitter @GenHQ. We are passionate about sharing our latest generational discoveries!

The post The Generational Divide on Morning Routines appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age in worse financial shape than the prior generation for the first time since the post-Great Depression era.

What’s keeping them from retiring?

There are many reasons that Baby Boomers are staying in the workforce instead of retiring, including:

• Large amounts of debt
• Continuing to support their adult children
• Caring for their aging parents and relatives
• Stagnating income, Social Security, and retirement-fund returns

In fact, the Wall Street Journal found that more than 40% of Baby Boomer households (about 15 million American households) lack sufficient resources to maintain their current standard of living in retirement.

How Baby Boomers compare to the other generations.

While it may seem that Millennials are the only generation with massive debt in the form of student loans and credit cards,  New York Federal Reserve data shows that Americans aged 60 to 69 had:

• $2 trillion in debt in 2017— an 11% increase from 2004..
• $168 billion in outstanding car loans in 2017—25% more than  2004
• 6 times as much student-loan debt in 2017 than they did in 2004.

Unlike Millennials, who can respond to financial instability by pushing back major life events, like buying homes and having children, Baby Boomers don’t have as many options. This is especially true when it comes to health care.

What will the future hold for Baby Boomers?

As Baby Boomers age, they will inevitably require more health care—and the costs are rising exponentially. Nearly half of workers surveyed last June by the Employee Benefit Research Institute said their health care costs increased over the prior year, causing more than a quarter to cut back on retirement savings, and nearly half to reduce other savings.

Will Gen X and Millennials find themselves in the same boat when it’s their turn to start planning for retirement? Perhaps seeing Baby Boomers going through this hardship will inspire them to revitalize their retirement plans now, before it’s too late.

Solve Your Generational Challenges with Custom Generational Research

We lead national and international Millennial, Gen Z and generational studies for our clients every day. Check out CGK’s original research study with Insured Retirement Institute on Millennials and Retirement here. We also keynote events around the world, helping businesses better understand their customers and workforce.

Let us know how we can help you. Send us an email or give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide a little information for you to review.

Keep the conversation going, follow The Center on Instagram @TheGenHQ or on Twitter @GenHQ. We are passionate about sharing our latest generational discoveries!

The post Baby Boomers are Unprepared for Retirement appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

Why are parents helping Millennials with their taxes?

A recent Wall Street Journal article interviewed several parent-and-Millennial pairs about the matter, and most of the Millennial respondents were upfront about their knowledge gap when it came to taxes, and even more blatant with their lack of desire to learn.

One interviewee, Meredith Hirt, 26, said that her father does her taxes and that she felt no motivation to change that. It’s partially because her father, Joe Hirt, 63, encourages it.

“I’m doing something for my fully able daughters, and, as a parent, I just get a kick out of it,” he said. “They still need me for something.”

What don’t Millennials know about taxes?

According to a study in the New York Post, 66% of Millennials surveyed didn’t know that taxes were due on April 17^th this year.

A majority of Millennials were also unaware that certain life events can significantly affect your tax return, including getting married, having a child, and buying or selling a home, despite 72% of them having experienced at least one of these events in the past year.

It will certainly be interesting to see what will happen when Millennials can no longer rely on their parents for help with their taxes.

Solve Your Generational Challenges with Custom Research and Keynote Speaking 

We lead national and international generational studies for our clients every day. We also keynote events around the world to help businesses better understand their Millennial and Gen Z customers and workforce.

Let us know how we can help you. Send us an email or give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide a little information for you to review.

Keep the conversation going, follow Jason and The Center on Instagram @Jason_Dorsey and @TheGenHQ or on Twitter @JasonDorsey and @GenHQ. We are passionate about sharing our latest generational discoveries!

The post Millennials and Taxes: The Knowledge Gap appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

Which Bills Are Millennials’ Parents Covering?

According to a new survey by Instamotor.com, even with full-time jobs, 24% of Millennials still relied on their parents to pay some of their bills.

The survey found that 80% of the respondents who were receiving help were no longer living in their parents’ house.

Which bills are parents helping Millennials cover?

• 53% cell phone
• 31% car insurance
• 30% utilities
• 30% general car payments

How Much Are Parents Sending Per Year?

A recent New York Times article citing data from the P.S.I.D. Transition to Adulthood Supplement survey found that about 40% of 22-24 year olds receive some financial assistance from their parents for living expenses, averaging about $3,000 a year. These numbers tend to vary slightly depending on career path and geography.

The also survey found that 53% of young people who aspire to have a career in art and design receive rent money from their parents, with an average of $3,600 a year.  On the other hand, Millennials who work in farming, construction, retail and personal services receive the least amount of financial support.

In terms of geography, young people living in large urban areas are 30% more likely to receive rent money than those living in smaller cities.

The Hidden Driver Behind Millennials’ Need for Financial Support

Though these numbers are staggering, they don’t seem quite so surprising when you consider that the average college student now graduates with nearly $40,000 in debt. This debt is not equal across demographics, either.

According to a recent survey by LendEDU, men tend to have more debt than women, and white and Asian college graduates tend to have more debt than their black and Hispanic/Latino peers.

What Effect Will This Have on Baby Boomers?

In our keynote speeches and research, we emphasize that parenting styles are one of the main influences on generational behaviors. And as Millennials gain more independence from their parents, how will this trend shift over time?

And finally, what does this mean for Baby Boomers who want to retire in the coming years? Will they have enough money to leave the workforce?

Only time will tell! But we will stay on top of the trends and make sure to share our findings with you!

Solve Your Generational Challenges with Custom Research and Keynote Speaking

We lead national and international generational studies for our clients every day. We also keynote events around the world, helping businesses better understand their customers and workforce.

Let us know how we can help you. Send us an email or give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide a little information for you to review.

Keep the conversation going, follow Jason and The Center on Instagram @Jason_Dorsey and @TheGenHQ. We are passionate about sharing our latest generational discoveries!

The post How Much Financial Help Do Millennials Receive? appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

Baby Boomers aren’t retiring into simple lives of leisure as expected. Whether it’s due to financial instability, unexpected medical expenses, restlessness, or the desire to leave behind a legacy, many Baby Boomers are finding work after retiring from their main careers.

But Baby Boomers aren’t just finding any old retail job – they are becoming “retire-preneurs,” people using their would-be retirement as a chance to be their own boss.

According to a recent Forbes article, today, three quarters of entrepreneurs are Gen X or older, with 70% of soon-to-be retirees saying they want to keep working. Boomers are now more likely to start businesses than their Millennial counterparts.

Why go through all the work to start your own company so late in life?

1. Many Baby Boomers have the drive to keep going and build something of their own, and they finally feel stable enough financially to do so.
2. Starting your own business allows for a flexible schedule, instead of having to report to a 9-5 job, usually with a younger boss at the helm.
3. They’re able to contribute to the economy with their years of knowledge in a particular field and are able to influence the next generation. According to Forbes, these second careers are an opportunity for Baby Boomers to advise and coach business leaders of tomorrow.

It’s too soon to tell now, but it will certainly be interesting to see if Gen X keeps up the retire-preneur trend when they enter their retirement years.

Do have a generational challenge with sales, marketing, strategy, or employment that you want solved? Contact us. Our talent is driving measurable results across generations. Email us here if you’d like a little info on our customized generational speaking, research, and consulting.

Interested in more cool stats, facts, and insights for bridging generations? Follow us on @GenHQ and @JasonDorsey. We are passionate about sharing our latest generational discoveries.

The post The Rise of the Entrepreneurial Baby Boomer appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

Just how many Boomers are still working?

As reported in a recent article on Bloomberg, almost 19% of people 65 or older were working at least part-time in the second quarter of 2017. The age group’s employment-to-population ratio hasn’t been higher in 55 years, before better healthcare and Social Security benefits starting in the late 1960s.

In fact, 32% of Americans 65 to 69 surveyed were still working. Even past age 70, a growing number of seniors are declining to, or unable to, retire. According to the study, 19% of 70- to 74-year-olds were working, up from 11% in 1994.

Why are Baby Boomers staying in the workforce?

Baby Boomers are staying in the workforce for two key reasons:

• They are healthier and living longer than previous generations.
• They need the money. Healthcare and general costs of living have skyrocketed, while wages have mostly remained stagnant. Continuing to work is the only way for many to get by.

Even after they’ve officially “retired,” many Boomers still plan to work a little bit. According to a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, or EBRI, 79 % of U.S. workers expect to supplement their retirement income by working for pay. This can be part-time work, self-employment, or even consulting.

However, there’s a portion of the Boomer population that is having trouble finding work in their later years. For those who were forced to retire sooner than they’d planned (a full 61% of all retirees) due to health problems, finding quality work can be difficult. And though age discrimination is illegal, many employers still favor younger applicants.

Unprepared for retirement

Much research has been done here at the Center to show just how unprepared Millennials may be for retirement, but many Boomers are right there with them. According to a GoBankingRates study, 39% of the surveyed respondents age 55-64 claimed to have no retirement savings at all. An additional 14% reported less than $50,000 saved for retirement, showing that 64% of the older Americans in this survey lacked sufficient retirement funds.

Do have a generational challenge with sales, marketing, strategy, or employment that you want solved? Contact us. Our talent is driving measurable results across generations. Email us here if you’d like a little info on our customized generational speaking, research, and consulting.

Interested in more cool stats, facts, and insights for bridging generations? Follow us on @GenHQ and @JasonDorsey. We are passionate about sharing our latest generational discoveries.

The post Baby Boomers are Changing the Face of Retirement appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

Between 2009 and 2015, the number of renters aged 55 or above rose 28 percent, while those aged 34 or younger only increased 3 percent, according to Census data recently compiled by RentCafe.

Also partially due to foreclosures during the great recession, homeownership among Boomers slipped 5 percentage points between 2005 and 2013, according to Jennifer Molinsky, researcher for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

As such, more than 5 million Baby Boomers across the nation are expected to rent their next home by 2020, and account for more than half of the nation’s renter growth over the past decade. Some Boomers want to stay close to the neighborhoods they have lived in for decades, while others are following their Millennial children to cities.

Baby Boomers are at a point in their lives where less is more. Their children have moved out and they’re finding that they don’t need as much space as they once did. Whether it’s in an urban center or the suburbs, Baby Boomers are finding apartment living to be very attractive in their near-retirement and retirement years.

Luxury, all-inclusive apartment buildings that offer swimming pools, gyms, on-site maintenance, and other such amenities are drawing Baby Boomers who no longer wish to mow a lawn or keep up with the challenges of homeownership. While these upscale rental communities might make some Millennials clutch their wallets, Baby Boomers are finding that rental rates are still much lower than their mortgages and insurance.

It will be interesting to observe the type of housing Gen Z, the generation after Millennials, prefers once they graduate college and begin entering the workforce en masse. Research shows that they are a more practical, financially conscious generation than Millennials. Does this mean they will move right to homeownership, or will they embrace renting like their predecessors? Only time will tell.

Do have a generational question or challenge that you want solved? Contact us. Our talent is crossing the generational divide to drive measurable sales and employee results. Email us here if you’d like a little info on our customized generational speaking, research, and consulting. We are passionate about turning Gen Z and Millennial challenges into breakthrough opportunities.

Interested in more cool stats, facts, and insights for bridging generations? Follow us on @GenHQ and @JasonDorsey. We are passionate about sharing our latest generational discoveries.

The post Baby Boomers Compete With Millennials for Apartment Living appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

“Insights into younger generations’ preferences are as good as a crystal ball, and currently their trends are pointing toward a great future for the travel space,” said Sarah Gavin, Vice President of Expedia, Inc. Global Communications. “Knowing what travelers of all ages prioritize is important, but the younger generations’ growing love for travel is what keeps us going as we prioritize customer centricity, offering the best deals and the convenience of booking everything at once, all in one place.”

Experiences Over Possessions
Social media is influencing consumer purchasing decisions, with 36% of Gen-Z saying they’ve chosen a travel destination because they saw it on social media. However, priorities are shifting from posting a new handbag to live streaming a ziplining experience.

• 74% of all U.S. respondents said they would prioritize spending spare change on experiences rather than products, especially Millennials, with 65% disclosing that they are currently saving money to spend specifically on travel.
• Nearly 20% of Gen-Z respondents said they have stayed at a specific hotel or destination in order to score a positive response from followers on posts on their own social media channels.
• Nearly half of Millennials said they would sell their clothes or furniture to travel more.

Overwhelmingly, travelers prefer to book through online travel agencies
With technology impacting the everyday lives of American consumers, the way Americans prefer to book travel is shifting towards convenience versus brand loyalty. According to Phocuswright, only 45% of U.S. travelers belong to hotel loyalty programs, and the figure falls precipitously among Millennials.

• Overwhelmingly (80%), each generation studied declared that they preferred booking all travel and hotel accommodations on one site, versus booking each travel item separately.
• 87% of Gen-Z respondents said they find booking all travel components in one place helpful and most (55%) would consider booking entirely through an OTA, with no comparison shopping when asked, “Would you book an entire trip through an online travel agency without visiting any other sites?”

Younger Generations are postponing breakups for the beach
The youngest generations surveyed, Gen-Z and Millennials (age 22-35) focus their purchasing decisions on travel, with 65% currently saving for a trip this year. Younger generations tend to prioritize impressing their peers, along with seeking out adventure and disconnecting for relaxation.

• Travel-obsessed Millennials are also extremely independent, with one in every four millennials having traveled alone on a leisure trip in the past year.
• 71% of Gen-Z respondents said they would get a part-time job just to save up for a leisure trip.
• 11% have actually postponed a breakup due to a previously planned trip with their partner.

The shift in consumer purchasing intent from products to experiences signals a promising road ahead for the travel industry. Furthermore, younger travelers trust online travel agencies to have a breadth of choice, technological simplicity and savings that help satisfy their increasing appetite for travel. This proves that the American thirst for travel and adventure isn’t subsiding anytime soon, especially if the younger generations have anything to say about it.

Do have a generational question or challenge that you want solved? Contact us. Our talent is crossing the generational divide to drive measurable sales and employee results. Email us here for a little info on our customized generational speaking, research, and consulting. We are passionate about turning Gen Z and Millennial challenges into breakthrough opportunities.

Interested in more cool stats, facts, and insights for bridging generations? Follow us on @GenHQ and @JasonDorsey! We love sharing our latest generational discoveries.

The post Experiences win over Possessions. New Year, New Travel Priorities. appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

According to NerdWallet’s second Consumer Holiday Shopping Report, Baby Boomers plan to spend the most in the 2017 holiday season, predicting they will spend over $800 on average. This is nearly double than what Millennials are planning to spend, which hovers just under $450.

Whether shopping in the stores or online, Baby Boomers were the most likely generation to accumulate debt (63%) during the 2016 holiday season, compared with 58% of Gen Xers and 40% of Millennials. However, Millennials and Gen Xers are more likely than Baby Boomers to still have it! Nearly a quarter of Millennials still had yet to pay off their debt from the 2016 holiday season in November 2017, compared with just 8% of Boomers.

While Baby Boomers may be the generation to consistently spend a lot, Millennials’ spending power is growing. The study found that Millennials are far more likely (34%) to say they will spend more this year than last year compared with Gen Xers (15%) or Baby Boomers (13%). This is key for marketers to note: Millennials may be spending less now due to restraints like student debt, but they haven’t lost the desire to shop.

The key might just be to attract Millennials earlier in the holiday shopping season, as they are the most likely generation to get a head start. The study found that more than a quarter of Millennials say that they plan to shop for the holidays before Thanksgiving, compared with 20% of Gen Xers and 18% of Baby Boomers.

Millennials may also be shopping ‘smarter’ than Boomers or Gen Xers. The study found that Millennials might give themselves a shorter shopping window this year than last. In 2016, 61% of those who planned to shop on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday planned to spend five hours or less actively shopping, compared with 67% in 2017. This could be due to the prevalence of online shopping and the growing availability of rapid-fire delivery options like Amazon Prime.

The real game-changer is going to be when Gen Z truly enters the holiday shopping market. We already know that Gen Z is a financially responsible generation, with 77% of them already working and earning money in some capacity and 12% already saving for retirement. But how will this translate into holiday shopping in the future? It will be crucial for marketers to pay attention to their spending habits and see whether they flex their full spending power like Baby Boomers do, or if they have a slower, more cautious build like Gen X and Millennials.

The Center for Generational Kinetics is proud to lead research and separate myth from the truth with real data when it comes to Millennials, Generation Z, and every generation.

Sign up for The Center’s newsletter to get all the latest research and unexpected findings on Millennials, Gen Z, and hidden generational trends.

The post BABY BOOMERS BREAK THE BANK WITH HOLIDAY SHOPPING appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

Tom Naratil, President of UBS Americas, and Jürg Zeltner, President of UBS Wealth Management say we are on the brink of one of the “largest intergenerational wealth transfers in history.”

Overlooked in this eye-popping conversation about trillions of dollars is that this transfer of wealth—whether actually trillions of dollars or hundreds of billions of dollars—will add tremendous fuel to Millennials ever-growing impact on the banking sector.

With a significant amount of money passing into Millennial hands, banks must be poised to accept and unlock the potential of serving this new clientele. Tailoring banking practices towards a Millennial focus will become essential in order for banks, as well as credit unions and fintech, to survive and thrive as potentially trillions of dollars shift to Millennials. Below are the three interesting factors a bank should consider—and all consumers should know about—as banks look to adapt to the new and emerging generational preferences of Millennials:

1. Convenience is Everything

The Millennial generation is the generation of on-demand everything. No matter what they need, there’s an app for that. The development of technology and the smartphone has created a generation that expects to be able to get whatever they need, when they need it. Whether it’s hailing a ride, reading the news, or video chatting with a friend half-way across the world, the Millennial generation wants to be able to do it now and in the click of a button (or tap on a smartphone screen!). To attract and retain Millennial customers bank leaders must develop a strong online presence and a mobile app or mobile-first experience to give Millennials the convenience they demand.

2. Multi-Channel Delivery

Yes, Millennials want to be able to access everything through their phones. However, that doesn’t mean traditional banks should close shop. In fact, UBS found that Millennials are nearly two times more likely to visit a branch in person, and are three times as likely to converse with a broker in person. Banks must still emphasize building relationships with their customers in person, but make it easy for customers to chose how they want to have that relationship for different types of interactions.    

3. Transparency is Expected

Growing up in an online-first economy dramatically raised Millennial expectations about corporate and banking transparency of information, fees, corporate responsibility, and inclusion. Millennials attitudes towards data sharing and transparency come with the increased expectation that the transparency not only reveals the truth about the organization but also that they will receive more customized, tailored, and better services because they are personally providing more information.

As we look toward a future where Millennials will seemingly benefit from an almost unprecedented transfer of wealth, banks, credit unions, fintech and other financial institutions will be challenged yet required focus their efforts and adapt services to meet the preferences and priorities of the Millennial generation as they will become the core generation for stability, growth, referrals, and influencing the next generation of banking customers. .

The Center for Generational Kinetics solves tough generational challenges for clients. We adapt their marketing, increase sales, fast track innovation, and unlock the potential of every generation, including Millennials in banking.

Contact us to see how we can help you through custom consulting, research, and acclaimed keynote presentations.

Want to know about the generation after Millennials? Click here to check out our new national Gen Z Study and follow us on Twitter at @JasonDorsey or @WhatTheGen for our latest research and discoveries

The post Will Millennials Inherit Trillions? appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

Jason Dorsey, a Millennial and Gen Z expert whose TEDx talk on Gen Z has over 200,000 views, describes the situation candidly. He explains, “it’s more important [for Millennials] to have proximity to the lifestyle they want—their living room is actually the park outside the condo,” rather than buying the massive homes Baby Boomers are putting on the market as they downsize.

We’ve identified three features Millennials are looking for—and they are often missing from the “McMansions” Baby Boomers are trying to sell:

• Smaller spaces with open floor plans: Both Boomers and Millennials are looking for condos and other smaller dwellings—but for different reasons. Smaller housing appeals to Baby Boomers because they believe they can age at home with more ease. Millennials, on the other hand, are drawn to smaller homes because they are unwilling to pay for the cost and maintenance of larger homes.
• Locations with an urban flavor: By leaving the traditional houses and big yards behind, Millennials prefer their homes be located in a walkable area with an “urban flavor.” In non-urban areas, Millennials seek out smaller homes with walking access to coffee shops, restaurants, and stores. In addition, they want to be surrounded by the urban amenities to which they have grown accustomed—bike lanes, social events, restaurants, and shops.
• High-end amenities inside the home: Besides a smaller home and instant access to the conveniences of city life, Millennials look for interiors with high-end features. They seek current trends in luxury bathrooms, high-quality finishes, and the latest in home technology and appliances.

So who is going to buy these large Baby Boomer houses? Maybe Gen X will step up and fill in the gap! And if not, this could be a great time for Millennials to buy their parents’ house at a discount and then let their parents pay them rent.

From custom research to acclaimed Millennials keynote speeches, we help you solve your toughest generational challenges with new solutions and specific actions.

Contact us to see how we can help you solve your generational challenges and unlock the potential of every generation.

Remember to check out our new #GenZStudy and follow us on Twitter at @JasonDorsey or @WhatTheGen for our latest research and discoveries

The post Millennials Don’t Want to Buy Baby Boomer’s Homes appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.

The Builders (aka Traditionalists): Although this group (born 1945 or earlier) has largely left the workforce, its experiences influenced how the next generation would (or would not) grow up. In fact, the Builders witnessed the emergence of technologies that future generations would take for granted — from automobiles and aircraft to indoor plumbing. Growing up during the Great Depression and World War II, many members of the so-called Silent Generation witnessed economic death, came of age in stark surroundings, and struggled quietly through hardship. As adults, they chose conservatism, conformity, and traditional family values over speaking out.

The Baby Boomers: Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) came of age during the relative prosperity of the post-war years. During the 1960s, young Baby Boomers saw the rise of leaders from the previous generational group such as JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King – seeing their assassinations, or the aftermath of those tragedies, on live TV. Moved by these and other events, adult Baby Boomers challenged and rejected the very institutions and values that provided security for them while growing up.

Generation X: As its name reflects, Generation X (born 1965 to 1976) members lacked a sense of connection with the world around them as they came of age. They grew up in the midst of national emergencies, global transitions, and epic endings: They witnessed the Watergate scandal, the Iranian hostage crisis, the energy crisis, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Operation Desert Storm. And although they were the first generation to become comfortable with personal computers, they were also the first to experience the disruption of divorce. As a result, Generation X members developed a strong skepticism for existing institutions and became independent, self-reliant, and wary of Baby Boomer values.

Millennials (aka Gen Y): As reflected in their name, Millennials (born 1977 to 1995) were children and young adults that entered consciously into the 21st century. Although Millennials also saw the rise of social media and online technologies, their most significant event is 9/11. As Jason Dorsey explains in his TEDx Talk: “You cannot be born after 1995 and process the significance of September 11th, 2001 in the way those born before 1995 do.” In fact, the ability to remember the events of September 11th is what defines Millennials, who came of age at the commencement of the subsequent “war on terror.”

Generation Z: Today’s teenagers and young adults (born 1996 to present) came of age during a time of cultural and political change that is unique to their generation. In fact, they don’t recall a moment when the US war on terror did not exist; when same-sex marriages were not legal; or when the national economy was not struggling. And they will not recall a time before there was a black US president. Simply stated, homeland security issues, diversity, and financial struggles are firmly woven into the tapestry of the Gen Zer’s experience. As a result, members of Generation Z need to be connected instantly and constantly, to experience stability, and to make an impact on the world.

For FAQs about generations, click here. Still unsure which generation you really are? Take our Generational Power Index and find out your true generation now.

The post Moments That Shape a Generation appeared first on The Center For Generational Kinetics.