No One Is Actually Talking About "Generations"

It’s Essentially Slang. Chill.

“The boomers bought their first house for like $40k.”

“Gen X doesn’t care about anything.”

“All millennials want is free college.”

“Why are gen Z kids always glued to their phones?”

In Louis Menand’s article for The New Yorker, “It’s Time to Stop Talking About ‘Generations,’” we get a picture of the general public and academics alike sincerely discussing generational age cohorts—their differences in culture, style, and attitude. Mostly a criticism of the book Gen Z, Explained, by Roberta Katz, Sarah Ogilvie, Jane Shaw, and Linda Woodhead—which I haven’t read, to be fair—Menand disagrees with the premise that people can actually be judged based on their generational cohort. 

To do this, he cites various examples of how people are more different from one another within cohorts than between them. Granted. The argument is well taken. However, there’s a problem. In my experience, no one in the general population actually talks about generations this way.

When I joke (or not) with friends about “boomers destroying the world,” we aren’t literally saying, “people born between the years 1946 and 1964 are acting nefariously to ruin the planet.” No. What we’re describing is a loose category that describes a particular attitude or way of doing things. “Ok, this is going to sound boomer-y, but…” or, “I sound like such a millennial right now, but…” are simply shortcuts people (especially young people) use to get a point across. It’s slang. It’s colloquial language.

I suppose what I’m saying is that people like Menand are falling into a pernicious backlash trap to books like Gen Z, Explained; generational grievances like Bret Easton Ellis’ White (plus his constant moaning about “Generation Wuss” and his millennial boyfriend); or prophetic histories like William Strauss’ The Fourth Turning. 

In other words, don’t be a reactionary. Culture evolves, it always has, and assigning generational labels is just a way for us to talk about that evolution. Academics and talking heads often cite these dates, but few of us take them seriously anyway. Others may have strong reactions. Chill. If someone says, “quit acting like a zoomer,” it’s easy enough to tell what they mean.

Does anyone sincerely think millennials would actually kill for some avocado toast? Well, I suppose boomers might…