how a generation can be a source of giving us a glimpse of who we are
Each of us has a form of identity that differs from that of another in one or more ways. We also share some of the means of giving ourselves personalities socially. One can belong to more than one social group depending on the aspect of their identity. One of the ways of identifying oneself that has been used for centuries is through a generation. A person can be a member of one generation only. This paper attempts to explain how a generation can be a source of giving us a glimpse of who we are. The features and differences of various generations are highlighted and how they define the identity of each generation.
The identified generations are categorized according to the years of birth of members of these generations. These are silent generation born 1945 or earlier, baby boomers born 1946-1964, generation X born 1965-1976, Millennials born 1977-1995 and generation Z born in and after 1996 (Smola & Sutton, 2017). Although members of a generation can share the same period of birth, it does not happen at the stage of life that each of them reaches once they are adults. It is possible to find different members of the millennial generation having built families while others are struggling with building careers and adapting to adult life. These two members of the same generation have different views and thoughts about life despite sharing a generation. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
A generation category can teach us who we are. The interests and lifestyles of one generation differ from those of another. For example, the baby boomers generation is the biggest consumer of media, mainly traditional. It is a generation that is adopting new technology to keep in touch with their families. Looking at their financial habits, the members of this generation are found in banking halls since they prefer performing their transactions at the bank branches (Celik & Esra, 2016). It is quite easy to identify a baby boomer because they are the ones with the most wealth and are trying to create a good future for their children through education while trying to create a financially secure retirement.
Generation X is made of those people characterized mainly by their being tech-savvy. This generation prefers performing their research online and only do physical transactions as a sign of loyalty. This is the generation taking care of their parents, the old members of the baby boomers generation. Their resources are much strained and try to reduce future debts by saving. Generation Y, also called the millennials, is a generation that is busy building its adulthood and family. Members of this generation have substantial student debts; they prefer digital media more than previous generations and express loyalty to products that have built their names such as Google and Apple. They believe in brands and prefer using mobile devices to make purchases. A small percentage still uses computers.
The last generation, generation Z, is made up of the youngest members of society. It is the generation that is hungry for life skills, having observed the struggle of the previous generations, especially financially. They are learning how to avoid incurring debts in the future. It is a generation glued to mobile devices, having grown using their parents’ phones to play games. Their banking habits are shaped by online banking transacted through mobile devices and debit cards. A large percentage have not been to a banking hall.
From the description of the generations made above, it can be observed that the habits and features of a generation can teach us some lessons on our identity. Generational categories can be used to identify an individual and possibly predict their behavior in a given environment. For example, a millennial and a member of generation Z are less likely to be found in a banking hall. They are most likely to be found glued on their mobile devices, either doing online shopping, chatting, or playing games (San, Omar, & Thurasamy, 2015). They are the first people to get news updates ahead of the baby boomers who wait until it is news time to watch the television. They are proactive generations hungry to learn financial management to avoid debts. One can, therefore, learn about their personality and that of others from the knowledge of their generation.
Learning about generational categories may not be a sufficient way of predicting the life of an individual. This is because it is a person that gives features to a generation they belong to, not getting personal traits from the generation. The use of foreknowledge of features of a generation may deceive or give wrong predictions. The baby boomers and generation X occupy most of the high political positions. Generally, these generations are expected to be less active and influential in society. Surprisingly, they have taken the position that the millennials, with fresh blood, would have taken. Our identity is something more than the typical characteristics of our generation.
Social identity is different for every one of us. As much as it is possible to identify a person by the generation to which they belong, it is not always sufficient to give their true identity. It is possible to find individuals from different generations at the same social level. A millennial and a generation X member may be at the same level in the society like building a family, or a generation X and a baby boomer occupying the same political level. Generations are classified according to the age of the time of the birth of their members.
We can learn not to be limited by our imaginary generational boundaries, thinking that we are bound by the identities we are assigned by being a member of a generation. A millennial can outdo a baby boomer in politics and business. Wealth is not assigned to generation X and baby boomers alone. The hunger of millennials and generation Z for knowledge on financial management and their ability to embrace technology places them in a good position to overtake older generations in the accumulation of wealth.