Are You Baby Boomer, Gen Jones, Gen X, Gen Y?

[Guest guest]

If you want to know how old you really are, look at the media you use

rather than the generation you were born into.

 

Generational labels are important in the discussion of the changing

workforce. For example, we need to understand who is pushing for

change and who is criticizing change in order to understand how to

create workplace bridges. And increasingly, young people are calling

for baby boomers to get out of the way.

 

However I get a lot of email from people at the later end of the baby

boom who do not identify with baby boomers. To some extent

researchers have dealt with this issue by categorizing the latter

section of the baby boom separately, as Generation Jones (born

between 1954 and 1965). This category will make some people feel

better, but there still will be baby boomers who are indignant at

being lumped with the delusional, self-centered, money-hungry baby

boomers.

 

But hold it. Maybe you are not really part of the generation your

birthday falls under.

 

Here’s an idea: We should determine our generation not by our age but

by how we use media. This comes from Margaret Weigel, who has worked

at Harvard and MIT doing research on digital media engagement:* “We

should not judge people rigidly by the years they were born,†she

says, â€If we want to define people by categories, it should be by

behaviors because this is something each of us chooses.â€

 

Another reason to use media engagement to peg someone’s age is that

the media we use reflects both the space we live in and the circle of

friends we run with. For example, you probably won’t find the Wii at

a senior center, and you do what your friends do or you’re out of the

loop.

 

So here is a test I put together with the help of an interview with

Weigel and an evening reading her blog. Add up your points to figure

out what generation you’re really a part of:

 

Do you have your own web page? (1 point)

 

Have you made a web page for someone else? (2 points)

 

Do you IM your friends? (1 point)

 

Do you text your friends? (2 points)

 

Do you watch videos on YouTube? (1 point)

 

Do you remix video files from the Internet? (2 points)

 

Have you paid for and downloaded music from the Internet? (1 point)

 

Do you know where to download free (illegal) music from the Internet?

(2 points)

 

Do you blog for professional reasons? (1 point)

 

Do you blog as a way to keep an online diary? (2 points)

 

Have you visited MySpace at least five times? (1 point)

 

Do you communicate with friends on Facebook? (2 points)

 

Do you use email to communicate with your parents? (1 point)

 

Did you text to communicate with your parents? (2 points)

 

Do you take photos with your phone? (1 point)

 

Do you share your photos from your phone with your friends? (2 points)

 

 

0-1 point - Baby Boomer

 

2-6 points - Generation Jones

 

6- 12 points - Generation X

 

12 or over - Generation Y

 

 

(Note: This post contains the views of Weigel and not necessarily

those of Harvard and MIT.)

 

 

SOURCE: Penelope Trunk's " Brazen Careerist " Blog

URL: http://tinyurl.com/24exca