Generation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Generation (from the Latin generāre, meaning "to beget"), also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring. In a more general sense, it can also refer to the act of creating something inanimate such as ideas, sound, electrical generation using technology or cryptographic code generation.A generation can refer to stages of successive improvement in the development of a technology such as the internal combustion engine, or successive iterations of products with planned obsolescence, such as video game consoles or mobile phones.In biology, the process by which populations of organisms pass on advantageous traits from generation to generation is known as evolution.Contents- 1 Familial generation
- 2 Cultural generation
- 3 List of generations
- 3.1 Western world
- 3.2 Eastern world
- 4 Other generations
- 5 See also
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Familial generation
It is important to distinguish between familial and cultural generations. Some define a familial generation as the average time between a mother's first offspring and her daughter's first offspring.For much of human history the average generation length has been determined socially by the average age of women at first birth, about 16 years. This is due to the place it holds in the family unit economics of committing resources towards raising of children, and necessitating greater productivity from the parents, usually the male. With greater industrialisation and demand for cheap female labour, urbanisation, and delayed first pregnanacy, and more recently, a greater uncertainty in relationship stability, have all contributed to the increase of the generation length through the late-18th to the late-20th centuries to approach late 20s in the developed countries and early 20s in the developing countries. In 2007 the generation length in the United States was 25.2 years and 27.4 years in the United Kingdom as of 2004. However, in many traditional indigenous societies the generation length has remained unchanged into the 21st century. Cultural generation
Cultural generations are cohorts of people who were born in the same date range and share similar cultural experience. The idea of a cultural generation, in the sense that it is used today gained currency in the 19th century. Prior to that the concept "generation" had generally referred to family relationships, not broader social groupings. In 1863, French lexicographer Emile Littré had defined a generation as, "all men living more or less at the same time."However, as the 19th century wore on, several trends promoted a new idea of generations, of a society divided into different categories of people based on age. These trends were all related to the process of modernisation, industrialisation, or westernisation, which had been changing the face of Europe since the mid-eighteenth century. One was a change in mentality about time and social change. The increasing prevalence of enlightenment ideas encouraged the idea that society and life were changeable, and that civilization could progress. This encouraged the equation of youth with social renewal and change. Political rhetoric in the 19th century often focused on the renewing power of youth influenced by movements such as Young Italy, Young Germany, Sturm und Drang, the German Youth Movement, and other romantic movements. By the end of the 19th century European intellectuals were disposed toward thinking of the world in generational terms, and in terms of youth rebellion and emancipation.Two important contributing factors to the change in mentality were the change in the economic structure of society. Because of the rapid social and economic change, young men particularly were less beholden to their fathers and family authority than they had been. Greater social and economic mobility allowed them to flout their authority to a much greater extent than had traditionally been possible. Additionally, the skills and wisdom of fathers were often less valuable than they had been due to technological and social change.During this time, the period of time between childhood and adulthood, usually spent at university or in military service, was also increased for many people entering white collar jobs. This category of people was very influential in spreading the ideas of youthful renewal.Another important factor was the break-down of traditional social and regional identifications. The spread of nationalism and many of the factors that created it (a national press, linguistic homogenisation, public education, suppression of local particularities) encouraged a broader sense of belonging, beyond local affiliations. People thought of themselves increasingly as part of a society, and this encouraged identification with groups beyond the local.Auguste Comte was the first philosopher to make a serious attempt to systematically study generations. In Cours de philosophie positive Comte suggested that social change is determined by generational change and in particular conflict between successive generations.As the members of a given generation age, their "instinct of social conservation" becomes stronger, which inevitably and necessarily brings them into conflict with the "normal attribute of youth"— innovation. Other important theorists of the 19th century were John Stuart Mill and Wilhelm Dilthey.Karl Mannheim was a seminal figure in the study of generations. He suggested that there had been a division into two primary schools of study of generations until that time: positivists, such as Comte who measured social change in fifteen to thirty year life spans, which he argued reduced history to “a chronological table.” The other school, the “romantic-historical” was represented by Dilthey and Martin Heidegger. This school emphasised the individual qualitative experience at the expense of social context.Mannheim emphasised that the rapidity of social change in youth was crucial to the formation of generations, and that not every generation would come to see itself as distinct. In periods of rapid social change a generation would be much more likely to develop a cohesive character. He also believed that a number of distinct sub-generations could exist.Jose Ortega y Gasset was another influential generational theorist of the 20th century.Since then, generations have been defined in many different ways, by different people. Generational claims can often overlap and conflict. Often generational identification has a strongly political implication or connotation.List of generations
Western world
There have been many conflicting attempts to enumerate the generations of the western world.There is more agreement in the earlier parts of chronology through the early part of the Baby Boomer generation, while from the latter part of the Boomer generation on, there are significant differences, especially between those systems partially based on population dynamics and statistics, and those based on sociological theories such as that of William Strauss and Neil Howe. Attempts to define precise dates and features of generations are frought with disagreement stemming from differences in definition, geography, class, and so on.The following is a list of widely accepted cultural generations, sorted by region:
- The Lost Generation, primarily known as the Generation of 1914 in Europe, is a term originating with Gertrude Stein to describe those who fought in World War I.
- The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation, is the generation that includes the veterans who fought in World War II. They were born from around 1901 to 1924, coming of age during the Great Depression. Journalist Tom Brokaw dubbed this the Greatest Generation in a book of the same name.
- The Silent Generation born 1925 to 1945, is the generation that includes those who were too young to join the service during World War II. Many had fathers who served in World War I. Generally recognized as the children of the Great Depression, this event during their formative years had a profound impact on them.
- The Baby Boom Generation is the generation that was born following World War II, about 1946 up to approximately 1964, a time that was marked by an increase in birth rates.The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave"and as "the pig in the python."By the sheer force of its numbers, the boomers were a demographic bulge which remodeled society as it passed through it. In general, baby boomers are associated with a rejection or redefinition of traditional values; however, many commentators have disputed the extent of that rejection, noting the widespread continuity of values with older and younger generations. In Europe and North America boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of affluence. One of the features of Boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before them. In the 1960s, as the relatively large numbers of young people became teenagers and young adults, they, and those around them, created a very specific rhetoric around their cohort, and the change they were bringing about.
- Generation X is the generation generally defined as those born after the baby boom ended, and hence sometimes referred to as Baby Busters,While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born in the 1960s and 70s, ending in the late 1970s to early 80s, usually not later than 1982. The term had also been used in different times and places for various different subcultures or countercultures since the 1950s.
- Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation (or Millennials),Generation Next,Net Generation, Echo Boomers, describes the next generation. As there are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s.Today, many follow William Strauss and Neil Howe's theories in defining the Millennials. They use the start year as 1982, and end years around the turn of the millennium.
- Generation Z, also known as Generation I, or Internet Generation, and dubbed Generation @ by New York columnist Rory Winston and the "Digital Natives" by Marc Prensky and is the following generation.The earliest birth is generally dated in the early 1990s.
Eastern world
- In China, the Post-80s (Chinese: 八零后世代 or 八零后) (born-after-1980 generation) (also sometimes called China's Generation Y) are those who were born between the year 1980 to 1989 in urban areas of Mainland China. These people are also called "Little Emperors" (or at least the first to be called so) because of the People's Republic of China's one-child policy. Growing up in modern China, China’s Gen Y has been characterised by its optimism for the future, newfound excitement for consumerism and entrepreneurship and acceptance of its historic role in transforming modern China into an economic superpower.
- In South Korea, generational cohorts are often defined around the democratization of the country, with various schemes suggested including names such as the "democratization generation", 386 generation(also called the "June 3, 1987 generation"), that witnessed the June uprising, the "April 19 generation" (that struggled against the Syngman Rhee regime in 1960), the "June 3 generation" (that struggled against the normalization treaty with Japan in 1964), the "1969 generation" (that struggled against the constitutional revision allowing three presidential terms), and the shinsedae ("new") generation.
- In India, generations tend to follow a pattern similar to the broad western model, although there are still major differences, especially in the older generations. According to one interpretation, Indian independence in 1947 marked a generational shift in India. People born in the 1930s and 1940s tended to be loyal to the new state and tended to adhere to "traditional" divisions of society. Indian "boomers", those born after independence and into the early 1960s, tended to link success to leaving India and were more suspicious of traditional societal institutions. Events such as the Indian Emergency made them more sceptical of government. Generation X saw an improvement in India's economy and they are more comfortable with diverse perspectives. Generation Y continues this pattern.
- (From section "Post-80s in Hong Kong" of Post-80s) Post-80s in Hong Kong and the after-eighty generation in mainland China are for the most part different. The term Post-80s (八十後) came into use in Hong Kong between 2009 and 2010, particularly during the course of the opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, during which a group of young activists came to the forefront of the Hong Kong political scene.They are said to be "post-materialist" in outlook, and they are particularly vocal in issues such as urban development, culture and heritage, and political reform. Their campaigns include the fight for the preservation of Lee Tung Street, the Star Ferry Pier and the Queen's Pier, Choi Yuen Tsuen Village, real political reform (on June 23), and a citizen-oriented Kowloon West Art district. Their discourse mainly develops around themes such as anti-colonialism, sustainable development, and democracy.
Other generations
The term generation is sometimes applied to a cultural movement, or more narrowly defined group than an entire demographic. Some examples include:- The Beat Generation, a popular American cultural movement that most social scholars say laid the foundation of the pro-active American counterculture of the 1960s. It consisted of Americans born between the two world wars who came of age in the rise of the automobile era, and the surrounding accessibility they brought to the culturally diverse, yet geographically broad and separated nation. The Beat Generation is between the Lost Generation and the Baby Boomers.
See also
- Generationism
- Intergenerationality
- Generational accounting
- Intergenerational equity
- Strauss-Howe generational theory
Babies born from 2010 to form Generation Alpha Read more:
http://www.news.com.au/features/babies-born-from-2010-to-form-generation-alpha/story-e6frfl49-1225797766713#ixzz1BsVJZwF8WE'VE all heard of Gen X, Gen Y, even Gen Z - but in January we go to a whole new alphabet and welcome to the world the next instalment: Generation Alpha.
Social researchers and sociologists claim the babies born into new Generation Alpha - dubbed Gen A - will be the most formally educated generation in history.
Researcher Mark McCrindle said sociologists came up with the name because scientists moved on to the Greek alphabet when they had exhausted the Latin,
The Sunday Telegraph reports.
"It's not so much going back to the beginning as starting a brand new page," said Mr McCrindle, the author of a new book about global generations,
The ABC Of XYZ.
He said 2010 babies and other Australians born over the next 15 years would begin school earlier and study for longer than those from previous generations.
Gen A members were also expected to be more materialistic and technology-focused.
"As the children of older, wealthier parents with fewer siblings and more entertainment and technological options, it's likely they'll be the most materially supplied generation ever," said the McCrindle Research director.
He said the material aspect was a key issue, with research groups showing one-third of households spent more than $500 per child per year.
"Half of the toys children have are electric or battery-powered, which are more expensive," he said. "These 'Google' kids are really being shaped in a world of technology and consumerism."
Nicole Le Lievre's twin boys will be among the first Australians born into the Gen A demographic next year.
The Wahroonga 33-year-old said she was thrilled her boys, due on January 3, would be part of the next generation.
"It's exciting to think of the types of opportunities that will be open to them," she said.
"We're excited, but also a little bit daunted by that amount of information and the security around that - it's a bit frightening in regard to how they can be protected.
"We don't want them to see too much too young - it's important that they still get to be kids."
This sentiment is echoed by social commentator Neer Korn, who said there could be a backlash against consumerism in Generation Alpha, with some parents going back to basics in the hope their children will hold on to their youth for longer.
"What we can't predict is (whether) the opposite could happen and there could be a backlash," he said. "There are already discussions about kids starting school at six - so a reassessment may be taking place."
Generation Alpha takes the reins from Gen Z - those born since 1995, who will make up 36 per cent of the workforce in 2020.
About 90 per cent of the class of 2020 are expected to complete Year 12, and 40 per cent will go on to further tertiary study.
They are expected to work longer and have an average of five careers and 20 different employers in their lifetimes, according to data from McCrindle Research.
Helensburgh mother-of-three Kathie Upcroft said her youngest son, Harry, 6, was a prime example of Gen Z.
"I've been saying to my children for a few months now, 'You're so fortunate to be going through your generation in this era right now,' " Ms Upcroft said. "And as a parent, seeing it all is pretty special."
Author Douglas Coupland, who coined the term Generation X in his best-selling book, has recently released a sequel,
Generation A, a satirical take on pop culture and the future.
Read more:
http://www.news.com.au/features/babies-born-from-2010-to-form-generation-alpha/story-e6frfl49-1225797766713#ixzz1BsVByfFgThe beat(en) generation
The The
By Matt Johnson When you cast your eyes upon the skylines
Of this once proud nation
Can you sense the fear and the hatred
Growing in the hearts of it's population
And our youth, oh youth, are being seduced
By the greedy hands of politics and half truths
The beaten generation, the beaten generation
Reared on a diet of prejudice and mis-information
The beaten generation, the beaten generation
Open your eyes, open your imagination
We're being sedated by the gasoline fumes
And hypnotised by the satellites
Into believing what is good and what is right
You may be worshipping the temples of mammon
Or lost in the prisons of religion
But can you still walk back to happiness
When you've nowhere left to run
The beaten generation, the beaten generation
Reared on a diet of prejudice and mis-information
The beaten generation, the beaten generation
Open your eyes, open your imagination
And if they send in the special police
To deliver us from liberty and keep us from peace
Then won't the words sit ill upon their tongues
When they tell us justice is being done
And that freedom lives in the barrels of a warm gun
The beaten generation, the beaten generation
Reared on a diet of prejudice and mis-information
The beaten generation, the beaten generation
Open your eyes, open your imagination
