From boomers to zoomers, four generations

Who could deny that the era of those born between 1945 and 1964 was truly full of emotions? It was the time of going crazy for the Beatles, of witnessing the moon landing, of enjoying football with Pelé and Maradona, and of seeing the fall of the Berlin Wall, just to name a few of those thrills. This generation was called the  Baby boomers were born during the baby boom, a period when birth rates soared in several countries, including the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, after World War II. They have lived through the entire period of technological evolution, the rise and development of mass media, enjoy job and family stability, and are physically and mentally active. Furthermore, they are adapted to the digital world, although they are less dependent on smartphones than subsequent generations.

From 1945 to 2020, 75 years have passed—three-quarters of a century spanning the 20th and 21st centuries—and four generations: the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z (also called Zoomers by analogy with Boomers). Throughout these 75 years, regardless of which generation you belong to, many of us have lived alongside those who came before us in other generations and those born in the generations that followed. Each generation has had its own experiences, both good and not so good, which have led to its own characteristics and differences; and in this coexistence of generations, we have also learned from one another. Does the image of a grandson teaching his grandfather how to use social media sound familiar?

After the Boomers came Generation X. This term refers to people born roughly between 1964 and 1981. Their parents, the Baby Boomers, were born from the end of World War II until the early 1960s. Their postwar experiences led them to be very conservative. The term Generation X was first used by photographer and journalist Robert Capa, but it was popularized by Douglas Coupland after the publication of his novel *Generation X* in 1991, which chronicles the lifestyle of young people during the 1980s. This generation has experienced a great number of significant social, political, and technological changes that have marked the history of humanity, such as the creation of technological devices and computers, the use of the internet, the transition from cassettes and videocassettes to CDs, and later to MP3, MP4, and iPod formats, among others. They lived through the transition from black and white to color television and grew up under the influence of audiovisual media, making them more active consumers and even fostering a more critical and skeptical mindset than previous generations. In this generation, women pursued diverse career paths and became more independent. They were the first generation to own mobile phones, and while they aren't dependent users of the internet and technology, they do benefit from its features.

Generation Y, also called Millennials or Digital Natives, are people born between 1982 and 1994. Technology is an integral part of their daily lives; all their activities are mediated by a screen. They came into the world with a tablet and a smartphone in their hands; however, they weren't born in the digital age, but rather migrated from the analog era in which they lived to the digital world.

Unlike previous generations, the world, due to the economic crisis, demands greater preparation from them to qualify for jobs, where competition is increasingly fierce. In contrast to their parents (Generation X), digital natives are not content with their current circumstances and are ambitious in achieving their goals. However, the millennial generation is often labeled as lazy, narcissistic, and spoiled. In fact, Time magazine dubbed them the "me-me-me" generation in 2014.

Generation Z, the Zoomers , were born between 1995 and 2010 (right at the turn of the century); they are the true Digital Natives. Their mastery of technology may lead them to neglect their interpersonal relationships, but they are the ones who give the most voice to social causes online . They like to get everything they want immediately, a fact fostered by the digital world in which they are immersed, and their lifestyle is also influenced by YouTubers. They are multitaskers, but their attention span is very short. They are independent, demanding consumers, and dream of becoming influencers.

Members of this generation are generally against the idea of ​​photoshopping (removing imperfections from photos) and are against altering themselves to be considered perfect. Their parents fear their children's excessive internet use and dislike the ease of access to inappropriate information and images, as well as social networking sites where they can connect with people from all over the world. Children often feel annoyed with their parents and complain that they are too controlling when it comes to their internet use. This generation uses social media and other sites to strengthen bonds with friends and to develop new ones by interacting with people they would not otherwise have met in the real world, making it a tool for identity formation. The downside is that they are less inclined towards face-to-face relationships due to the extensive use of smartphones. They also feel more lonely and excluded.

And what comes after the Zoomers? Names are already being coined for the generation born after 2011; Generation Alpha has been suggested, and it's been predicted that this next generation will be "the most formally educated generation in history, the most technologically gifted, and globally the wealthiest generation of all time." Furthermore, among their experiences might be having had Covid-19 without realizing it…

Ramona Ávila Núñez, Ph.D.