Generational Demographics

One of the most common references in media and marketing circles is a casual reference to the current generations using demographic nicknames. But, just who is a "Baby Boomer," and when did Gen X become Gen Y? These nicknames are never very precise references (compared to specific demographic analysis), but they are handy divisions for labeling the bulk of our current population.

The nicknames can speed the understanding of demographic audience targeting and behavior relating to media use, shopping and even voting. Briscoe Hall is presenting this information not because we coined the terms, nor because it is a precise lexicon, but because we often use these labels in casual communication with clients and media and research partners. The people of Briscoe Hall would encourage you to remember that these aren't demographics; they are people-our own customers, constituents, parents, grandparents, siblings, children and grandchildren. Having said that, we hope this is helpful to you.

The G.I. Generation (or the Greatest Generation) is the name given the people who grew through adolescence in the 1930s and early 1940s and were the principle participants in World War II. Their children are Baby Boomers, and grandchildren are mostly Generation X.

The name Silent Generation was coined in the November 5, 1951, cover story of Time Magazine to refer to the generation coming of age at that time. The phrase is used to describe Americans born from 1925 to 1942. The generation is also known as the Postwar Generation and the Seekers, when it is not neglected altogether and placed by marketers in the same category as the G.I. In England they were named the Air Raid Generation as children growing up amidst the crossfire of World War II.

A Baby Boomer is someone born in a period of increased birth rates, such as those during the economic prosperity following World War II. In the United States, demographers have put the generation’s birth years at 1946 to 1964, despite the fact that the U.S. birth rate (per 1,000 population) actually began to decline after 1957. Unlike the previous generation (the Silent), Boomers lack any childhood recollection of World War II. Unlike the next generation (Generation X), many American Boomers fought in Vietnam or organized opposition to it, or were reaching adolescence as the Vietnam War ended.

Generation X is a term used broadly in popular culture. It generally consists of persons born in the 1960s and 1970s, although the exact dates of birth are not definite. It has also been described as a generation consisting of those people whose teen years touched the 1980s, born after Baby Boomers. In the USA, this generation's parents are the Baby Boomers (post-WWII) and the Silent Generation. Generation X's typical grandparents are the G.I. Generation. Generation X's children will be or have been born in the 1990's and the following few decades.

Generation Y, sometimes called the "Millennial Generation," is used to describe those born in the 1980s and 1990s although no consensus has emerged specifying exact dates. Many in Generation Y are the children of Baby Boomers, and the generation is also known as the "Echo (Boom) Generation," because it is, in some areas, the largest demographic grouping since the baby boom that immediately followed World War II.

Generation Z, people born from 2000 to 2020 to Generation X parents. Not much data on these guys yet.