Editing Generation (section)

=== Western world ===
The [[Western world]] includes parts of [[Western Europe]], [[North America]], and [[Australasia]]. Many variations may exist within these regions, both geographically and culturally, which means that the list is broadly indicative, but very general. The contemporary characterization of these cohorts used in media and advertising borrows, in part, from the Strauss–Howe generational theory<ref name="COHE" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chaney |first1=Damien |last2=Touzani |first2=Mourad |last3=Ben Slimane |first3=Karim |title=Marketing to the (new) generations: summary and perspectives |journal=Journal of Strategic Marketing |date=2017 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=179 |doi=10.1080/0965254X.2017.1291173 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and generally follows the logic of the [[#Generational theory|pulse-rate hypothesis]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jaeger |first1=Hans |s2cid=3680078 |title=Generations in History: Reflections on a Controversial Concept |journal=History and Theory |date=1985 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=273–292|doi=10.2307/2505170 |jstor=2505170 }}</ref>
[[File:Generation_timeline.svg|thumb|450px|lang=dummy|Timeline of  generations in the Western world according to the Pew Research Center &ndash; retirement age and life expectancy are approximate]]
*The [[Lost Generation]], also known as the "Generation of 1914" in Europe,<ref name=Wohl>{{Cite book | last=Wohl | first=Robert | title=The generation of 1914 | year=1979 | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge, MA | isbn=9780674344662 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLe3e3FDXQkC&q=wohl%201914&pg=PA1 | access-date=31 October 2020 | archive-date=18 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618144426/https://books.google.com/books?id=YLe3e3FDXQkC&q=wohl+1914&pg=PA1 | url-status=live }}</ref> is a term originating from [[Gertrude Stein]] to describe those who fought in [[World War I]]. The Lost Generation is defined as the cohort born from 1883 to 1900 who came of age during World War I and the [[Roaring Twenties]].<ref name=howe>{{Cite book | last1=Howe | first1=Neil | author-link1=William Strauss | last2=Strauss | first2=William | author-link2=Neil Howe | title=Generations: The History of Americas Future. 1584 to 2069 | year=1991 | publisher=William Morrow and Company | location=New York | isbn=0688119123 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/generationshisto00stra_0/page/247 247–260] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/generationshisto00stra_0/page/247 }}</ref>
*The [[Greatest Generation]], also known in American usage as the "G.I. Generation",<ref>{{cite news |last1=Safire |first1=William |title=Generation What? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/magazine/30wwln-safire-t.html |access-date=20 February 2019 |work=The New York Times Magazine |date=28 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106044324/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/magazine/30wwln-safire-t.html |archive-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> includes the [[veterans]] who fought in [[World War II]]. They were born from 1901 to 1927;<ref>{{cite web |title=The Generation Gap in American Politics |date=March 2018 |url=http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/03/01122435/03-01-18-Generations-release.pdf |access-date=20 February 2019 |publisher=Pew Research Center |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808044537/http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/03/01122435/03-01-18-Generations-release.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> older G.I.s (or the [[Interbellum Generation]]) came of age during the Roaring Twenties, while younger G.I.s came of age during the [[Great Depression]] and World War II. Journalist [[Tom Brokaw]] wrote about American members of this cohort in his book ''[[The Greatest Generation (book)|The Greatest Generation]]'', which popularized the term.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Hunt | first = Tristram | date = 6 June 2004 | title = One last time they gather, the Greatest Generation | work = [[The Observer]] | url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jun/06/secondworldwar | access-date = 24 August 2009 | location = London | archive-date = 13 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130713201248/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/jun/06/secondworldwar | url-status = live }}</ref>
*The [[Silent Generation]], also known as the "Lucky Few", is the cohort who came of age in the [[postwar|post–World War II era]]. They were born from 1928 to 1945.<ref>{{cite news|title=Generations and Age|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/generations-and-age/|access-date=26 May 2018|publisher=Pew Research|date=1 March 2018|archive-date=28 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528171442/http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/generations-and-age/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/methodology/demographic-research/definitions/|title=Definitions - Pew Research Center|website=www.pewresearch.org|access-date=2016-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216215337/http://www.pewresearch.org/methodology/demographic-research/definitions/|archive-date=2017-02-16|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the U.S., this group includes most of those who may have fought in the [[Korean War]] and many of those who may have fought during the [[Vietnam War]].
*[[Baby boomers]] (often shortened to Boomers) are the people born following World War II from 1946 to 1964. Increased birth rates were observed during the [[post–World War II baby boom]], making them a relatively large demographic cohort.<ref>See:
*{{cite web|last1=Brandon|first1=Emily|title=The Youngest Baby Boomers Turn 50|url=http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/articles/2014/06/16/the-youngest-baby-boomers-turn-50|website=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=11 November 2015|archive-date=2 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102174509/http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/articles/2014/06/16/the-youngest-baby-boomers-turn-50|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web|title=Baby Boomers|url=http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers|publisher=History.com|access-date=11 November 2015|archive-date=17 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217204419/http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web|last1=Fry|first1=Richard|title=This year, Millennials will overtake Baby Boomers|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/16/this-year-millennials-will-overtake-baby-boomers/|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=11 November 2015|archive-date=10 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110201452/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/16/this-year-millennials-will-overtake-baby-boomers/|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |first1=Neil |last1=Howe |first2=William |last2=Strauss |title=Generations: The History of Americas Future, 1584 to 2069 |year=1991 |publisher=William Morrow |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/generationshisto00stra_0/page/299 299–316] |isbn=9780688119126 |url=https://archive.org/details/generationshisto00stra_0/page/299 }}
*{{Cite book | last = Owram | first = Doug | year = 1997 | title = Born at the Right Time | isbn = 9780802080868 | publisher = Univ Of Toronto Press | location = Toronto | page = xiv | url = https://archive.org/details/bornatrighttimeh0000owra }}
*{{Cite book | last = Jones | first = Landon | year = 1970 | title = Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation | publisher = Coward, McCann and Geoghegan | location = New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=National Population Projections | website=census.gov | date=1997-07-31 | url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/natproj.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970731033738/http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/natproj.html | archive-date=1997-07-31 | url-status=dead | access-date=2019-08-23}}</ref> In the U.S., many older boomers may have fought in the [[Vietnam War]] or participated in the [[counterculture of the 1960s]], while younger boomers (or [[Generation Jones]]) came of age in the "malaise" years of the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/opinion/baby-boomers-trump.html|title=Opinion &#124; Mr. Jones and Me: Younger Baby Boomers Swing Left|first=Jennifer Finney|last=Boylan|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 June 2020|access-date=25 December 2020|archive-date=16 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216072328/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/opinion/baby-boomers-trump.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Generation X]] (or Gen X for short) is the cohort following the baby boomers. The generation is generally defined as people born between 1965 and 1980.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vol. 33, No. 1: Generations |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/styleandsubstance/2020/02/02/vol-33-no-1-generations/ |newspaper=WSJ |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629220903/https://blogs.wsj.com/styleandsubstance/2020/02/02/vol-33-no-1-generations/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The term has also been used in different times and places for several different [[subcultures]] or [[counterculture]]s since the 1950s. In the U.S., some called Xers the "baby bust" generation because of a drop in birth rates following the baby boom.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Identity">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C2WmSCOBR2IC&dq=%22Generation+X%22+%22baby+bust%22&pg=PA307 | title=Encyclopedia of Identity | isbn=9781412951531 | last1=Jackson Ii | first1=Ronald L. | last2=Hogg | first2=Michael A. | date=29 June 2010 }}</ref>
*[[Millennials]], also known as Generation Y<ref name="Horovitz">{{cite news|last=Horovitz|first=Bruce|title=After Gen X, Millennials, what should next generation be?|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/advertising/story/2012-05-03/naming-the-next-generation/54737518/1|access-date=24 November 2012|newspaper=USA Today|date=4 May 2012|archive-date=1 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901215431/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/advertising/story/2012-05-03/naming-the-next-generation/54737518/1|url-status=live}}</ref> (or Gen Y for short), are the generation following Generation X, who grew up around the [[turn of the century|turn of the]] [[3rd millennium]].<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=9199317 | year=2022 | last1=Grazziotin-Soares | first1=R. | last2=Ardenghi | first2=D. M. | title=Drawings to explore faculties' and students' perceptions from different generations cohorts about dental education: A pilot study | journal=BDJ Open | volume=8 | issue=1 | page=17 | doi=10.1038/s41405-022-00109-5 | pmid=35705540 }}</ref> This cohort is generally defined as the people born from 1981 to 1996. The Pew Research Center defines this generation as those born from 1981 to 1996 and reports that in 2019, millennials outnumbered baby boomers in the United States, amounting to an estimated 71.6 million boomers and 72.1 million millennials.<ref name="guides.loc.gov">{{cite web |last1=Burclaff |first1=Natalie |title=Research Guides: Doing Consumer Research: A Resource Guide: Generations |url=https://guides.loc.gov/consumer-research/market-segments/generations |website=guides.loc.gov |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="canstatistics">{{cite web |last1=Government of Canada |first1=Statistics Canada |title=A generational portrait of Canada's aging population from the 2021 Census |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-X/2021003/98-200-X2021003-eng.cfm |website=statcan.gc.ca |access-date=18 July 2022 |date=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-11-06 |title=Millennials cheer New Zealand lawmaker's 'OK, Boomer' remark |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-millennials-idUSKBN1XG2YT |access-date=2022-07-15}}</ref><ref name="uscensus">{{cite web   |title=2019 Data Show Baby Boomers Nearly 9 Times Wealthier Than Millennials |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/wealth-inequality-by-household-type.html |website=Census.gov |access-date=18 February 2023}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/|title=Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America's largest generation|last=Fry|first=Richard|date=April 28, 2020|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=28 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428233813/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Generation Z]] (or Gen Z for short and colloquially as "Zoomers"), are the people succeeding the Millennials and are generally defined as being born from 1997 to the early 2010s. [[Pew Research Center]] describes Generation Z as spanning from 1997 to 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dimock |first=Michael |title=Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/ |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Pew Research Center |date=17 January 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> The United States [[Library of Congress]] and [[Statistics Canada]] have cited Pew's definition of 1997–2012 for Generation Z.<ref name="guides.loc.gov"/><ref name="canstatistics"/> In a 2022 report, the [[U.S. Census]] designates Generation Z as those born from 1997 to 2013.<ref name="uscensus"/> Generation Zers experienced the onset and effects of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] as children or young adults.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fell |first=Ashley |title=The substantial impact COVID-19 has had on Gen Z |url=https://mccrindle.com.au/article/topic/generation-z/the-substantial-impact-covid-19-has-had-on-gen-z/|access-date=2024-08-28 |website=McCrindle |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Generation Alpha]] (or Gen Alpha for short) is the generation succeeding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media typically use the early 2010s as the starting birth year and the mid-2020s as the ending birth year. Generation Alpha is the first to be born entirely in the 21st century.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Farrel |first=Christopher A. |date=March 19, 2024 |title=What Is Generation Alpha? Meaning, Characteristics, and Future |url=https://www.investopedia.com/generation-alpha-definition-8606114 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2025-01-04 |work=Investopedia |language=en}}</ref> As of 2015, there were some two-and-a-half million people born every week around the globe, and Gen Alpha is expected to reach nearly two billion in size by 2025.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Williams|first=Alex|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/fashion/meet-alpha-the-next-next-generation.html|title=Meet Alpha: The Next 'Next Generation'|date=September 19, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 7, 2019|department=Fashion|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228172712/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/fashion/meet-alpha-the-next-next-generation.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Generation Beta]] (or Gen Beta for short) is the proposed generation succeeding Generation Alpha. [[Futurist]] Mark McCrindle, who coined the term, defines the cohort as those born from 2025 to 2039.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-19 |title=Welcome Gen Beta |url=https://mccrindle.com.au/article/generation-beta-defined/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=mccrindle.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cross |first=Greta |date=December 31, 2024 |title=Welcome Gen Beta: A new generation of humanity starts in 2025 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/31/generation-beta-2025-years/77363820007/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=USA Today}}</ref> As the successor to Generation Alpha, the generation is named for [[beta]], the second letter in the [[Greek alphabet]]. Since no official body determines generational boundaries, the starting year and proposed name of this generation may be subject to revision in the future, as the current name and its commencement is largely based on an individual's opinion. Its adoption may be queried at a later date when instrumental global events are reassessed by historians. Many generations typically span 15 years and are shaped by major societal shifts.