“Generations”: a Guide to Better Understand Each Other

After this book, you will find a new appreciation for your Boomer relative or Gen Z co-worker

I find the topic of differences between generations fascinating. Too often, conversations about them don’t go past the stereotypical jokes (“ok, boomer” or “Gen Z don’t want to work” – you know how these go).

I was always interested in understanding those differences better, and the book “Generations” by Jean Twenge does just that:

Jean Twenge explores every generation in big detail. Even though all her data is US focused, this book will be equally interesting for non-US based people.

Here is a quick recap of generations’ unique characteristics (excluding the Silents):

Boomers (born 1946–1964):

• Very big generation which is hard to pin down
• Generation that currently fully dominates leadership, be it in public office or corporations
• The first generation in the US to see cultural shift towards individualism, as well as income divide for those with and without college degree

Gen X (born 1965–1979):

• First users of the internet, last generation of a mostly analog (and unsupervised) childhood
• Delayed leadership (due to prominence and size of boomer generation)
• Generational trends towards “toughness”, certain cynicism

Millennials (born 1980–1994):

• Peak of the generational trends towards individualism and slow life
• “Digital native” generation with high expectations of the future (economic optimism decreased after 2008)
• Decline in birth rates, less “community” connection

Gen Z (1995–2012)

• “Smartphone natives”
• More widespread mistrust, feeling that “the system is broken” (Gen Z is said to potentially have the protesting dynamic similar to Boomers’ movements in the 1960s)
• More mental health awareness (similarly to Millennials)

The book has a lot of insights on how these generations interact now and how they will interact in 2020s and 2030s.

Boomers, who dominated the culture for decades, will be retiring rapidly.

Gen X’ers will be moving into top leadership positions.

Millennials are in the prime of their life, seeking more responsibility.

Gen Z’ers are young adults who will be “searching their voice”.

I can only recommend this book if you want to understand the generational trends and gain more appreciation for people’s experiences across the decades.

I do not post book recommendations without beer reviews. Books and beers, this is what I do.

Beer of the day is my go to Belgian beer, Leffe. I probably already posted it before, and I will probably do it again, because I have so many pictures of Leffe beer enjoyed on different occasions and in different places.

If you have never tried a Belgian beer, I would say that Leffe is a good first introduction: