Planning to Retire

Talking About My Generation

By Emily Brandon

Posted: August 27, 2008

Journalists like to use the terms baby boomers, greatest generation, and generations X and Y to make sweeping generalizations about large groups of people who may or may not have things in common other than their birth year.

In turns out that many baby boomers like their title, but every other generation would prefer a more descriptive name, according to a recent survey that asked 3,868 adults ages 21 to 83 to rename their own generation. Interestingly, the younger groups choose to define themselves according to the technology developed as they came of age, much as historians dubbed the Stone and Iron ages.

The top choices:

Source: an online survey of 3,868 adults conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Charles Schwab and Age Wave, 2008

Rejected choices include Green Generation, Millennials, Networked Generation, Forgotten Generation, Generation Next, Latchkey Generation, Woodstock Generation, Me Generation, Rock-and-Roll Generation, Pioneering Generation, Invisible Generation, and Transition Generation.

Tell us, what should your generation be called?

It would be better if we didn't name generations at all, but merely used age groups with numbers. As it is, boomers think that it was THEY who "boomed" something or other, when in fact they are mere products of their parents' pent-up demand to make babies----an activity put on hold for WWII.

of @ Aug 27, 2008 16:53:20 PM

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Planning to Retire

Planning to Retire

Reporter Emily Brandon tells you how to get ready financially for retirement and to make your golden years the best they can be.

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