and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Jones
Generation Jones is the social cohort of the latter half of the Baby boomer generation to the first year of Generation X. The term Generation Jones was first coined by the American cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell, who identified the cohort as those born from 1954 to 1965 in the U.S., who were children during Watergate, the oil crisis, and stagflation rather than during the 1950s, but slightly before Gen X.
Unlike "leading-edge boomers", most of Generation Jones did not grow up with World War II veterans as fathers, and, as they reached adulthood, there was no compulsory military service and no defining political cause, as opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War was for the older boomers. Their parents' generation was sandwiched between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers. Also, by 1955, a majority of U.S. households had at least one television set, and so unlike Leading-Edge Boomers born from the mid 1940s to the early 1950s, many members of Generation Jones (trailing-edge boomers) have never lived in a world without television—similar to how many members of Generation Z (1997–2012) have never lived in a world without personal computers or the internet, or mobile phones. Generation Jones were children during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and were young adults when HIV/AIDS became a worldwide threat in the 1980s.
The name "Generation Jones" has several connotations, including a large anonymous generation, a "keeping up with the Joneses" competitiveness and the slang word "jones" or "jonesing", meaning a yearning or craving. Pontell suggests that Jonesers inherited an optimistic outlook as children in the 1960s, but were then confronted with a different reality as they entered the workforce during Reaganomics and the shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, which ushered in a long period of mass unemployment. Mortgage interest rates increased to above 12 percent in the mid-eighties, making it virtually impossible to buy a house on a single income. De-industrialization arrived in full force in the mid-late 1970s and 1980s; wages would be stagnant for decades, and 401Ks replaced pensions, leaving them with a certain abiding "jonesing" quality for the more prosperous days of the past.
Generation Jones is noted for coming of age after a huge swath of their older brothers and sisters in the earlier portion of the Baby Boomer population had; thus, many note that there was a paucity of resources and privileges available to them that were seemingly abundant to older Boomers. Therefore, there is a certain level of bitterness and "jonesing" for the level of doting and affluence granted to older Boomers but denied to them. The term has enjoyed some currency in political and cultural commentary, including during the 2008 United States presidential election, where Barack Obama (born 1961) and Sarah Palin (born 1964) were on the presidential tickets.
and
Early Boomers + Generation Jones: Meet the Two Boomer Subgroups
It's time to set the record straight. While Baby Boomers are often spoken of as one large cohort, there are indeed two different types of Boomers.
https://www.generations.com/insights/early-boomers-generation-jones-meet-the-two-boomer-subgroups
Whenever we're out giving presentations, it's inevitable that some Boomers approach us with the complaint, "I'm not like those earlier Boomers" or "I think the later Boomers had a different outlook than we did." They follow up with comments like, “I remember not having enough books in my classroom, but I was not old enough to be a hippie.” And they bring up a really good point. Though the Baby Boomer generation is often heralded as the group that collectively changed the US political and cultural landscape, not all Baby Boomers are the same.
The Boomer cohort is typically referred to as one group, born within the 19-year time span of 1946–1964. During the Boomer birth year, a baby was born every eight seconds. Clearly, the title baby “boom” was certainly appropriate for this big generation of 80 million. By 1964, Boomers comprised 40% of the US population. Looking at them as a whole, this generation has been incredibly influential and inspirational, creating waves of change from an early age. While we often refer to this generation as one cohort due to the significant change they effected, there is a distinct separation between two groups. When you look closer, there are some important differences between the earlier Boomers and those born later on in that 20-year time frame. Exploring the differences between the two subgroups helps paint a clearer picture of a generation that is as complex as it is large. With dramatic changes in the political, global, and social landscapes, the Baby Boomers can be divided into Early Boomers (teens in the '60s) and Generation Jones (teens in the '70s).
snip
Generation Jones: teens of the '70s
Born 1955–1964
While Early Boomers had major icons to look up to, Generation Jones was too young to remember these icons in their zenith. These Gen Jonesers were too young for Woodstock, the “I have a Dream” speech, and the assassination of the first Catholic president. The youth-driven counter-culture movement had accomplished many of its goals, and those kids that had been fighting for change were fighting for career growth by the 1970s. Instead of the idealistic and optimistic outlook of the Early Boomers, this generation was experiencing the backlash of an economy that was falling dramatically. This economic hardship and slipping post-war optimism defined the atmosphere that Gen Jonesers experienced as they were coming into their formative years.
Life at home was more different for Gen Jones than the more traditional setting that Early Boomers experienced. More homes were being forced into having two working parents due to changes in the economy and job availability. When Gen Jones went to school, there were not enough desks or books in the classroom because the school system wasn’t ready for this large cohort. They weren’t ready to put their kids in the same situation, so families were beginning to shrink in size. The pill became available so birth control and family planning were easier than in the past. With the competitive job market and economic stresses, divorce was on the rise as Gen Jones entered their formative years, causing teens to spend more time working independently and caring for themselves. While this wasn’t the generation of latch-key kids, Generation Jones was on the trailing edge of Generation X, which saw a dramatic spike in divorce rate and latch-key kids.
While the economy took a nose-dive, fuel prices spiked, the oil embargo impacted the nation, and job opportunities shrunk. Gen Jones had to become more independent and learn to fight for their future, because they quickly understood that nothing would be handed to them. With the tight job market, they knew they had to put their head down and work hard, dress for the jobs they wanted not the jobs they had, and develop methods of standing out. This was important for career growth, but at the time the main focus was on simply keeping their jobs. This period of fierce competition for job stability has stayed with the Gen Jonesers, who earned their names because they were constantly striving to “keep up with the jones” or “jonesin” for something more.
KEY EVENTS + CONDITIONS
Watergate, Stagflation, Oil Embargo, Iran Hostage Crisis, Deindustrialization
and
How to tell if you’re part of ‘Generation Jones’
A specific "micro-generation" of people wedged between baby boomers and Gen X.
https://www.hellalife.com/blog/people/generation-jones-group-boomers-gen-x/
If you haven’t heard of Generation Jones, you’re not alone — for years, the generation was lumped in with boomers until author Jonathan Pontell coined the term in 1999. The moniker was helped to popularity in the late aughts to denote a young breed of new leaders, those who often felt overshadowed and overlooked in the wake of the larger boomer generation. While there isn’t a formal age range for this phantom generation, it encompasses the youngest of the boomers (people born from 1946 to 1964) and the oldest members of Generation X (born from 1965 to 1979). President Obama (born 1961) is a prime example of the Jones bunch. But how has this group fared since the term first found favor? We spoke with Pontell himself to find out more about how Generation Jones is faring as it approaches retirement.
So why have you dedicated a good amount of your time to researching Gen Jones? What was missing from the narrative of this generation?
Some years ago, it occurred to me that I was part of a lost generation between the boomers and Generation X. I was actually living abroad at the time, and it was sort of obvious that I’m not a boomer — and once I started hearing various details about what X’ers stereotypically were supposed to be about it, I realized that’s not me, either. Then I came back to The States and spent a lot of time researching who this generation is, came up with a name for it, and put it out there. I think it’s important because — while labels certainly have limitations and are often misused — they also have some value in helping us make sense of ourselves.
As part of your research, I understand you hired pollsters to study generational attitudes within this group. What were the results?
Over 80% of people in this age group, roughly born between the 1950s and 1960s, just overwhelmingly felt that they’d been mislabeled. When they hear [about an alternative], there’s this sort of “Aha!” moment. They say, “Oh wait, yeah, I never really did think I was a boomer. I didn’t think I was an X’er.” And it matters in terms of politics and culture and business.
Fundamentally, what are some characteristics of Jonesers that make you different from boomers and Gen X?
Part of it has to do with our upbringing, particularly in the ’60s and ’70s; of course every generation is defined in part by its formative years. In terms of collective, ongoing generational personalities formed at a young age, boomers and Jonesers are very different. Boomers tend to be relatively idealistic throughout their life cycle. They were raised at a time in the ’50s as children and then as teens in the ’60s, which sort of formed a very idealistic, optimistic personality trait. Jonesers are children of the 1960s. It formed in us an enormous amount of idealism — but at the same time, we came of age during the worsening economy of the ’70s. The accompanying disillusionment and cynicism and alienation — that was very much a part of our natural culture at the end of the ’70s.
snip
= new reply since forum marked as read
