Boomers vs Generation X

Generation X, also known as Gen X, refers to people who were born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. We often characterize this generation as being independent, resourceful, and adaptable. We know them for being the first generation to grow up with personal computers and the internet, and for being the first to experience significant changes in the job market because of technological advancements.

The Baby Boomers are a generation that was born between the mid-1940s and the mid-1960s. We know this generation as being hard-working, ambitious, and focused on achieving success. They were the first generation to experience the widespread availability of higher education, and many of them pursued advanced degrees in order to secure better job opportunities.

There are many differences between Gen X and the Baby Boomers, including their values, attitudes towards work and leisure, and their approach to technology. However, both generations have made significant contributions to society and have shaped the world.

 While there are many differences between these two generations, they both have clear values they live by, attitudes toward work and leisure, and a general attitude toward technology. There is a general mold of the Boomers and Gen Xers — they’re both independent, resourceful and adaptable. However, there are some differences between these generations that make them different from one another.

It’s no secret that there is a generation gap between Millennials and their elders. There are several differences between Gen X and Baby Boomers, including their values, attitudes, and experiences. Some of the key differences include:

Technology. Gen X grew up with computers and the internet, while Baby Boomers did not. This has had a significant impact on their views on technology and how they use it in their daily lives.

Workplace. Baby Boomers have a more traditional view of the workplace, with a focus on loyalty and long-term employment. Gen X is more likely to prioritize work-life balance and may be more open to changing jobs or pursuing freelance work.

Family, Baby Boomers have larger families and place a greater emphasis on family ties, while Gen X has smaller families and may place more emphasis on individualism.

Social issues. Gen X is more liberal and open-minded on social issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and racial equality, while Baby Boomers may hold more traditional views.

Political views. Baby Boomers are more likely to be politically conservative, while Gen X is more diverse in its political views.

Overall, the differences between Gen X and Baby Boomers are significant and reflect the different cultural and historical contexts in which they grew up

THE SHARING GENERATION:

I was reminded of this list by an email I received from tomorrow’s professor and I thought it would be of interest to others of my generation. We tend to see ourselves as a special group, but each generation has its own unique worldview. It is in our best interest to get to know what the younger generation is facing and its how its views are being shaped by events. They are living a different reality than we lived. We need to be aware of their reality so we can communicate and understand their views.

 Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List, providing a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. Prepared by Beloit’s former Public Affairs Director Ron Nief and Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride, the list was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references. It quickly became an internationally monitored catalog of the changing worldview of each new college generation. Mindset List websites at themindsetlist.com and beloit.edu, as well as the Mediasite webcast and their Facebook page receive more than a million visits annually.

Some views on this generation by Tom McBride before we see the list.

 By now we are familiar with adjectives that go before “generations,” such as “Greatest” and “Silent.” Or sometimes we just hear “the Boomers.” For some reason that bunch isn’t called “the Booming Generation.” Maybe that’s a good thing, too.

The current generation, I predict and I hope, will be called The Sharing Generation. They may very well become the most secular generation–and yet also the generation best organized for service–in American history.

Why? Well, consider for a moment how much—and what–they share:

*They share information: it is a generation that has grown up with the electronic cut and paste and forward.

*They share themselves: it’s a generation that is constantly “chatting,” which doesn’t mean that they are necessarily talking, even on the phone, much less face to face. They text all day; they text all night. They wake up and text before their feet hit the floor.

They share transportation: they tend to flock to big cities for employment, where it’s more expensive to keep a car, but in fact they seem less interested in owning their own autos than previous generations have been, and they take public transport.

They share our national identity; it’s a generation that is not sold on the idea that there is a single national identity. They’ve grown up in a multi-ethnic society. One survey suggested that in the future they wouldn’t follow a political party that could only attract whites, even if they are themselves white.

They share knowledge; it’s a generation that has not grown up with the lecturer (in educational terms, “the sage on the stage”) but with the facilitator (“guide on the side”). They’ve absorbed educational methods that involve small-group collaborative learning rather than more passive listen-and-take-notes.

Finally, they share spiritual values; it’s a generation that is interested in spiritual ideas—such as meditation and service—but it’s not a sectarian generation. It has a more ecumenical approach. It’s spiritual but not religious in the sectarian sense

The Mindset List for the Class of 2017

For this generation of entering college students, born in 1995, Dean Martin, Mickey Mantle, and Jerry Garcia have always been dead.

1. Eminem and LL Cool J could show up at parents’ weekend.
2. They are the sharing generation, having shown tendencies to share everything, including possessions, no matter how personal.
3. GM means food that is Genetically Modified.
4. As they started to crawl, so did the news across the bottom of the television screen.
5. Dude” has never had a negative tone.
6. As their parents held them as infants, they may have wondered whether it was the baby or Windows 95 that had them more excited.
7. As kids they may well have seen Chicken Run but probably never got chicken pox.
8. Having a chat has seldom involved talking.
9. Gaga has never been baby talk.
10. They could always get rid of their outdated toys on eBay.
11. They have known only two presidents.
12. Their TV screens keep getting smaller as their parents’ screens grow ever larger.
13. PayPal has replaced a pen pal as a best friend on line.
14. Rites of passage have more to do with having their own cell phone and Skype accounts than with getting a driver’s license and car.
15. The U.S. has always been trying to figure out which side to back in Middle East conflicts.
16. A tablet is no longer something you take in the morning.
17. Threatening to shut down the government during Federal budget negotiations has always been an anticipated tactic.
18. Growing up with the family dog, one of them has worn an electronic collar, while the other has toted an electronic lifeline.
19. Plasma has never been just a bodily fluid.
20. The Pentagon and Congress have always been shocked, absolutely shocked, by reports of sexual harassment and assault in the military.
21. Spray paint has never been legally sold in Chicago.
22. Captain Janeway has always taken the USS Voyager where no woman or man has ever gone before.
23. While they've grown up with a World Trade Organization, they have never known an Interstate Commerce Commission.
24. Courts have always been ordering computer network wiretaps.
25. Planes have never landed at Stapleton Airport in Denver.
26. Jurassic Park has always had rides and snack bars, not free-range triceratops and velociraptors.
27. Thanks to Megan's Law and Amber Alerts, parents have always had community support in keeping children safe.
28. With GPS, they have never needed directions to get someplace, just an address.
29. Java has never been just a cup of coffee.
30. Americans and Russians have always cooperated better in orbit than on earth.
31. Olympic fever has always erupted every two years.
32. Their parents have always bemoaned the passing of precocious little Calvin and sarcastic stuffy Hobbes.
33. In their first 18 years, they have watched the rise and fall of Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez.
34. Yahoo has always been looking over its shoulder for the rise of "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.”
35. Congress has always been burdened by the requirement that they comply with the anti-discrimination and safety laws they passed for everybody else to follow.
36. The U.S. has always imposed economic sanctions against Iran.
37. The Celestine Prophecy has always been bringing forth a new age of spiritual insights.
38. Smokers in California have always been searching for their special areas, which have been harder to find each year.
39. They aren’t surprised to learn that the position of Top Spook at the CIA is an equal opportunity post. 
40. They have never attended a concert in a smoke-filled arena.
41. As they slept safely in their cribs, the Oklahoma City bomber and the Unabomber were doing their deadly work.
42. There has never been a national maximum speed on U.S. highways.
43. Don Shula has always been a fine steak house.
44. Their favorite feature films have always been largely, if not totally, computer generated.
45. They have never really needed to go to their friend’s house so they could study together.
46. They have never seen the Bruins at Boston Garden, the Trailblazers at Memorial Coliseum, the Supersonics in Key Arena, or the Canucks at the Pacific Coliseum.
47. Dayton, Ohio, has always been critical to international peace accords.
48. Kevin Bacon has always maintained six degrees of separation in the cinematic universe.
49. They may have been introduced to video games with a new Sony PlayStation left in their cribs by their moms.
50. A Wiki has always been a cooperative web application rather than a shuttle bus in Hawaii.
51. The Canadian Football League Stallions have always sung Alouette in Montreal after bidding adieu to Baltimore.
52. They have always been able to plug into USB ports
53. Olestra has always had consumers worried about side effects.
54. Washington, D.C., tour buses have never been able to drive in front of the White House.
55. Being selected by Oprah’s Book Club has always read “success.”
56. There has never been a Barings Bank in England.
57. Their parents’ car CD player is soooooo ancient and embarrassing.
58. New York’s Times Square has always had a splash of the Magic Kingdom in it.
59. Bill Maher has always been politically incorrect.
60. They have always known that there are “five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes" in a year.


Dealing with control issues

As we get older we are faced with aging friends, relatives, and parents that may cause us some frustration and grief. One thing to think about is that the characteristics of a person's personality often intensifies as they get older. So if someone is narcissistic this personality trait will be more pronounced as they age. One of my friends is dealing with a narcissistic family member and as we talked about the issue, I suggested looking at the site developed by James Messina for some ideas.

This is clipped from Tools for dealing with control issues/learning how to detach). By James J. Messina, Ph.D.

In order to become detached from a person, place, or thing you need to:..:

First: Establish emotional boundaries between you and the person, place, or thing with whom you have become overly enmeshed or codependent on.

Second: Take back power over your feelings from persons, places, or things which in the past you have given power to affect your emotional well-being. 

Third: "Hand over'' to your Higher Power the persons, places, and things which you would like to see changed but which you cannot change on your own. 

Fourth: Make a commitment to your personal recovery and self-health by admitting to yourself and your Higher Power that there is only one person you can change and that is yourself and that for your serenity you need to let go of the "need'' to fix, change, rescue, or heal other persons, places, and things. 

Fifth: Recognize that it is "sick'' and "unhealthy'' to believe that you have the power or control enough to fix, correct, change, heal, or rescue another person, place, or thing if they do not want to get better nor see a need to change. 

Sixth: Recognize that you need to be healthy yourself and be "squeaky clean'' and a "role model'' of health in order for another to recognize that there is something ``wrong'' with them that needs changing. 

Seventh: Continue to own your feelings as your responsibility and not blame others for the way you feel. 

Eighth: Accept personal responsibility for your own unhealthy actions, feelings, and thinking and cease looking for the persons, places, or things you can blame for your unhealthiness. 

Ninth: Accept that addicted fixing, rescuing, enabling are ``sick'' behaviors and strive to extinguish these behaviors in your relationship to persons, places, and things.

Tenth: Accept that many people, places, and things in your past and current life are "irrational,'' "unhealthy,'' and "toxic'' influences in your life, label them honestly for what they truly are, and stop minimizing their negative impact in your life.

Eleventh: Reduce the impact of guilt and other irrational beliefs which impede your ability to develop detachment in your life. 

Twelfth: Practice "letting go'' of the need to correct, fix, or make better the persons, places and things in life over which you have no control or power to change.

Personally, in place of the phrase "your higher power", I put God. I hope this list is helpful.

There are two more things that I want to add that I did not write. These have more to do with relating with someone who has borderline personality disorder, but they are useful elsewhere.

 (SET)Support - Empathy - Truth

Support refers to an initial statement, which indicates the loved one supports the person. It is a statement that begins with "I" and demonstrates concern and a desire to help. It can be anything that establishes a foundation for the relationship or interaction: "I want to try to help you feel better," "I care about you," or "I am worried about how you are feeling."

The support statement is meant to reassure the person that the relationship is a safe one, and that his/her needs matter even during this difficult moment.

Empathy refers to communicating that the loved one is trying to understand what the person is feeling, and focuses on "you." It is not a conveyance of pity or sympathy, but instead a true awareness and validation of the feelings of the BP: "I see you are angry, and I understand how you can get mad at me," "How frustrating this must be for you."

It is important not to tell the person how he is feeling, but instead put his demonstrated feelings into words. The goal is to convey a clear understanding of the uncomfortable feelings he is having and that they are OK to have, thus validating his feelings. Without such a statement of empathy, the person may feel that his feelings are not understood. It is important to use feeling words, as in the examples above.

Truth refers to a realistic and honest assessment of the situation and the person's role in solving the problem. It is an objective statement that focuses on the "it" -- not on the subjective experience of the person or yourself. Often the person may seem to be asking, or demanding, something impossible, not taking an active role or responsibility in resolving the issue, or even presenting you with a "no-win" situation. The truth statement is meant to clearly and honestly respond to the difficult demand or behavior of the person, while placing responsibility appropriately: "This is what I can do.," "This is what will happen.," "Remember when this happened before and how you felt so bad about it later."

It is important to use the support and empathy statements first, so that the person is better able to hear what you are saying, otherwise the truth statement may be experienced as little more than another, and expected, rejection creating even more defensiveness or anger.

PUVAS

(use for complaining and/or blaming)

- Pay attention

- Understand fully

- Validate emotions

- Assert yourself

- Shift/Share the Responsibility

Paying attention to what is happening and what is being said helps us avoid making assumptions.

Understanding what someone is trying to communicate may require seeking clarification so we don't make assumptions.

Validating the emotional statements of the other person will pave the way for further smooth communications.

Asserting yourself is a form of setting boundaries and is a very important piece of the healthy communication process.

Shifting responsibility where it belongs holds each party accountable for their own feelings and behaviors. This can be in response to four different scenarios...

1.) If your person is blaming you for his or her feelings and behaviors

2.) If you are placing blame on yourself inappropriately

3.) If you are trying to fix their problem

4.) If you recognize that you have done something to contribute to the problem.

``Letting Go''

To ``let go'' does not mean to stop caring.

It means I can't do it for someone else.

To ``let go'' is not to cut myself off.

It's the realization I can't control another.

To ``let go'' is not to enable,

but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To ``let go'' is to admit powerlessness

which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To ``let go'' is not to try to change or blame another.

It's to make the most of myself.

To ``let go'' is not to care for, but to care about.

To ``let go'' is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To ``let go'' is not to judge,

but to allow another to be a human being.

To ``let go'' is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,

but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To ``let go'' is not to be protective.

It's to permit another to face reality.

To ``let go'' is not to deny, but to accept.

To ``let go'' is not to nag, scold, or argue,

but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To ``let go'' is not to criticize and regulate anybody,

but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To ``let go'' is not to adjust everything to my desires

but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To ``let go'' is to not regret the past,

but to grow and live for the future.

To ``let go'' is to fear less and LOVE MYSELF MORE.

Baby Boomer Handouts Hamper Saving

The following was shared by  Lisa Ann in Active Aging: Baby Boomerfs living life to the Max on Linkedin
 
Ameriprise Financial in 2007 surveyed three generations—boomers, their children and their parents—and learned that less than half of boomers (44%) were trying to save for retirement while also providing support for their children and parents.

Fast forward to December 2011: The portion of boomers saving for their own retirement has fallen to one in four (24%)—but they’re still helping out their families. More than half (58%) are assisting their aging parents, including helping them pay for groceries (22%), medical expenses (15%) or utility bills (14%).

“It’s disturbing that people are still providing the same, intense level of support, up or down, and they’re five years closer to retirement,” says Suzanna de Baca, Ameriprise’s vice president of wealth strategies. “This is not registering with boomers.”

The phone survey included 1,006 baby boomers—born from 1946 to 1964—who have $100,000 or more in investable assets, 300 parents of boomers and 300 children of boomers who were at least 18 years old. The survey had a margin of error of three percentage points for the boomers and six points for the other two groups.

At the same time that boomers are providing all kinds of handouts to their children—paying utility and insurance bills along with college tuition and car payments—they also have “this weird level of guilt and concern” that their children don’t know how to manage money, de Baca says.

Meanwhile, the children receiving the handouts say their boomer parents haven’t talked to them about money—and that they are worried that their parents won’t have enough savings to retire.

“It seems that the people being squeezed right now are the boomers, and that there are two generations in some serious denial,” she says.

Her advice for boomers struggling with their own retirement-savings goals: “You have to cut the cord. And you have to assume your adult children may not be able to provide for you someday.”

The research found that boomers say that given a choice between paying their kids’ credit-card bills or saving for retirement, they’d save for retirement—“but we found nothing backing up that they’re really doing it,” de Baca says