List of Generations: From the Lost Generation to Gen X and Gen Y

Part 1 of today's blog: 

 Western world

There have been many conflicting attempts to enumerate the generations of the western world.. Here are a few common definitions:

The Lost Generation, primarily known as the Generation of 1914 in Europe, were those who fought in the First World War.
The Interbellum Generation is composed of those born at the close of the 19th century and were young adults during the 1920s.
The Greatest Generation is the generation that includes the veterans who fought in World War II. They were born from around 1910 to the mid-1920s, coming of age during the Great Depression. Journalist Tom Brokaw dubbed this the Greatest Generation in a 1998 book of the same name.
The Silent Generation is the generation that includes those who were too young to join the service during World War II. Many had fathers who served in World War I. Generally recognized as the children of the Great Depression, this event during their formative years had a profound impact on this generation.
The Baby Boom Generation is the generation that was born during World War II to the late 50s, a time that was marked by an increase in birthrates worldwide.[citation needed] Baby Boomers in their teenage and college years were characteristically part of the counterculture of the 1960s, the generation remained widely committed to keystone values such as gender equality, racial equality, and environmental stewardship.
Generation X is the generation generally defined as those born after the baby boom ended, extending from around 1960 to the late 1970s. They were the first generation with widespread access to television during their formative years. Other names used interchangeably with Generation X are Reagan Generation, 13th Generation, and Baby Busters. As young adults, this generation was characterized by the Yuppies, or young urban proffesionals.
Generation Y is also known as Generation Next or the Millennials. Generation Y spans from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. This generation will probably be largely defined by the spread of portable media devices and being "always connected". The formative years of this generation saw the advent of personal computers and home video gaming systems.
The following Generation, referred to as Generation Z, and various other names, was born between the mid-1990s and end of the 2000s, and are still being born.

Eastern world

China's Generation Y is a generation of approximately 240 million people born between 1980 and 1990 in China, although characteristics of Generation Y people have also been seen in those born after 1990 but before 2000. Growing up in modern China, China’s Gen Y has been characterized by its optimism for the future, newfound excitement for consumerism and entrepreneurship and acceptance of its historic role in transforming modern China into an economic superpower.

In South Korea generational cohorts are often defined around the democratization of the country, with various schemes suggested, some names include the democratization generation, 386 generation (also called June 3, 1987 Generation), that witnessed the June uprising, the April 19 generation (that struggled against the Syngman Rhee regime in 1960), the June 3, generation (that struggled against the normalization treaty with Japan in 1964), the 1969 generation (that struggled against the constitutional revision allowing three presidential terms), and shinsedae (new) generation.
 
The full article, from Wikipedia, can be found here

Those born between 1920 to 1979: Interbellum Generation to Generation X

This is the second portion of today's blog on Generations
(I went through most of these experiences as a child...I am blessed, though I didn't think so then)

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets,not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! 

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.  After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround- sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms...... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If  YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good. While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through th e house with scissors, doesn't it?!

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of  the Pledge of Allegiance?'


Article above, from a forwarded email.