It’s natural for opposing generations to fight, to blame one another for either the ways in which the world has changed or the social/political/economic messes they were born into. A striking, educational new video from Buzzfeed—“Generations: Past, Present, Future”—aims not to fuel that divide, but to provide context, comparisons, and, dare we say, a sense of unity?
It begins by introducing the seven living generations of Americans: The Greatest Generation (born 1901-27), The Silent Generation (born 1928-45), Baby Boomers (born 1946-64), Generation X (born 1965-80), Millennials (born 1981-97), Generation Z (born 1998-2010), and the burgeoning Generation Alpha (born 2011-25). It then breaks down the formative events that helped shape these distinct eras, providing statistics and information as to how those particular moments in history rippled throughout both that generation and the ones that came after it. Rest assured, this isn’t another video trying to claim which generation is “best,” “worst,” or “most responsible for the mess we’re currently in.”
It also uses accumulated data and trend outlooks to forecast the behaviors of the next generation, Generation Alpha, which so far is defined by the era of technological discovery they’ve been born into. The video posits that they’ll also be the wealthiest and most formally educated of all generations, so let’s all breathe a sigh of relief as we look forward to the future.