The “Generation Gap”
The “generation gap” describes a special form of interpersonal conflict that stems from differences in maturity, perspective, responsibility, and social changes. The term apparently originated with German sociologist Karl Mannheim in the 1920s.
He argued that critical events molded social and political outlook into a worldview distinct to each generation. The term became common to explain parental reaction to the counterculture of the 1960s. The concept has led to identification of five twentieth century American generations based on shared attitudes and values.2 It is unlikely that the categories apply to all other cultures in the world, although there are likely to be some shared characteristics, particularly as communication continues to improve.The GI generation, born 1901–1924, consists of high achievers, patriots, idealists, and team players. They are doers who exceeded their parents in education yet remained modest in their expectations, courageously met the challenge of World War II, and have a strong sense of right and wrong.
The Silent Generation, born 1925–1942, formed by the Cold War, is cautious, unimaginative, withdrawn and security conscious. Its members wanted a lifetime job, an early marriage, and a stable home. They met the challenges of tough times, and quietly increased their own and the national wealth.
The Boomers, born 1943–1960, characterized by high self-esteem and high self-indulgence learned to think critically but not necessarily rationally. They question rules that impose on their freedom to do as they please and want to overhaul the world to provide the pleasures they expect and think they deserve.
Generation X, born 1961–1981, driven by economic insecurity, are career obsessed, conformist, eager to do whatever is necessary to ascend the career ladder, and are even more materialistic than the boomers. Politically apathetic, they have a weaker allegiance to both country and political party and a more negative attitude toward the United States than any previous generation.
The Trophy Generation (sometimes, the Millennial Generation), born 1982–2001, is so named because they have been raised to think they deserve a prize for just showing up. Perhaps they should be angry at the advice they got from teachers to follow their passion rather than develop useful knowledge and skills. Permitted mediocrity in good times, they appear to be without the resiliency to weather bad times. It does have its high-achievers, many of them women. Many model their behavior on the culture of the ghetto and the dregs of society, so are ill-mannered, irresponsible, undisciplined, uneducated, and selfish, not to mention tattooed and pierced. However, every previous generation going back at least to the ancient Greeks overcame the negative characterizations of its parents, and this one probably will as well.
More on the topic The “Generation Gap”:
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- Sacred Language and Sacred Time
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- Churchman David. Why We Fight: The Origins, Nature and Management of Human Conflict. UPA,2013. — 336 p., 2013