Baby Boomer UK does not equal BB US

This blog posting echoes something I have been saying for as long as I can remember – these days, as a result of cognitive decline, that is not long.

The concept of Baby Boomers may have meaning in the US but it doesn’t in the UK.

However, the writer of the blog believes that you define generations as a group of people who:

• Grew up during the same economic, educational and technological times
• Were shaped by the same social markers and events.
• Now share the same life stage
• Share a common worldview / set of values

Mmmm, not sure I can agree with that. I guess in broad brush terms it makes some sense but the devil is in the detail. In my book the final characteristic trumps the rest by an order of magnitude. The fact that two people aged 60, happened to be living on the planet at the same time, doesn’t mean they are going to have anything in common other than sharing the same aches and pains. Even that is untrue since that will depend greatly on their social background.

Three of the four of these conditions are age related. If we have learnt anything over the past few years it is that age is a poor proxy for behaviour. Repeat after me…Age is a poor proxy….. Dick Stroud