Barnabas File

The latest cultural putdown and internet meme seems to be “OK Boomer.” In  The New York Times,  writer   Taylor Lorenz defines this as, " Generation Z’s endlessly repeated retort  to the problem of older people who just don’t get it , a rallying cry for millions of fed up kids." She writes that teenagers use the term as a comeback to "basically any person over 30 who says something condescending about young people — and the issues that matter to them." Let me clarify at the outset that I am not a Boomer.  I am part of what is often termed the Silent Generation .  Born during World War Two, I was raised by those that I still consider the Greatest Generation, people who came out of two major wars and an economic depression but never gave up.  According to those who study such things, people of my generation “exhibit a strong loyalty to their personal beliefs and possess a strong work ethic.”  For the most part, the descri...

Since William Strauss and Neil Howe started writing about generational cohorts in the 1990s, we have been fascinated by the game of naming and identifying each new generation. We are now addressing Generation Z or Gen Z.  They may eventually have another designation based on the characteristics they exhibit as they enter adulthood, but this is the most common term used now. Gen Z members were born between 1999 and 2015.  Most are in their teen or childhood years.  I have four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren in this cohort, so I observe them first hand on a regular basis. One thing we know for sure is that they have grown up with technology at their fingertips--smartphones, iPads, tablets, computers--anything with a screen.  For this reason, some are already calling them the iGeneration.  They are digital natives who have grown up with technology.  For them it is a common and necessary part of their lives. They are the second lar...