Does generational thinking still make sense?

Generational thinking is a method of understanding social change by categorizing people based on their year of birth. This helps reveal major trends and differences between age groups. Consider, for example, the Silent Generation, 75 and older, or the Baby Boomers, born just after World War II. The Baby Boomers were followed by Generation X, the Millennials, Generation Z and now Generation Alpha. Each of these generations has been shaped by the unique circumstances in which they grew up.

According to Tom, the DNA of a generation is determined by two factors. The first factor is the values that parents instill during upbringing. Baby boomers grew up with the message from their parents, who had lived through the war: "Be careful, be frugal." However, the post-war period was a time of prosperity and opportunities. As a result, Baby Boomers told their children, the Millennials: "Anything is possible." This explains why Millennials are often optimistic and dreamy.

Generation X passed on the same message to their children, Generation Z, but with an important addition: "Anything is possible, as long as you work hard for it." This made Generation Z entrepreneurial and more individualistic. Millennials also passed on this message to Generation Alpha, but with a new twist: "Anything is possible, as long as we do it together." Millennials value collaboration and the social aspect, and you can see this in their parenting. They enjoy doing things together with their children. Therefore, this sense of collaboration and purpose is more present in Generation Alpha than in Generation Z.

The second factor concerns the world in which a generation grows up, particularly the influence of pop culture, technology, politics, and the economy during the ages of 15 to 25. During this phase, people learn and absorb a lot. Think about your favorite album or musician: whether you're in your forties, fifties, sixties, or seventies, many people often look back to artists from this stage of life.

Since the oldest members of Gen Alpha are still far from their 25th birthday, their DNA is still developing. However, we can already make some assumptions based on the current circumstances, such as rapid technological advancements and the increasing diversity in the world they are growing up in.

In recent years, there has been criticism of generational thinking from various quarters. For example, research by BBH Labs shows that groups within a generation are less cohesive than we often think.

Still, according to Tom, generational thinking remains a useful tool, even if you cannot generalize. It is similar to other ways of categorizing, such as by gender, region or socioeconomic status. While these classifications don't say everything about an individual, they do provide insight into broader societal trends. If you want to see where society is going, you have to look at the children.

During his lectures, Tom finds that people recognize themselves in the descriptions of their generation, which can sometimes be confronting. After all, it not only tells something about others, but also about yourself. For companies and researchers, generational thinking is a useful tool for understanding how different age groups respond to new technologies, marketing strategies and societal changes.

Thus, generational thinking remains a valuable way to understand social trends, although it must be done with nuance. It provides a framework for understanding large groups of people and predicting their behavior. While generations are internally diverse and not everyone within a generation thinks or acts the same, it does provide direction on how we deal with changes in today's world.

Then listen to the first episode of our podcast By Humans, where we take a deeper look at Generation Alpha and the usefulness of generational thinking with Tom Palmaerts.

Go to By Humans: episode 1