Star Trek turns 50 So when will Picard, Janeway, and Sisko take over the senior center?
Star Trek celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 8th. Just two years from now, Baby Boomers–who grew up watching The Original Series–will become the majority of adults aged 65 and older. At A Place for Mom, the nation's largest senior living referral service, we wondered what the older population will look like in 2060 when Star Trek turns 94. By then, the population of older adults will double, most older adults will be Millennials, and maybe, just maybe, we'll be three years away from warp technology.
We used the US Census National Population Projection and the timeline of Star Trek series eras to see how many of their formative years the older adults of the future will spend in each era. Then we mapped those projections onto the aging of the major generations, such as Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials. Star Trek and the Future of Older Adults It's crazy to think Zefram Cochrane, fictional inventor of the warp drive that powered the USS Enterprise, will be born shortly before most older adults are Gen Xers. Arguably, it's less surprising that World War III will end shortly before Millennials become the majority of older adults.
2019 2041 2056 The year Boomers Gen Xers become Millennials become become the majority the majority of the majority of of older adults older adults older adults Milestones of Older Adult Demography 2016-2060
Important Federation Universe Events 2016-2060
2032 2053 Zefram Cochrane World War III ends is born
Projected Older Adult Population (Millions) by Generation 2016-2060 Greatest Generation born 1910 to 1927 often grouped together Silent Generation born 1928 to 1945 } Boomers born 1946 to 1964 Gen Xers born 1965 to 1980 Older Millennials born 1981 to 1995 OLDER MILLENNIALS GEN XERS BOOMERS GREATEST GENERATION SILENT GENERATION
The Five Eras of Star Trek We used the dates of Star Trek series runs to define five eras based on release and cancellation dates. Then we counted the number of years between birth and age 30 each one-year age group spent in a given era. Projecting the viewing history of future older adults highlights key demographic and cultural trends.
Era of The Original Series (1966 - 1987) Era of The Next Generation (1987 - 1994) Era of Star Trek Viewership Decline (Deep Space Nine and Voyager, 1994 - 2001) The Dark Ages (i.e., Star Trek: Enterprise Was Terrible, 2001 - 2009) J.J Abrams Takes Over Star Trek (2009 - ?)
Projected Older Adult Population (Millions) by Star Trek Era 2016-2060 Each bar is colored by the share of their formative years that older adults had spent in a given era J.J. ABRAMS AGE THE DARK AGES - ENTERPRISE THE DECLINE - DS9 AND VOYAGER THE NEXT GENERATION
THE ORIGINAL SERIES BEFORESTAR TREK
2019 2041 2056 The year Boomers Gen Xers become Millennials become become the majority the majority of the majority of of older adults older adults older adults What The Star Trek Era You Grew Up in Says About You Before Star Trek Right now, most older adults are from the Silent Generation, and a few of the Greatest Generation remain. The older adults in these age groups spent most if not all of their formative years before Star Trek. Coincidentally or not, they've never had their head in the clouds like future generations...except the Beatniks and early Hippies, of course. Boomers and The Original Series By 2019, most older adults will be Boomers. Growing up in a period of unprecedented post-war economic expansion boosted their confidence to Kirk-like levels. They also watched the birth of Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry's dream–a diverse, peaceful future–on the same TV stations that aired coverage of the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam War, and Counterculture movement. With Uhura, Kirk, Spock, and the rest, Boomers ushered in a new era of sci-fi television that became a lasting franchise. The NeXt Generation and the Beginning of the End Two decades after Boomers take over, Gen Xers will become the majority of older adults. This generation grew up during the peak of Original Series movies (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home anyone?). They later watched the pinnacle of Federation power unfold each week on Star Trek: The Next Generation. At the same time, they were teenagers and young adults at the height of US economic prosperity in the 1990s.
Yet like the snarkily omnipotent TNG character Q, this generation always questioned the foundations of their prosperity, paralleling the trajectory of Star Trek during their youth. They witnessed the beginning of The Decline of Star Trek, when viewership started tanking. They also watched Rick Berman's Deep Space Nine, a dark vision of the Federation Universe rife with political intrigue and smugglers lusting after latinum. The Fall, Rise, and Retcon of a Divided Star Trek Universe Older Millennials grew up as if The Next Generation was The Original Series. Like Gen Xers, they watched the decline of Star Trek, its theme song: Russel Watson's "Where My Heart Will Take Me" (if you don't get that reference, count yourself lucky). Millennials may have forgotten Star Trek entirely if not for J.J. Abrams' 2009 retcon.
The Star Trek viewing habits of Millennials also reflect the proliferation of digital media in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. As older adults, Millennials will remember not one, not two, but seven TV series (including Star Trek: The Animated Series and the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery to debut in January). They will be familiar with two Star Trek universes. They will debate the merits of six to eight captains, depending on how you count Captain Pike and alternate-universe Kirk.
With luck–perhaps by necessity–they will boldly age where no one has gone before...
Sources: Population projections based on the US Census National Population Projection. Star Trek series and universe timelines taken from Wikipedia.