Generation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Generations) Generation (from the Latin generƗre, meaning "to beget"),[1] also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring. In a more general sense, it can also refer to the act of creating something inanimate such as ideas, sound, electrical generation using technology or cryptographic code generation. A generation can refer to stages of successive improvement in the development of a technology such as the internal combustion engine, or successive iterations of products with planned obsolescence, such as video game consoles or mobile phones. In biology, the process by which populations of organisms pass on advantageous traits from generation to generation is known as evolution. Five generations of one family: in the center, a child; on the far left, her mother; on the far right, the child's grandmother; second from the left, the child's great- Contents grandmother; and second from the right, the child's great-great-grandmother. 1 Familial generation 2 Cultural generation 3 List of generations 3.1 Western world 3.2 Eastern world 4 Other generations 5 See also 6 External links 7 References Familial generation It is important to distinguish between familial and cultural generations. Some define a familial generation as the average time between a mother's first offspring and her daughter's first offspring. For much of human history the average generation length has been determined socially by the average age of women at first birth, about 16 years. This is due to the place it holds in the family unit economics of committing resources towards raising of children, and necessitating greater productivity from the parents, usually the male. With greater industrialisation and demand for cheap female labour, urbanisation, delayed first pregnancy, a greater uncertainty in relationship stability have all contributed to the increase of the generation length through the late-18th to the late-20th centuries. These changes can be attributed to both societal level factors, such as GDP and state policy, and related individual level variables, particularly a woman's educational attainment.[2] In developed nations the average familial generation length is in the high 20s and has even reached 30 years in some nations.[3] As of 2008, the average generation length in the United States was 25 years, up 3.6 years since 1970.[4] Germany saw the largest increase in generation length over that time period, from 24 years in 1970 to 30 years in 2008.[3] Conversely, generation length has changed little and remains in the low 20s in less developed nations.[3][4] Cultural generation Cultural generations are cohorts of people who were born in the same date range and share similar cultural experience. The idea of a cultural generation, in the sense that it is used today gained currency in the 19th century. Prior to that the concept "generation" had generally referred to family relationships, not broader social groupings. In 1863, French lexicographer Emile Littré had defined a generation as, "all men living more or less at the same time."[5] However, as the 19th century wore on, several trends promoted a new idea of generations, of a society divided The U.S. baby boom generation is seen here as the into different categories of people based on age. These widest bulge of the 2000 Census data. trends were all related to the process of modernisation, industrialisation, or westernisation, which had been changing the face of Europe since the mid-18th century. One was a change in mentality about time and social change. The increasing prevalence of enlightenment ideas encouraged the idea that society and life were changeable, and that civilization could progress. This encouraged the equation of youth with social renewal and change. Political rhetoric in the 19th century often focused on the renewing power of youth influenced by movements such as Young Italy, Young Germany, Sturm und Drang, the German Youth Movement, and other romantic movements. By the end of the 19th century European intellectuals were disposed toward thinking of the world in generational terms, and in terms of youth rebellion and emancipation.[5] Two important contributing factors to the change in mentality were the change in the economic structure of society. Because of the rapid social and economic change, young men particularly were less beholden to their fathers and family authority than they had been. Greater social and economic mobility allowed them to flout their authority to a much greater extent than had traditionally been possible. Additionally, the skills and wisdom of fathers were often less valuable than they had been due to technological and social change.[5] During this time, the period of time between childhood and adulthood, usually spent at university or in military service, was also increased for many people entering white collar jobs. This category of people was very influential in spreading the ideas of youthful renewal.[5] Another important factor was the break-down of traditional social and regional identifications. The spread of nationalism and many of the factors that created it (a national press, linguistic homogenisation, public education, suppression of local particularities) encouraged a broader sense of belonging, beyond local affiliations. People thought of themselves increasingly as part of a society, and this encouraged identification with groups beyond the local.[5] Auguste Comte was the first philosopher to make a serious attempt to systematically study generations. In Cours de philosophie positive Comte suggested that social change is determined by generational change and in particular conflict between successive generations.[6] As the members of a given generation age, their "instinct of social conservation" becomes stronger, which inevitably and necessarily brings them into conflict with the "normal attribute of youth"— innovation. Other important theorists of the 19th century were John Stuart Mill and Wilhelm Dilthey. Karl Mannheim was a seminal figure in the study of generations. He suggested that there had been a division into two primary schools of study of generations until that time: positivists, such as Comte who measured social change in fifteen to thirty year life spans, which he argued reduced history to “a chronological table.” The other school, the “romantic-historical” was represented by Dilthey and Martin Heidegger. This school emphasised the individual qualitative experience at the expense of social context. Mannheim emphasised that the rapidity of social change in youth was crucial to the formation of generations, and that not every generation would come to see itself as distinct. In periods of rapid social change a generation would be much more likely to develop a cohesive character. He also believed that a number of distinct sub-generations could exist. Jose Ortega y Gasset was another influential generational theorist of the 20th century. Since then, generations have been defined in many different ways, by different people. Generational claims can often overlap and conflict. Often generational identification has a strongly political implication or connotation. List of generations Western world The Lost Generation, primarily known as the Generation of 1914 in Europe,[7] is a term originating with Gertrude Stein to describe those who fought in World War I. The members of the lost generation were typically born between 1883 to 1900. The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation, is the generation that includes the veterans who fought in World War II. They were born from around 1901 to 1924, coming of age during the Great Depression. Journalist Tom Brokaw dubbed this the Greatest This photograph depicts four generations of Generation in a book of the same name.[8] one family: an infant, her mother, her maternal grandmother, and one of her The Silent Generation born 1925 to 1945, is the maternal great-grandmothers. generation that includes those who were too young to join the service during World War II. Many had fathers who served in World War I. Generally recognized as the children of the Great Depression, this event during their formative years had a profound impact on them. The Baby Boom Generation is the generation that was born following World War II, from 1946 up to 1964, a time that was marked by an increase in birth rates.[9] The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave"[10] and as "the pig in the python."[11] By the sheer force of its numbers, the boomers were a demographic bulge which remodeled society as it passed through it. In general, baby boomers are associated with a rejection or redefinition of traditional values; however, many commentators have disputed the extent of that rejection, noting the widespread continuity of values with older and younger generations. In Europe and North America boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of affluence.[10] One of the features of Boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before them. In the 1960s, as the relatively large numbers of young people became teenagers and young adults, they, and those around them, created a very specific rhetoric around their cohort, and the change they were bringing about.[12] Generation X (also known as the 13th Generation and the Baby Busters)[13] is the generation generally defined as those born after the baby boom ended.[14] The term generally includes people born during all or part of the 1960s: According to Strauss-Howe generational theory, 1961 is the starting point, though other sources, including theU.S. Census Bureau, consider it to have started in the mid-1960s.[15][16] It ends in late 1970s to early 1980s, usually not later than 1981[17][18][19][20] or 1982.[21][22][14][23] The term has also been used in different times and places for a number of different subcultures or countercultures since the 1950s.[24] Generation Y, the Millennial Generation (or Millennials),[22][25] Generation Next,[26] Net Generation,[27] Echo Boomers,[28] describes the generation following Generation X.