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Chapter 5: The Baby Boom and
Echo Boom
AGENDA
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
Demographic Groups In North America:
Generational Identities
Why care about the generations???
THE GENERATIONS

Traditionalists (1922-1945)
62-85 years old

Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
43-61 years old

Gen Xers (1965-1980)
27-42 years old
BABY BUST (1967 – 1979)

Twenty – Somethings
Gen Ys
or the Echo Boom (1981-2000)
7-26 years old
GENERATION Z (1996 – 2010)
 Millenium Kids



Traditionalists
(or Pre-baby boomers)
Traditionalists
(1922-1945)
(Ages 62-85)
• Life-Defining Events:
Great Depression,
World War II, Korean War, Canada Health
Act, Golden Age of Radio, Emergence of
Silver Screen, Rise of labour unions
• Attitudes & Values:
Loyal, respect for authority,
dedication, sacrifice and honour,
conformity
• Characteristics & Skills:
Compliant, stable,
hard-working, detail-oriented, fiscally
frugal, trustworthy
“Goal is to build a Legacy”
Baby Boomers
BABY BOOMERS (1946-1964)
(Ages 43-61)

Life-defining Events:

Attitudes and Values:

Characteristics & Skills:
Civil Rights Movement,
Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War,
Assassination of JFK, Woodstock,
Cold War, Quebec Crisis, TrudeauMania, Bilingualism, Women’s
Liberation, Moon landing, TV
Involvement, team
orientation, personal growth,
gratification, youthfulness,
equality, optimism
team players, driven
to succeed, relationship focused,
eager to add value, competitive
“Goal is to put their stamp on things”
Generation X
Generation X (1965-1980)
(Ages 27-42)
• Life-defining Events:
• Attitudes & Values:
PCs, AIDS, Challenger Disaster, Massive
Corporate Downsizing, Quebec
Referendum, Fall of the Berlin Wall, MTV/
Much Music, Reagan/Mulroney Conservatives
Self-reliance and independence, pragmatism,
skepticism, balance, collaboration, informality
• Characteristics & Skills:
Flexible & adaptable, creative,
independent, multi-taskers,
results-driven, techno-literate,
entrepreneurial
“Goal is to maintain independence”
Generation Y
“The Echo Boom”
Generation Y (1981-2000)
(Ages 7-26)

Life-defining Events:
9/11, School Violence, Y2K, Reality TV,
Digital Technology, Corporate &
Government Scandals, Polarized Canadian
Politics, Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan,
Rwanda and Dafur genocides

Attitudes & Values:
Confidence, diversity, optimism,
dedication, civic duty, immediate access to
information & services

Characteristics & Goals:
Techno-savvy, collective action,
pack mentality, innovative, creative,
accepting of differences, self-reliant
“Goal is to find and create a life that has meaning”
Why care?


Every generation leaves a footprint – or a
distinctive mark on the society in which they
live, from the traditionalists to Generation Z.
However, the size of the Baby Boomers has
had such a huge impact both in the recent
past and into the new millennium that it’s
important for sociologists and anthropologists
to study.
The Baby Boomers

35 years ago, Canada was a young society
of people eager for rapid social change –
what observers called the youthquake, a
culture of protest. These people were the
baby boomers, the large demographic group
that has strongly influenced the society,
economy, culture and politics of the past half
century.
Group Task
 How might you apply this knowledge in the
future …….