Allen Roberts's Reviews > Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future

I am an American Gen-X’er. We were the last generation to grow up without the internet and without mobile phones, neither of which were widespread until I was in my 20’s. We were the last generation to be allowed to generally roam around as kids and youth without much adult supervision. Many of us (myself included) experimented with sex, drugs, and drinking at a young age. We had no concept of ideas such as safe spaces, microaggressions, cancelling, or nonbinary gender. So, the culture we came up in wired us much differently from the Gen-Z’ers making up the youth and young adults of today.

This book, based on decades of social science research, documents the many differences between the 6 American generations alive today (yes, the research herein was all conducted on Americans, for what it’s worth)—Silents (born 1925-1945), Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1979), Millennials (1980-1994), Generation Z (1995-2012), and Alphas/Polars (born after 2013).

Of course, generations are comprised of individuals, and not everyone fits neatly into the trends of their own generation. The author explicates this point clearly in the introduction. Nevertheless, there are clearly recognizable differences between generations, and these differences are due to factors that affect everyone, such as world events (e.g. the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, the end of the Cold War, etc.) and technological changes (e.g. television, the internet, smartphones, etc.).

The book is brimming with research on generational differences in so many areas—from political views, education, attitudes on sex, marriage and family, attitudes on race, the use of drugs and alcohol, reported happiness levels, suicide rates, and so much more. The amount of information presented is almost overwhelming. One minor quibble, I would have liked to see a bit of a tighter focus topically instead of an overview of each generation on its own. This might have made for a bit of a smoother read.

This book is long, but quite informative and impressive. It is an excellent resource to help us understand one another better—something sorely needed in this polarized, divided society we find ourselves in today. Recommended. 4 stars.