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- 主题发起人 阿搜
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- 2002-01-16
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我们是谁?
Who are we? Why are we called "Generation X"? Where did we come from? Where are we going? What's going on here? Where's the Beef? This page offers some (but only some) of the answers, and points you to other internet sources that can help you find the rest of the answers. Here's a brief "FAQ" on Generation X:
]How did we get this name? The name "Generation X" comes from the title of a book by Douglas Coupland of British Columbia, Canada. This was also the name of a British Punk group in the 1970s featuring 1980s soloist Billy Idol.
In a 1995 interview, Coupland denied any connection, saying: "The book's title came not from Billy Idol's band, as many supposed, but from the final chapter of a funny sociological book on American class structure titled Class, by Paul Fussell. In his final chapter, Fussell named an "X" category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often frames modern existence." -- Whatever you say, Doug.
When Coupland wrote his book in 1991, the phrase was picked up by marketers desperately seeking a name for the "generation without a name". Of course there's been much wrangling about this term, and many others have been offered, not all of them complimentary. The term "slackers" comes to mind. Other popular terms are "Thirteeners" or "13th Generation", which come from a book by Neil Howe and William Strauss called "Generations", in which we are listed as the 13th generation of the USA since 1620.
]Who exactly IS Gen-X? This question is in hot dispute. In the mid-1980's the Gen-Xer's had been labeled "Baby Busters", due to the low birthrates of the 1965-75 age bracket. Demographers noticed as early as 1966 that the "boom" was over, and began planning and budgeting downward for this massive change from the "boom" in births between 1946-1964. (These "Boomer" dates, by the way, have never been in doubt nor have they been doubted or tampered with by the media.) Today, however, many people lump those born in the years 1961-81 together. Why 1961? Despite being Doug Coupland's birthyear, it more likely began with the Howe & Strauss book "Generations", which used those years. The 1961-81 years are also being accepted and popularized by media like TIME magazine, which has used those years in a Gen-X cover story. The years 1965-79, 1964-82, 1960-1970, 1966-1977, and 1970-1983 have also been used in articles on Gen-X, but these all seem very arbitrary, and as you can tell, are all over the map, demographically.
]So, What IS a "Generation", anyway? A generation, loosely defined, is a group of people who can be, 1) demographically identified by biological trends and 2) have shared experiences. These are the basis for my belief that the 1965-75 timeframe works best, since the 1961-81 years do not reflect birthrates as well as the 1965-75 dates do, and it's really a mistake to try to see 40 year olds as having the same shared experiences as 20 year olds who barely remember who Ronald Reagan was! (HOWEVER: It's been argued that Boomers born from 1946-1958 see themselves as separate from later boomers. That's certainly legitimate, but both groups fall in the same BIOLOGICAL generation. The 1961-1981 dates are purely cultural, and are not biologically correct, and I contend that they should not be used - but see the "comments" section of this site for some spirited discussion on this issue.)
]Do we have a Generational Identity? Just like most Boomers weren't pot-smoking hippies, most Gen-Xers aren't "slackers". Most are decent, pragmatic, creative, strongly independent, self-reliant, and hard-working. We have a surprisingly good work ethic - including a strong sense of company loyalty, as long as it's reciprocal - and we want to get ahead, even though we aren't as concerned with the trappings of "success" as earlier generations were. However, we're very concerned with financial and emotional security. We're hopeful that the future will be good to us, but we're also shockingly realistic and honest about the struggles we're going to face in a rapidly changing world of diminishing resources, an elderly society, and a culture dominated by, and designed for, "Baby Boomers".
Then what's the 1976-81 crowd called? "Generation Y" comes to mind. (Or is that,"Why?") Also known as the "Baby Boomlet", because birthrates went up again in those years, what the media often mis-names "Gen-X" are the "grunge" kids that would be as alien to a high school campus in 1985 as we would have been in at high school in the 1970s. As a side note, it's ironic how this "Boomlet" group is being molded into little clones of the Boomers as they were in their youth, as if they were re-living their youth vicariously THROUGH them, which is, of course, exactly what's happening. The bell-bottoms, drug use, and even the revival of "folk" music- though most don't recognize it as such - looks and sounds shockingly similar, and it's not an accident. (Their little minds are being shaped to mimic Boomer's political and social values, too, but that's another story for another time.)
]How many of us are there? Not many. Using the '65-'75 dates, there are about 47 million of us. Census Bureau figures show that we will finally outnumber the Boomers, in 2040, by 39.6 to their 37.1 million. Of course, by then the Boomlet/Y-Generation will amount to 73.4 million, so we will be always an "in-between" group. So get used to it!.
:flaming:
Who are we? Why are we called "Generation X"? Where did we come from? Where are we going? What's going on here? Where's the Beef? This page offers some (but only some) of the answers, and points you to other internet sources that can help you find the rest of the answers. Here's a brief "FAQ" on Generation X:
]How did we get this name? The name "Generation X" comes from the title of a book by Douglas Coupland of British Columbia, Canada. This was also the name of a British Punk group in the 1970s featuring 1980s soloist Billy Idol.
In a 1995 interview, Coupland denied any connection, saying: "The book's title came not from Billy Idol's band, as many supposed, but from the final chapter of a funny sociological book on American class structure titled Class, by Paul Fussell. In his final chapter, Fussell named an "X" category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often frames modern existence." -- Whatever you say, Doug.
When Coupland wrote his book in 1991, the phrase was picked up by marketers desperately seeking a name for the "generation without a name". Of course there's been much wrangling about this term, and many others have been offered, not all of them complimentary. The term "slackers" comes to mind. Other popular terms are "Thirteeners" or "13th Generation", which come from a book by Neil Howe and William Strauss called "Generations", in which we are listed as the 13th generation of the USA since 1620.
]Who exactly IS Gen-X? This question is in hot dispute. In the mid-1980's the Gen-Xer's had been labeled "Baby Busters", due to the low birthrates of the 1965-75 age bracket. Demographers noticed as early as 1966 that the "boom" was over, and began planning and budgeting downward for this massive change from the "boom" in births between 1946-1964. (These "Boomer" dates, by the way, have never been in doubt nor have they been doubted or tampered with by the media.) Today, however, many people lump those born in the years 1961-81 together. Why 1961? Despite being Doug Coupland's birthyear, it more likely began with the Howe & Strauss book "Generations", which used those years. The 1961-81 years are also being accepted and popularized by media like TIME magazine, which has used those years in a Gen-X cover story. The years 1965-79, 1964-82, 1960-1970, 1966-1977, and 1970-1983 have also been used in articles on Gen-X, but these all seem very arbitrary, and as you can tell, are all over the map, demographically.
]So, What IS a "Generation", anyway? A generation, loosely defined, is a group of people who can be, 1) demographically identified by biological trends and 2) have shared experiences. These are the basis for my belief that the 1965-75 timeframe works best, since the 1961-81 years do not reflect birthrates as well as the 1965-75 dates do, and it's really a mistake to try to see 40 year olds as having the same shared experiences as 20 year olds who barely remember who Ronald Reagan was! (HOWEVER: It's been argued that Boomers born from 1946-1958 see themselves as separate from later boomers. That's certainly legitimate, but both groups fall in the same BIOLOGICAL generation. The 1961-1981 dates are purely cultural, and are not biologically correct, and I contend that they should not be used - but see the "comments" section of this site for some spirited discussion on this issue.)
]Do we have a Generational Identity? Just like most Boomers weren't pot-smoking hippies, most Gen-Xers aren't "slackers". Most are decent, pragmatic, creative, strongly independent, self-reliant, and hard-working. We have a surprisingly good work ethic - including a strong sense of company loyalty, as long as it's reciprocal - and we want to get ahead, even though we aren't as concerned with the trappings of "success" as earlier generations were. However, we're very concerned with financial and emotional security. We're hopeful that the future will be good to us, but we're also shockingly realistic and honest about the struggles we're going to face in a rapidly changing world of diminishing resources, an elderly society, and a culture dominated by, and designed for, "Baby Boomers".
Then what's the 1976-81 crowd called? "Generation Y" comes to mind. (Or is that,"Why?") Also known as the "Baby Boomlet", because birthrates went up again in those years, what the media often mis-names "Gen-X" are the "grunge" kids that would be as alien to a high school campus in 1985 as we would have been in at high school in the 1970s. As a side note, it's ironic how this "Boomlet" group is being molded into little clones of the Boomers as they were in their youth, as if they were re-living their youth vicariously THROUGH them, which is, of course, exactly what's happening. The bell-bottoms, drug use, and even the revival of "folk" music- though most don't recognize it as such - looks and sounds shockingly similar, and it's not an accident. (Their little minds are being shaped to mimic Boomer's political and social values, too, but that's another story for another time.)
]How many of us are there? Not many. Using the '65-'75 dates, there are about 47 million of us. Census Bureau figures show that we will finally outnumber the Boomers, in 2040, by 39.6 to their 37.1 million. Of course, by then the Boomlet/Y-Generation will amount to 73.4 million, so we will be always an "in-between" group. So get used to it!.
:flaming:
