Category: Personal Reflections and Diary

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_JonesI AM GENERATION JONES, between the Boomers and GenX. The Yuppy generation. I was a yuppie in the 80’s. I was a small child in the 60’s, and no part of it. I remember the oil crisis of the 70’s. Star Wars came out my senior year of high school. And I got out of college in 83. No affinity for boomers, and high identification with GenX’ers. First Tech Generation: Same as Gates, Ellison, and Jobs.

FROM ELSEWHERE

Reclassification

When one considers that psychologists and sociologists agree any generation is defined by shared experiences of historical events and cultural influences during the developmental and formative years, and that generations generally span 10 to 12 years, the classification of Baby Boomers as a “generation” based solely on annual birth rates, from 1946 to 1964, was actually a misclassification. The emergence of so-called “late Boomers” as a subgroup of Baby Boomers was a start in correcting the error, and then Pontell’s research further revealed that the second half of the Boomers were different enough from the first half to break away from the classification altogether.

How Jonesers Compare to Baby Boomers

Though Boomers and Jonesers share some traits, such as idealism, they behave differently. Members of Gen Jones tend to be more practical and rational in their approach to change. Their childhood years were inspired by positive social change brought on by the Baby Boomers, but then sobering events of the 1970s—including Watergate, the oil embargo, rising inflation, and unemployment—forced them to be pragmatic as they entered adulthood. Jonesers still desire a world of equality, peace, love, and happiness, but their approach to achieving that goal runs down the middle of the road more than on the path of radical action.

How Jonesers Behave

Jonesers remember what life was like before the rise of technology, and they long for that simplicity. They are willing to unplug occasionally and also to use technology as a tool for social betterment and for personal gain and convenience.

Regarding advertising, Generation Jones is turned off by hard-sell tactics and hype. They would rather have the facts and then decide for themselves if a product or service is right for them. But that doesn’t mean emotion is out of the equation altogether. If advertisers use nostalgic icons from the Jonesers’ childhood and teen years, such as the Snickers TV commercial blending Danny Trejo and Marcia Brady, or place their ads during reruns of The Monkees, they will get attention. And go ahead and include the URL in the ad because, according to Pontell, Jonesers spend more money online than Boomers do.