From The Storyteller
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Generations
A while ago I sat quietly listening to a group of young folks talking confidently about the differences in "generational interests" for Gen Xers, Millennials, and the Zoomers. Demonstrating how out of touch I was with those terms I offered, “I know I’m a Baby Boomer because I was born in 1947, but I don’t know the age breakdown for these groups you're talking about. Can you fill me in?” The silence almost made my ears hurt, and then one honest soul simply said, “I’m not sure”. The others quickly nodded, immediately changed the subject, and left me wondering about this thing called "generational interests". Naturally, this caused me to think about my hearing aids. Recently, Belltone began writing to me twice weekly. They're offering free hearing tests and big discounts on their hearing aids. I also started getting coupons for hearing aid batteries from the grocery store, and about every third internet popup is now advertising hearing aids. That’s when it struck me – I'm being "target-marketed", because Baby Boomers are the right age for hearing problems, and I'm a "Baby Boomer". I’ve been wearing hearing aids since 2016, but it wasn't until this year somebody noticed. I suspect a supercomputer somewhere generated a detailed profile about my ears and my age, and now "marketers" are focusing their advertising dollars on things I should be interested in. Wow, until now I never knew I had an interest in timeshares, reverse mortgages, ocean cruises, and guaranteed issue life insurance. Being known so well makes me smile. Moral: Things have changed since I was a kid. P.S If you interested in the generation info directly from Google: The Silent Generation (1928 to 1945), Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964), Gen Xers (1965 to 1980), Millennials/Gen Yers (1981 to 1996), Zoomers/Gen Zers (1997 to 2012), Alpha/Gen Aers (2013 to 2025). |