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By Alyce Collins
Senior Reporter
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For decades people have been categorized by the generation they're part of—whether that's the Silent Generation, baby boomers, Generation X, or millennials. Many people carry that label with pride (looking at you Gen Z), but others don't feel like they truly fit into their group.
Boomers who don't feel represented by their label will be pleased to know that they might not be boomers after all. Younger boomers who were born between 1954 and 1965 might actually be classed as Generation Jones instead.
According to the Pew Research Center, boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, but that's quite a large time span. Generational trends expert Daniel Levine told Newsweek those born in the latter years would have had "very different" experiences to older Boomers.
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He said: "It comes down to identity. Fact is, most Jonesers simply don't feel like Boomers.
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"The first half were in their teens and twenties during the Summer of Love. Whereas Jonesers came of age during Watergate, and they relate to music of the 80s more than the 70s. Boomers were active in the protests of the 60s, but by the time Jonesers went to college, protests had died out."
While generations are supposed to be a useful way of categorizing people of all ages, Levine, the director of the Avant Guide Institute, says that taking into account the year a person was born only gives us part of the picture. We should also look at the shared cultural experiences people gain as they came of age.
Indeed, it's understandable if some boomers don't actually feel like a boomer, and they certainly aren't alone. A poll by YouGov earlier this year found that 27 percent of people don't identify as the generation they fall under, and 15 percent said they aren't even sure what generation they are.
Gen Z were the most likely to say they don't match the category they fall into, with 45 percent, followed by millennials, with 39 percent. In contrast, 86 percent of boomers said they match the official definition of their generation.
According to the responses, 53 percent of boomers relate to their own generation the most, while 13 percent relate to Gen X.
What's The Key Difference?
The concept of Generation Jones isn't a new one, but very few are aware of it. Levine explained that the idea appeals to people who don't feel represented by the boomer label.
"I continuously see that people in this generation who become aware of it are attracted to the concept and feel like it fits quite nicely," he added.
But what's the main difference between the two generations? Well, Levine suggests Generation Jones bridges the gap between boomers and Gen X, taking some of the idealism of their elder counterparts, and the pragmatism of the generation after them.
"Generation Jones grew up on the fumes of the 60s, with its promise of freedom and change. But they came of age in the Nixon era when TV brought war into their living rooms, and politics was front and center on the evening news," he told Newsweek.
You might be wondering why you haven't heard that much about this wondrous new generation category, but maybe that's the whole point. Part of what makes Jonesers so lovable is their resentment of being pigeonholed, according to Levine.
They might also prefer to let boomers and Gen Xers take the spotlight around them. How very Jones of them.
"The concept really resonates with people in this age group. Marketers would benefit from better understanding this group," Levine said.
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