Crazy that you’re the only person I’ve found in the thread that realizes this. Generational theory largely accepts that the concept of monolithic generations is reductive. Yes, people born in and around the same time can have shared cultural experiences, but the idea that those are what purely shape you ideologically or that you behave as a component of a monolith are ludicrous. And then there’s subgenerations, microgenerations, etc. Just look at the sociological research of Karl Mannheim for a very complex discussion on the topic.
Generalizing is fine and a useful tool in certain situations. In others, it’s not, and can in fact be very harmful. It’s also sometimes good to explain why you support one versus the other in a particular scenario. Y’know…because that’s how conversations work.
I agree that battle of generations is silly, but there is still shared experience and trait in each generation. I used to think that the stereotype on boomers are greedy because they grew up in relative wealth is stupid, because my parents grew up poor in a third world country and did not benefit from Western wealth. However, they emigrated and travelled across the world and earning more than they would have in our home country.
Eventually, I realised that not all boomers are greedy, but some are materialistic. My parents are willing to share but they still have scarcity and hoarding mindset; even refusing to throw 20 year old clothes that are tattered.
Western boomers benefited from post-war economic boom and peace. Non-Westerners did not (post-colonial states in the mid to late 20th century suffered from constant sociopolitical strife) but the economic mobility afforded the third world citizens to migrate and move up the social ladder thanks to globalisation. However, the globalisation has, unfortunately, become not beneficial to younger generations because of outsourcing of traditional jobs and automation. And, unfortunately, this is leading to nativism and xenophobia.
Removed by mod
Crazy that you’re the only person I’ve found in the thread that realizes this. Generational theory largely accepts that the concept of monolithic generations is reductive. Yes, people born in and around the same time can have shared cultural experiences, but the idea that those are what purely shape you ideologically or that you behave as a component of a monolith are ludicrous. And then there’s subgenerations, microgenerations, etc. Just look at the sociological research of Karl Mannheim for a very complex discussion on the topic.
Them’s a whole bunch of fancy words for saying “don’t generalize.”
Generalizing is fine and a useful tool in certain situations. In others, it’s not, and can in fact be very harmful. It’s also sometimes good to explain why you support one versus the other in a particular scenario. Y’know…because that’s how conversations work.
I found two more! Get em, boys.
I agree that battle of generations is silly, but there is still shared experience and trait in each generation. I used to think that the stereotype on boomers are greedy because they grew up in relative wealth is stupid, because my parents grew up poor in a third world country and did not benefit from Western wealth. However, they emigrated and travelled across the world and earning more than they would have in our home country.
Eventually, I realised that not all boomers are greedy, but some are materialistic. My parents are willing to share but they still have scarcity and hoarding mindset; even refusing to throw 20 year old clothes that are tattered.
Western boomers benefited from post-war economic boom and peace. Non-Westerners did not (post-colonial states in the mid to late 20th century suffered from constant sociopolitical strife) but the economic mobility afforded the third world citizens to migrate and move up the social ladder thanks to globalisation. However, the globalisation has, unfortunately, become not beneficial to younger generations because of outsourcing of traditional jobs and automation. And, unfortunately, this is leading to nativism and xenophobia.