From Boomers to Millenials

T

hese days, society seems to categorize people into specific generational groups. Marketers create campaigns targeted to them. You may not know it, but people in your own circle of friends could be classified as a different generation, simply according to their date of birth. Finding appropriate gifts could be a problem when tastes vary according to generational preferences.

Millennials, Gen X, Gen Z, Baby Boomers — all of these titles are bandied about without any consideration of accuracy of the dates they refer to. You may actually have been thinking you were in one generation, but are really in another even though some differences are obvious (when an old person meets a young person).

So, let’s have a look at these generations and their dates. Age is not a determining factor — it’s your date of birth that’s important. As you age, so does the group of people born around the same time. You will still be in that group. Other generations are named to reflect their birth years, etc. To demographers and marketers, your generation today is very different from when the generation was first named.

The different generations are named for various reasons. Baby Boomers came about after the Second World War when prosperity was being enjoyed. This resulted in many more babies born, thus they were called “Boomers”. It is one of the largest groups to date and is the fastest group that is retiring.

Let us look at these generations and what kind of gifts they might like.

Traditionalists (born between 1900-1945)

Some of our most famous rock stars were born near the end of this era. Many are not with us any more and those that are alive are of advanced age (which marketers have no interest in). A gift for an eighty or ninety year old person needs to be special. By this time they probably have everything they ever needed or are being taken care of in an institution. The best gift one can give is by showing interest and by visiting them. Check out our story on “Gifting our Elders”.

Baby Boomers (born between 1945-1964)

This group was large but now is slowly diminishing in number. It is by far the richest. Check out trendhunter.com (Boomers). It has 100 gift ideas for the Baby Boomer. Also try etsy.com. We're sure some of these products were not on your radar. Computers and tech devices are really not their thing even though Boomers managed to learn how to use them. They were mature adults when Jobs and Gates rolled out their stuff. Some encompassed these new technologies but there was also resistance to change and some Boomers decided to be luddites.

Generation X (born between 1965-1979)

They may have missed the height of the hippie era and the likes of the Beatles but the home computer age pretty well started as they were studying in school or university. As such they are computer savvy, use smartphones and spend a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter.

Presenting a gift to this generational person is no easy task but check out these websites: trendhunter.com,   cafepress.ca,  Uniquegifter.com and Etsy.com

Millennials sometimes called Generation Y (born between 1980-1994)

No need to stress that Millennials are very comfortable with computers, cell phones, social media, most gadgets and any technology. For this generation the typewriter, rotary phone and black and white TVs are something to be seen in a museum. By the time they were in their teens, technology had advanced at a rate that the previous generations were having trouble adjusting to, but this generation felt at home with from the start. I come from the Boomer generation and find this group to be self-centered but at the same time I do understand their thinking. Previous generations have screwed up the planet leaving it to them and Gen Z to either clean it up or perish. They have huge student debt in a world that may not even need their educated knowledge. Having to find gifts for a Millennial is challenging if you are from one of the earlier generations but there are websites that can help. You can always try to consult their social media sites but will probably find mostly selfies.

Check out these millennial websites: Trendhunter.com ,   Uniquegifter.com ,   Etsy.com and cafepress.com Generation Z (born between 1995-2015)

Many are still children and should be thought of as such. Those in their teens and early adulthood have never been without the Internet and spend many hours a day connected to social media of all kinds. The mobile phone is as much a necessity as an arm or a leg. This generation is aware of all the problems that plague this world, have a social conscience and are the most worried for their future. The older ones are just now entering institutions of higher learning. Buying presents for this generation spans many age groups — children, teens and early adulthood. Check out the usual gifts for early age children. Teenagers and early adults are a lot harder to shop for. Knowing more what their likes and tastes are will give you a better understanding of what to get. Our website has that service. Register with gyftit.com, answer the questionnaire and create as many GyftBuddies as you want. You will then know more what it is they and all the other generational GyftBuddies would like as a gyft. Here are some websites that may help with choices for generation Z: cafepress.com ,  Urbanmommies.com ,   Fashionista.com ) .