Controversy 11!
Aging Boomers
Who Are the Boomers
The Baby Boomers – term referring to the
77 million people born in the U.S. between
1946 and 1964
 Depending on how we represent Boomers as
a group, we are likely to come to different
conclusions about what it will mean for this
large group to move into later life
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So we need to ask: “Who are the Boomers?”
What is a Generation?
Generation can refer to people who are born
in a certain time period, or people who are a
certain age at a single point in time (although
this is usually called a “cohort”)
 Age-Period-Cohort model – a group of
individuals will be influenced by each of
these three factors – age, period, and cohort
 Aging effects – effects brought about by the
physical process of aging, along with social
responses by others to those effects

What is a Generation? (cont.)
Aging effects – effects brought about by the
physical process of aging, along with social
responses by others to those effects
 Period effects – those affecting all age
groups in society at the same time
 Cohort effects – associated with events
affecting groups of people during the same
years

What is a Generation? (cont.)

Distinctive characteristics of the Boomer
generation include:
Much larger size than cohorts before or after
 Higher levels of educational attainment than
earlier generations
 Praised by some as the “Greater Generation”
because of their push for rights and tolerance
during times of social upheaval

Social Construction of the
Boomer Phenomenon

Social construction – refers to meaningful,
yet man-made facts about human existence
and interaction in the world
Currency, traffic lights, and college degrees are
all ‘socially constructed’ (i.e., they don’t occur in
nature where no humans are present), but that
doesn’t mean they are unimportant
 Thus, social life that is “constructed” is
negotiated between people, and is subject to
change and transformation as our beliefs change

Social Construction of the
Boomer Phenomenon (cont.)
There were also Baby Booms between the
1940’s and 1960’s in Great Britain, Finland,
and Australia
 Interestingly, Baby Boomers in the U.S. are
contradictingly portrayed as selfish and
negative, or idealistic and positive

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Aging Boomers tend to be presented in polar
opposite ways, which is problematic for
researching out what society thinks of them
Boomers in the Years Ahead

More than four-fifths of Boomers repeatedly
say they plan to work in their retirement
years
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Yet, that number is much higher than the
percentage of people who actually do so
Overall, we can’t be certain how society and
government, let alone individual Boomers,
will respond to changing circumstances in
the future