Baby boomers, or boomers for short, are defined by when they were born. On the surface, they look like a random bunch, but they have a lot in common.
Being born around the same period means boomers have shared experiences. While each person has a unique life story, they’re all still connected.
The cool part is that, like other generational groups, boomers have impacted the world economically, culturally, and politically.
Want to learn more about this generation?
Keep reading to learn what life was like for boomers and how they’ve changed the world.
The baby boomer generation began after the end of the Second World War.
The Second World War ended in 1945, and the following year marked the beginning of a new generation: the baby boomers.
This group includes everyone born between 1946 and 1964 and is one of the largest and most influential generational groups.
Now, 18 years is a long time, so boomers are typically split into two smaller groups. The older boomers born between 1946 and 1955 are called leading-edge baby boomers.
On the other hand, the trailing-edge boomers, also called Generation Jones, were born between 1956 and 1964.
Boomers are between the Silent Generation and Generation X.
The Silent Generation, from 1928 to 1946, came before the boomers. Some from this group of traditionalists were also parents of the younger boomers.
The group that directly follows the boomers is called Generation X. It includes those born between 1965 and 1980.
This generation is named after the surge in births following World War II.
Soldiers returning from the Second World War wasted no time starting families. Thankfully, the government passed the GI Bill, which helped them buy a home, acquire a degree, and get better jobs.
About 76 million babies were born in the US during the 18 years of the baby boomer generation, raising the country’s population by about 50% compared to before the war.
Interestingly, though, this generation’s name was only coined later in the 1960s as many of the oldest boomers were coming of college age.
The baby boomer generation experienced teacher shortages.
As the baby boomers grew, it was eventually time to go to school. However, there was just one problem: there were not enough schools or teachers. So, the educational system had to be improved.
First, the government recruited and trained more qualified teachers. Then, they built more schools to accommodate this large population of schoolchildren.
In fact, Los Angeles County set up a new elementary, middle, or high school every month between 1946 and 1964.
Baby boomers are one of the most educated generations in the US.
Many boomers focused on getting higher education, becoming far more educated than the generations before.
All in all, about 88.8% graduated from high school, and 28.5% went on to get a bachelor’s degree or higher.
While these numbers are impressive, it’s important to remember that education was free or heavily subsidized for boomers.
Another name for boomers is the workaholic generation.
Hard work and discipline are some of the defining characteristics of boomers. They weren’t afraid to compete to stand out as long as it got the job done.
The major downside is that focusing so much on work made it challenging for them to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
This means they sacrificed family holidays and hobbies for their careers.
Boomers control the world.
This generation has produced many CEOs who control most major corporations worldwide. In addition, this generational group owns about 40% of all small businesses in the US.
They are also the country’s decision-makers. Although boomers make up just about 21% of the US population, they fill over half of the seats in Congress.
Baby boomers are big spenders.
Boomers aren’t shy about being the wealthiest generation. They control 70% of spendable money in America and splurge just over $548 billion annually.
Interestingly, boomers don’t just spend on items; they also pay for experiences and trips.
About 99% of boomers plan yearly holidays. They love traveling and seeing new places. Plus, they pay for about 80% of all luxury travel expenses.
Barbie is a boomer.
Ruth Handler, co-owner of Mattel, first designed the Barbie doll in 1959. Unlike the baby dolls that were already popular, Barbies were made to look like adult women.
This way, little girls could see their future selves in these dolls.
Despite being initially criticized, Barbies were an immediate hit once they hit the shelves. And they remain trendy more than 50 years later.
Barbie has had every job, from teacher to astronaut, doctor, and even fashion model. This reminds kids that their dreams are valid and that they can be anything.
Baby boomers grew up watching screens.
By screens here, we’re talking about televisions. You see, around the time when Boomers were born, televisions had just become increasingly popular.
Since they were in almost every home, boomers grew up in front of television sets.
Iconic TV shows that boomers grew up watching include the Brady Bunch, The Flintstones, I Love Lucy, and Gilligan’s Island.
Four past US presidents are boomers.
In 1992, Bill Clinton, born in 1946, became the first baby boomer to be US president.
George W. Bush and Donald Trump are also boomers, born the same year as Clinton.
Barack Obama, also a boomer, was born towards the end of the generation in 1961. He made history as the first African American president of the US.
Boomers spend up to 27 hours online each week.
This generation has an interesting relationship with the internet, having watched its birth and evolution over the years.
Most of them spend several hours online each week using social media, especially Facebook.
Boomers also spend lots of time playing mobile games like Subway Surfers and Candy Crush on their phones.
This generation has helped make the world better with their inventions.
Each time law enforcement arrests a criminal using DNA evidence, we owe Sir Alec Jeffreys thanks. He was born on January 9, 1950, so he’s officially a boomer. Sir Jeffreys was the leading scientist behind the creation of DNA fingerprinting technology.
Another incredible baby boomer inventor is Dean Kamen, who created the Segway scooter and portable dialysis machine.
Other boomer inventions are the Jarvik 7 implantable artificial heart by Dr. Robert Jarvik and the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
Boomers chose careers based on their sense of duty and dedication.
This generation didn’t focus only on personal gain but often looked for jobs that allowed them to serve their communities.
Many Boomers went into healthcare as administrators, doctors, or nurses.
Working in government and law enforcement were other popular career choices for this generation.
They also contributed to building the country by taking jobs in construction and manufacturing.
The Vietnam Generation is another name for baby boomers.
The Vietnam War ran from 1955 to 1975 when the oldest boomers were between ten and twenty years old. As a result, boomers were greatly affected by the war.
First, about 40% of male baby boomers were conscripted to fight in the Vietnam War. And those who didn’t go to battle watched closely from home.
As the war lingered, people, including boomers, protested against it, sparking the counterculture movement.
Boomers were part of the original hippie movement.
Hippies were a laidback group of young people, typically boomers in their twenties, who emerged in the 1960s. Some described them as misfits with a distinct fashion sense, but they were more than that.
They believed that humans should live in harmony with the environment. This explains their natural way of life and communal living arrangements.
Peace and nonviolence were central to boomer hippie culture, so they supported many social and political causes, including protests against the Vietnam War.
The Beatles had a significant impact on boomer culture.
While the Beatles weren’t boomers, they rose to fame just as boomers were growing up. As a result, many boomers grew up with the Beatles as the soundtrack to their lives.
The dream was saving up months of allowance just to buy a Beatles album.
But it wasn’t just the music that attracted boomers to this band; never before had a generation grown up wanting so badly to look cool.
Some popular boomer slang is still used today.
If you teleported back to the boomer generation, you could easily fit in with slang like
cool cat,” “bummer,” “on cloud nine,” and “decked out.”
Okay, you might not use these terms as much today, but at least you still hear them now and then.
However, not all boomer slang has survived through the generations. If you hear someone say “razz my berries” or “moo juice,” you could probably guess they’re a boomer.
The first moon landing was a culture-defining moment for boomers.
When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in 1969, the oldest boomers were 23, while the youngest were 8.
Everyone gathered around television sets to watch Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong step on the Moon for the first time.
This event brought hope, representing a new beginning. For everyone watching, it meant that there was no limit to what humans could achieve.
Young boomers were particularly inspired, leading to a generation that knew they could accomplish anything if they put their minds to it.
Boomers aren’t ready to retire.
The first set of boomers reached the retirement age of 65 in 2011. By 2030, the last of them will officially be over 65.
Despite hitting retirement age, a high percentage of boomers aren’t ready to stop working. Even into their 70s, boomers are still going to work and keeping busy.
Some continue working because they love their job, some because they don’t know what else to do, and others simply don’t have a choice.
Boomers without enough saved up for retirement are forced to keep working.
This generation fought for civil rights and equality.
The civil rights movement was born because of the years of oppression and systemic racism that African Americans faced.
People of all ages, including boomers, joined the fight in the 1950s and 1960s. Even boomers as young as 6 or 7 took to the streets to join the protests.
However, this was only the beginning. Boomers also championed several other causes, including fighting for gender equality and pushing for gay rights.
We like to say that boomers had it easy. And yes, no one can deny that boomers had some perks in their day that made life much easier. The economy was far better when they were younger.
Plus, buying a house didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Life wasn’t all rosy for them, though. They grew up in the midst of the Vietnam War and were in the middle of the counterculture and civil rights movements.
