We hear plenty about boomers today, but some of the most fascinating parts of their lives rarely enter the conversation.
Civil rights roots
You may think of them living quiet suburban lives or clinging to old traditions. However, they powered some of the most revolutionary social change in modern history.
This generation fought in the Civil Rights marches, kicked off second-wave feminism, organized some of the first LGBTQ+ advocacies, and protested America’s involvement in Vietnam on a nationwide scale. Countless civil liberties and workplace laws we accept as standard today were fought for by this generation in their youth.
Economic disparity within
It’s easy to think of Boomers as all being well-off homeowners with generous pensions, but that’s not the full story. There are notable income differences among Boomers. Many find themselves living on fixed Social Security checks, with little saved for retirement, and facing substantial housing instability or increasing medical expenses.
Pop culture pioneers
Before they ran corporations or entered old-school politics, they completely revolutionized worldwide pop culture in the 1960s counterculture movement. They started the contemporary music festival at Woodstock, turned rock and roll into a worldwide language and helped make environmentalism mainstream with the first Earth Day in 1970.
Two different subgroups
Covering the 18-year span from birth years 1946 to 1964, this generation is separated into two chronological sub-cohorts. The former experienced the optimistic postwar boom of the 1950s, the draft and the peak of the 1960s social revolution. The latter sub-group (sometimes called Generation Jones) grew up during the stagflation, high unemployment and cynicism of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Early tech builders
They might get made fun of today for their inability to use a smartphone or lack of social media etiquette but this generation grew technology into what it is today. Computer geniuses born in this time period established the personal computer industry, constructed the foundations of the internet, and coded the guidelines for software.
Caring for both generations
As the first generation to live with dramatically prolonged lifespans, many were unexpectedly caught in a double bind, responsible for both raising their own families and providing extensive personal and financial care for their aging parents. The pressures of full-time work alongside the responsibilities of caring for elderly relatives gave rise to the original sandwich generation.
Two income homes
Before them, it was culturally expected that families would live off one income with a parent who stayed at home. They were the generation that made dual incomes become the norm. Women began to join the workforce in record numbers during the 70s and 80s, changing the business world and home life forever.
Not easy lives
The notion they’ve had it easy ignores the massive economic shocks they weathered early in their working lives. They joined the workforce in the midst of the oil shocks and stagflation of the 1970s, competed with double-digit, sometimes obscene mortgage interest rates that reached 18% in the early 1980s and suffered recessions that erased their initial savings.
Views on marriage
They changed the concept of marriage entirely, removing the age-old social stigma that came with divorce. They advocated for no fault divorce during the 1970s, putting personal happiness and safety before staying in dysfunctional marriages and redefined the modern family.
Defining work culture
Born into an age of growing corporate society, this generation helped define what it means to be a workaholic and defined themselves with their work during the corporate boom of the 1980s. They set the precedent for spending late nights at the office, networking, and letting titles and career determine who they are.
Longer life spans
Because of modern medicine, this generation is living longer, but with more complicated chronic illnesses than any generation before. Planning for long term retirement expenses, memory care and assisted living has placed a demand like never before on medical systems and families.
The first target consumers
Their unique position as the first generation to experience the postwar economic expansion and massive suburbanization made them the first group to be influenced by mass marketing and television commercials from a young age. They popularized the suburban shopping mall, brand loyalty, and the use of credit in shopping.
Starting the fitness craze
Before boutique fitness studios existed, they kickstarted the boom of the masses getting healthy and fit back in the 70s and 80s. They made jogging for fun, workout tapes at home, group aerobics classes, and gym memberships normal activities for regular adults.
Rich cultural backgrounds
Talking about this generation often falls back on stereotypes, ignoring the diversity of race, culture, and immigration found throughout the populace. Immigrants who came after sweeping reform legislation of the 1960s, as well as Black, Latino, and Asian populations born within this time period, helped mold what we now know as modern day labor, food, art, and politics.
Redefining active aging
Instead of quietly withdrawing into sedentary retirement as previous generations have done, they are rewriting the rules of aging. They don’t quit working until they’re well into their seventies or eighties. Some are still working part-time, starting new businesses, going back to school, or backpacking across the globe.
Pioneer travellers
Before their youth, international travel was only for the extremely rich or soldiers. They were among those who helped create budget backpack culture, youth hostel chains and solo overlanding routes through Europe, Asia and South America during the late 1960s and 1970s. They helped make international travel a rite of passage for ordinary young people.
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14 baby boomer habits that young people laughed at until they tried them
