Baby boomer
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The term baby boomer most commonly refers to people born during the years 1946 to 1964 worldwide.[1][2] In Canada it is anyone born between 1960 and 1980.[3] Australia identifies baby boomers as those born between 1946 and 1961.[3] Generally, after 1960 the birth rate started falling.[4] In 1951, Sylvia F. Porter, a columnist for the New York Post, first used the term baby boom for the rapid rise in birthrate after Word War II.[5] Multiple other sources, though, indicate the boomers, more likely than not, might have been born between January 1944 and December 1965.[6][7][8]
Economic impact
From 1945 to 1964 about seventy-seven million babies were born in the United States.[9] In the 1950s baby boomers bought Mouse-ear hats after they watched "The Mickey Mouse Club". They danced to rock and roll and idolized singers like Elvis Presley. Hula hoops and Barbie dolls were wildly popular.[10]
By the 1960s many baby boomers were teenagers. They spent nearly $20 million on things including food, clothing, and recorded music.[11] Businesses were eager to find ways to meet their demands. By the 1970s entire industries were changing because of baby boomers.[11]
Aging and end-of-life issues
In 1998 the baby boomers began to discuss about their end-of-life issues; but many commentators think they have became burdens for their children and society.[12] According to the 2011 Associated Press and LifeGoesStrong.com surveys:
60% lost value in investments because of the economic crisis 42% are delaying retirement 25% claim they will never retire (currently still working)[13]
Baby boomer today
The oldest baby boomers were 76 years old in 2022 and one in five Americans will be 65 years old in 2030. Many people believe they will become a stress on social welfare systems.[14]
Baby Boomer Media
Baby boomers are sometimes referred to as the "Vietnam generation" due to the significance of the War in Vietnam. In the United States, roughly 1 in 10 baby boomer men served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Some of them were deployed to Vietnam.
U.S. adult demographic cohorts in 2019
- Kondratieff Wave-HQ.png
Diagram of the Kondratieff wave from 1800 to 1990
- Bourbaki congress1938.png
The Bourbaki school greatly influenced mathematics research and education in the postwar era.
- University of Chicago Law School, 1955-63. Law School - 00441v.jpg
Large numbers of Americans pursued higher education after World War II. Pictured: the University of Chicago Law School (1955–63)
- Family watching television 1958 cropped2.jpg
An American family gathering to watch television (1958)
- Londons Carnaby Street, 1966.jpg
Londons Carnaby Street, 1966
- Beauvoir Sartre - Che Guevara -1960 - Cuba.jpg
(Left to right) Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Ernesto Che Guevara meeting in Cuba, 1960. They were some of the radical icons of the 1960s.
- Betty Friedan 1960.jpg
Betty Friedan, American feminist and writer.
- Listening to is Yes' self-titled debut album from 1969 (cropped).jpg
An American university student listening to a British rock record on campus while sporting (then–recently popularized) blue jeans, 1970
References
- ↑ Dimock, Michael (January 17, 2019). "Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
- ↑ "Baby Boom Generation". u-s-history.com. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matt Rosenberg. "Baby Boom". About.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ Jose Miguel Rivera. "Prolonged Health for Baby Boomers, Creative Retirement Transition for the Workforce" (PDF). New York University. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ Sol Steinmetz, There's a Word for It: The Explosion of the American Language Since 1900 (New York: Harmony Books, 2010), p. 99
- ↑ "How Today's Baby Boomers are Redifining the Geriatric Care". MD Linx. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ↑ "What Does the OK Boomer Mean". HuffPost. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Older Workers Face an Increase for Unemployment Rates". Law.Com. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Baby Boomer Generation Fast Facts". CNN. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ Baby, boomer. "Baby boomer market". www.history.com.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Baby Boom". Study Notes, LLC. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ Baby, boomer. "End-of-life issues". www.bizjournals.com.
- ↑ Baby, boomer. "Aging and end-of-life issues". www.livingbetterat50.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2015-03-12. 28 January 2013
- ↑ Baby, boomers. "Baby boomer today". www.history.com.