The two Baby Boomer generations

The Baby Boom had sub-generations It is a little known fact that there are two Baby Boomer generations. There is some disagreement about the exact beginning and ending dates of the Baby Boom but it generally agreed the boom began in 1946 and ended in 1964. The problem with this definition is that this 19 year span is a little too long for a cultural generation, even though it covers a distinct period with a dramatically higher birth rate.

The early Baby Boomers generation was born from 1946 to 1955, a ten year span. This group is the classic boomer generation.

The younger Baby Boomers generation was born from 1956 to 1964, a nine year span. This second group is sometimes called Baby Boomer Generation X, or "Generation Jones". Members are often referred to as “GenJonesers” or “Jonesers.” This sub-group fits in the period between the Baby Boomers and what is now called Generation X.

The Vietnam War split the Baby Boomer generations
Many observers think that the single most crucial and defining event for the early Baby Boomers was the Vietnam War and the protests over the draft which ended in 1973. Since babies born after 1955 were not subject to the draft, this argues for the ten years including 1946 to 1955 as defining the baby boomers. This fits the "thirtysomething" demographic covered by the TV show of the same name which aired from 1987-1991.

The culture of the group born after 1955 (thereby missing the draft and being too young to be part of the 1960s) is based on some different early life experiences during their formative years and other young adult realities.

World events shaped the character of the sub-generations
In a 1985 study of US generational cohorts a broad sample of adults was asked, "What world events over the past 50 years were especially important to them?" For the baby boomers the results were:

• Early Baby Boomers memorable events: assassinations of JFK, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, political unrest, walk on the moon, Vietnam War, anti-war protests, social experimentation, sexual freedom, civil rights movement, environmental movement, women's movement, Woodstock, protests and riots, experimentation with various intoxicating recreational drugs.

• Key characteristics of early Baby Boomers: experimental, individualism, free spirited, social cause oriented.

• Younger Baby Boomer memorable events: Watergate, Nixon resigns, the Cold War, the 1973 oil embargo, raging inflation, gasoline shortages.

• Key characteristics of younger Baby Boomers: less optimistic, distrust of government, general cynicism.

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