Will The Real Me Generation Please Stand Up: How The Greatest Generation Morphed Into Millennials

Over millions of years, humans evolved from a single cell. Yet, the yearning to return to that one cell- the singular "me" remains a driving force despite the evolutionary advances.

But the irony is that it’s ultimately within groups that our souls generally find satisfaction, or conflict. Initially, most of us find our place in a family, and that then expands into friendships, school or college groups, and then widens as we find like-minded people with whom to share our time on Earth.

These relationships deepen or fall apart over time as we grow. Sometimes, we still long for what we had and lost, but the ingrained push to evolve links to the pressing need to be me: a unique individual with a life to lead and meaning to be found. So who really is the "Me Generation?"

Before We Gave Generations Names

Science suggests we evolved from one single cell around 300-400 million years ago, which kept multiplying and morphed into different species, one of which was homo sapiens, also known as human beings, some 300,000 years ago.

Early humans were a primitive lot, but they evolved over time, sometimes in significant leaps- like when fire was discovered, and sometimes for other reasons, such as environmental pressures. Living in a valley where your home is regularly washed away will soon have you seeking out a cave on higher ground or figuring out how to build a houseboat!

And they reproduced, which some argue is the singular meaning of their existence: To procreate and produce a slightly more evolved being than you are. Genetic change can and has altered a species' overall way of life. What we eat, where and how we live, and how we grow depend on our new abilities to adapt to environmental change, which in turn alters our way of life.

As years went by, clans or groups had ideological differences, then fought or left to find greener pastures, and so settlements started popping up around the world. Scientists argue about whether humans started in Africa or the Middle East, but most agree that migration led to groups exploring the world. Some found America, for example, possibly by travelling across the Bering Strait —a narrow 52-mile water body separating Alaska and Russia, where particular groups settled and became Native Americans in the north some 15,000 years ago, while others pushed on, perhaps after internal conflicts or driving desires to explore.

The Incas emerged in South America in the early 13th century, but in the meantime, in China, a civilization had started evolving around 5,000 years ago. Many other groups found their homes and set about evolving as they took up an ever-increasing amount of space on Earth with their expanding numbers.

Read more about the evolution of humans here

Of Kings And Queens And Emperors And Conquerers

In every group, a leader emerges; sometimes it's their natural leadership abilities, other times it's their lust for power and money. Soon, leaders became kings and queens and emperors, hoarding excessive riches for themselves while they sent the general population out to fight their wars.

Egyptian rulers Iry-Hor (who lived in the 32nd century BCE), or Namer, and Sargon of Akkad, are often credited with founding the world's first Empire, although the famed and fabled Egyptian Empire only emerged around 1550 BCE. Apparently, it took a while for the emperor/king thing to catch on, but it was soon emulated across the globe.

Life for the majority under kings and emperors wasn’t much fun, unless you were family, friend, or brown noser. Les Misérables is one example that depicts the worst kind of consequences of royal politics. Set in France during a period of political turmoil and social upheaval, the story vividly describes life after the death of the queen, Marie Antoinette, who, having her cake, was unable to eat it with her head in the guillotine basket in 1793, but was replaced by Napoleon, who crowned himself emperor in 1804. A king by any other name...

But some years earlier, the industrial revolution had been set in motion in 1760, and it was an opportunity for ordinary people, tired of serfdom and fighting other people's battles, to make their own fortune. Like the discovery of fire, the Industrial Revolution sparked a revolutionary transformation in the way humans lived.

From the Greatest Generation To The Millennials: One Small Blimp In Time, One Massive Leap Into A New World

After the king and queen concept started losing public support and Earth had been explored and conquered, quite literally to death, by those leaving behind sometimes sordid pasts, and their families, a group that came to be known as the"Greatest Generation" emerged. No longer known as the Egyptians or the Neanderthals, humans unwittingly started broadening their outlook far beyond their own groups by labelling generations as well as geographic or ethnic groups.

The “Greatest Generation” was born between 1901 and 1927, and went on to fight two World Wars, and still returned and managed to survive the Great Depression. Famous for their resilience, work ethic, and contributions, the greatest generation produced people known for their stoicism, selflessness, and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good.

Their strengths were an essential part of their value system, but the values were limited to a privileged few in many ways. Still scoring low on civil rights- women only got the right to vote in England in 1918, and Black People only got that right in America in 1965.

The aptly named "Silent Generation" was born next, between 1928 and 1945. While the group is sometimes called the Traditionalist Generation or the Builders Generation, "silent" seems more appropriate. Very little is spoken about this generation, despite the fact that some of them are still alive and would now be in their 80s, 90s, and beyond.

Perhaps the rise of Baby Boomers, born roughly between 1946 and 1964, was a big enough culture shock to silence a whole generation. This term ‘Baby Boomers’ is associated with a perceived shift in values towards self-focus and personal fulfillment, earning the generation the “Me Generation” nickname (but the moniker also applies to a later generation, which we will get to shortly).

Contrasting with the self-sacrificing attitudes of previous generations, the Boomers, remembering their original single cell’s life meaning- to reproduce, went on to produce an average of 2.5 children and lived in picture-perfect houses with white picket fences while secretly developing anti-depressant and alcohol dependencies. And engaging in brutal and cold wars with other countries, although it must be said that the development of the United Nations is a remarkable display of how the world can work together.

Boomers’ offspring, Generation X (Gen X), followed over the next 20 or so years and refined the Boomers' quest for independence, but generally remain adaptable and pragmatic, with sides of skepticism and resourcefulness as they build on the value systems of previous generations and adapt them for their purposes. Independence may be their characteristic trait, which may have emerged from having two working parents, leaving children to their own devices more often than previous generations were.

Gen X, following the Boomer trend, puts a high value on self-reliance and channels their pain of working parents (who were doing their best to make a good life for Gen X) into creating a work-life balance. Being the first generation to grow up with personal computers, another “fire discovery” moment in time, they sought to tap into the potentially vast benefits of an AI-assisted lifestyle as profoundly as they mined for cryptocurrency on those personal computers as the rise of AI was just beginning.

Following Generation X is the Millennials (aka Generation Y, but also shares the "Me Generation" moniker with the Boomers), born roughly between 1981 and 1996, who are unlikely to survive without technology and social media, and are often described as being even more open-minded and socially conscious than their older siblings. They want a healthy work-life balance, and are the most connected generation to people across the world, yet are often the least connected to their own families and the values they hold dear.

A Different Way Of Living In A Different World

In a 2024 Reddit discussion, it emerged that approximately 19.6% of people in the 55-64 age bracket (which includes later Gen Xers) have never had children, suggesting a significant portion of the generation is childfree.

And over half of millennials with no children want to start a family, but many are delaying pregnancy or choosing not to have kids because of financial pressures, career goals, and societal factors. Climate change, the high cost of raising a child, the lack of a suitable partner, and general concerns about the state of the world are some of the reasons for not having children.

Many are focusing on their own lives, without the potential burden of children, making them the true “Me generation,” but the Silent generation, Boomers, and GenX all contributed towards this evolutionary process.

From the primitive lives of early humans, we now find ourselves in a world where brutal, bloody wars are the norm, and many struggle to survive while others live off bloated, ill-gotten corporate earnings. And despite being more closely connected than ever before, we still don't want to figure out how to get along with others, even though Earth has no more space to run to to build a new civilisation.

But the Earth still keeps spinning on its axis, despite the damage humans have caused, and people will continue to evolve. After Millennials comes Generation Z, born from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. Who can tell how they will contribute to evolution, or what new set of of values they may still choose, or whether they may be that angel generation many hope they are, the one that succeeds in picking out the best values of their ancestors, and modernizes them to create a more tolerant, happier world where everyone is valued, and everyone can thrive.

To start, every generation blaming the generation that came before- blaming their parents, which has led to a surge in parental estrangement, is unproductive and meaningless. Perhaps we could figure out how to resolve our problems between ourselves, rather than start wars or create new lives by leaving the old ones behind. Or does evolving, and the word itself has morphed into meaning "becoming," mean it's all about returning to that single cell- becoming "Me?"

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Generations: How “us” became “me”

GENERATION	BORN	THEIR WORLD	FAMOUS FOR	STRENGTHS	CRITICISMS
Greatest Generation	1901 to 1927	Fought two World Wars, and still returned and managed to survive the Great Depression.	Their resilience, work ethic, and contribution to the world	Built lives around a value system, known for their stoicism, selflessness, and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good	Values limited to a privileged few- scored low on civil rights
Silent Generation aka Traditionalist Generation aka Builders Generation	1928 to 1945	Post-war era of the Cold War, marked by the McCarthy era, fear of Communism, the Korean War, and significant social change through the Civil Rights Movement	Being silent	Quietly building a better future, without announcing it on social media	Very little is spoken about this generation, despite the fact that some of them are still alive and would now be in their 80s, 90s, and beyond.
Baby Boomers	1946 to 1964	Significant social and economic changes, including a period of prosperity, technological advances, the rise of suburban life, the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and a shift towards more liberal social values	Fiercely independent, with an average of 2.5 children, Boomers lived in picture-perfect houses with white picket fences while secretly developing anti-depressant and alcohol dependencies	Strong work ethic, high loyalty and commitmen with a focus on reliability and stability; Built strong mentorship abilities, and valuable institutional knowledge; Developed self-awareness and resilience	Shift in values towards self-focus and personal fulfillment, the first “Me Generation”
Generation X aka Gen X	1965 to1980	The first generation to grow up with personal computers, they sought to tap into the potentially vast benefits of an AI-assisted lifestyle as profoundly as they mined for cryptocurrency on those personal computers.	Put a high value on self-reliance and channels their pain of working parents into creating a work-life balance:	adaptable and pragmatic, with sides of skepticism and resourcefulness	Cynical and disaffected
Millennials aka Generation Y aka "Me Generation"	1981 to 1996	Social Media and fake news explodes	Being open-minded and socially conscious	Refined the GenX healthy work-life balance, and are the most connected generation to people across the world.	Often the least connected to their own families and traditional values with a tendency to be self-absorbed
Generation Z aka Gen Z aka Zoomers.	1997 to 2012	Being the first generation of "digital natives" who grew up with the internet and smartphones as an integral part of life	Being tech-savvy and connected online	Valuing diversity and inclusivity, being pragmatic and financially conservative, and possessing a strong sense of social justice and a concern for environmental issues	Seeking instant-gratification, struggles with soft skills like face-to-face communication, problem-solving, and resilience, over-reliant on digital tools and struggle with patience.