| Description |
The baby boom generation, the largest group of Americans ever born within an eighteen year time span, is at a crossroads. At nearly 76 million strong, boomers represent more than one out of every four Americans (US Census Bureau, 2000). The quality of life for everyone in this country will be affected by the path they take, now and in the coming years. Boomers have been driving cultural trends for six decades. From their youngest years, the sheer size of the boomer generation has forced society to adjust and change its priorities to meet their needs. In addition, boomers hold very different attitudes and values than previous generations. They question the status quo and challenge authority. They hold values of idealism, self-actualization, accomplishment, autonomy and individuality verging on selfindulgence. These values are in great contrast to their parents and grandparents values of fatalism, paternalism, pragmatism, self-control, self-denial and quiet endurance of hardship (Bartlett, 1999). Dychtwald (1999) points out that whenever boomers arrive at any stage of life, the issues that concern them dominate the social, political and economic consciousness of this country. In fact "boomers don't just populate existing lifestages or consumer trends, they transform them (Dychtwald, 1999: p. 69)" for themselves and for society as a whole. Baby boomers are aging |
