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they live (e.g., renting or owning a home), work (staying
TERMS TO KNOW . . . in the workforce or retiring), and play (choosing leisure

Generation X: People born between 1965 and 1980 activities and vacation destinations) have a significant
and are now in their prime working years and continuing impact on U.S. culture and the U.S.
economy.
Generation Y: People who were born between 1981
and 2000; often referred to as millennials
Generation X

prosperity encouraged people to have more children, The members of Generation X were born between 1965
which gave rise to the “baby boom.” In 2020, the young- and 1980 and are now in their prime working years. Gen
est members of this generation were 56 years old and Xers, as they are commonly called, came of age in an
the oldest were in their 70s, so many of the Baby Boom- environment that is more tolerant of religious, cultural,
ers are on their way out of the workforce or have already and ethnic differences. There were about 64 million
retired. Gen Xers in the United States in 2018, and according
The Baby Boomers have attracted much scholarly to the Pew Research Center, they will outnumber Baby
and media attention for several reasons. First, the Boomers in 2028.
number of Boomers is huge, about 72 million. Second,
the Boomers played an important role in reshaping
the lifestyles, social norms, and societal concerns of The Millennials (Generation Y)
the United States (Figure 8.4). Many Baby Boomers Those who were born between 1981 and 2000 belong
own their homes and have accumulated considerable to Generation Y. They are often called millennials.
assets, giving them a great amount of economic clout. This cohort’s 83 million members make it the largest
The decisions that Baby Boomers make regarding how generation in the United States. As a group, the
millennials are better educated than any generation
before them, but they have also been hobbled by finan-
cial crises, including the Great Recession of 2007–2009.
They seem wary of Wall Street and have delayed pur-
suing the “American dream”: owning a home, getting
married, having kids, finding a good job, and investing
in a retirement account. Though many still rely on their
parents for financial help, they tend to be more commit-
ted to environmental and political causes such as re-
newable energy, resource conservation, climate change,
and gender equality (Figure 8.5).
The members of Generation Y grew up with the
Internet and smartphones, which have affected the
ways they live and how they interact with others.
For example, they are usually connected to their
peers via the Internet, and they may choose to inter-
act with each other through social media instead of
face-to-face meetings. They like to shop online, but
they are reluctant to make a trip to the mall. They
may subscribe to Netflix instead of watching tradi-
tional or cable TV networks for entertainment. Some
observers believe that financial strain (brought on by
college debt and low- paying jobs) may explain their
Figure 8.4 Celebrity Baby Boomer George Clooney (b. 1961). preference for socialism over capitalism, their sup-
Hyperstar / Alamy port for populist and progressive political candidates,

26 Unit 2 Population and Migration Patterns and Process
©2021 BFW Publishers. Sample material is NOT FINAL and corrections will be made prior to publication.

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