Generation gap
Encyclopedia
The generational gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between children and parents.
Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, modern generational gaps have often been attributed to rapid cultural change in the postmodern period, particularly with respect to such matters as musical tastes, fashion, culture and politics. These changes are assumed to have been magnified by the unprecedented size of the young generation during the 1960s, which gave it the power and inclination to rebel against societal norms, as reflected in songs such as the 1965 hit "My Generation
" by The Who
and "The Times They Are a-Changin'
" by Bob Dylan
.
However, sociologists also point to institutional age segregation as an important contributing factor to the generational divide. In their research, for instance, Gunhild O. Hagestad and Peter Uhlenberg have observed that institutions divide society into roughly three chronological age-based groups which operate in isolated domains. Those in childhood phases are segregated within educational institutions or child-care centers, parents are isolated within work-based domains, while older generations may be relegated to retirement homes, nursing homes, or senior day care centers. Social researchers see this kind of institutionally-based age segregation as a barrier to strong intergenerational relationships, social embeddedness, and generativity (the passing down of a positive legacy through mentoring and other cross-generational interactions).
Some interventions resulting from intergenerational research have proven successful in bridging the generation gap. Examples include multigenerational music groups, or programs bringing "bookend generations" (elders and preschoolers) together in intergenerational daycare centers where the elderly mentor the young. Researchers find that positive relationships built between unrelated children and elders in these settings tend to be generalized to relationships within the family at home.
and early marriage became the norm, as opposed to the "rating and dating" trend that was fashionable before the war), to the new medium of television
gaining widespread popularity and often portraying teenagers as juvenile delinquents
. 'JDs' followed the standard black leather and denim jeans look set by Marlon Brando
in the 1953 film The Wild One
. The widespread adoption of rock and roll
also helped emphasize differences between parents and teenagers. Rock was loud, rhythmic, and energetic. Even FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover called the new music "a corrupting influence". Holden Caulfield
, the hero of J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye
, was a literary embodiment of teenage angst and alienation further fueling adults' perception of teenagers as rebels.
The War in Southeast Asia and the rise of counter-culture hippies during the mid and late 1960s with diverging opinions about the draft and military involvement in Vietnam as well as the use of drugs were significant topics of the generation gap of this era. The cover of Mad Magazine No. 129 by artist Norman Mingo
, dated September 1969, showed a split Alfred E. Neuman
, the "old" Alfred on the left wearing a "My Country: Right or Wrong" lapel button, and the "young" long-haired Alfred on the right with a "Make Love Not War" button, and the cover statement "MAD Widens the Generation Gap."
The TV series All in the Family
focused on the generation, as a conservative-minded middle-aged man repeatedly quarrels with his independent-minded wife and staunchly liberal daughter and son-in-law.
, as shown by such phenomenon as latchkey kids. This period lies between the family-oriented 1950s and 1960s and the "Baby on Board
" parenting–focused era of the late 1980s to the present. The media notably labeled Generation X as "slackers".
Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, modern generational gaps have often been attributed to rapid cultural change in the postmodern period, particularly with respect to such matters as musical tastes, fashion, culture and politics. These changes are assumed to have been magnified by the unprecedented size of the young generation during the 1960s, which gave it the power and inclination to rebel against societal norms, as reflected in songs such as the 1965 hit "My Generation
My Generation
My Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom in December 1965. In the United States it was released by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation in April 1966, with a different cover and a slightly altered track...
" by The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and "The Times They Are a-Changin'
The Times They Are a-Changin' (song)
"The Times They Are a-Changin" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released as the title track of his 1964 album, The Times They Are a-Changin. The song was ranked #59 on Rolling Stones 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time....
" by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
However, sociologists also point to institutional age segregation as an important contributing factor to the generational divide. In their research, for instance, Gunhild O. Hagestad and Peter Uhlenberg have observed that institutions divide society into roughly three chronological age-based groups which operate in isolated domains. Those in childhood phases are segregated within educational institutions or child-care centers, parents are isolated within work-based domains, while older generations may be relegated to retirement homes, nursing homes, or senior day care centers. Social researchers see this kind of institutionally-based age segregation as a barrier to strong intergenerational relationships, social embeddedness, and generativity (the passing down of a positive legacy through mentoring and other cross-generational interactions).
Some interventions resulting from intergenerational research have proven successful in bridging the generation gap. Examples include multigenerational music groups, or programs bringing "bookend generations" (elders and preschoolers) together in intergenerational daycare centers where the elderly mentor the young. Researchers find that positive relationships built between unrelated children and elders in these settings tend to be generalized to relationships within the family at home.
The 1920s, 1930s and 1940s: Baby Boomers vs. the Older Generation
As the '40s ended and the '50s emerged, marked differences between teenagers and parents began to emerge. From a transformation of the dating system (going steadyGoing Steady
Going Steady: Film Writings 1968-1969 is the third collection of film reviews by the critic Pauline Kael, comprising the years 1968-1969, when she first began her film-reviewing duties at The New Yorker and which covers, " a crucial period of social and aesthetic change at the end of the...
and early marriage became the norm, as opposed to the "rating and dating" trend that was fashionable before the war), to the new medium of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
gaining widespread popularity and often portraying teenagers as juvenile delinquents
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
. 'JDs' followed the standard black leather and denim jeans look set by Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
in the 1953 film The Wild One
The Wild One
The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...
. The widespread adoption of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
also helped emphasize differences between parents and teenagers. Rock was loud, rhythmic, and energetic. Even FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover called the new music "a corrupting influence". Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
, the hero of J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
, was a literary embodiment of teenage angst and alienation further fueling adults' perception of teenagers as rebels.
The War in Southeast Asia and the rise of counter-culture hippies during the mid and late 1960s with diverging opinions about the draft and military involvement in Vietnam as well as the use of drugs were significant topics of the generation gap of this era. The cover of Mad Magazine No. 129 by artist Norman Mingo
Norman Mingo
Norman Theodore Mingo was a commercial artist and illustrator. He is most famous for being commissioned to formalize the image of Alfred E. Neuman for Mad....
, dated September 1969, showed a split Alfred E. Neuman
Alfred E. Neuman
Alfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot and cover boy of Mad magazine. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed and named by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman...
, the "old" Alfred on the left wearing a "My Country: Right or Wrong" lapel button, and the "young" long-haired Alfred on the right with a "Make Love Not War" button, and the cover statement "MAD Widens the Generation Gap."
The TV series All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
focused on the generation, as a conservative-minded middle-aged man repeatedly quarrels with his independent-minded wife and staunchly liberal daughter and son-in-law.
Generation X: The 1980s
The 1970s and 1980s are characterized as being an era rampant with child neglectChild neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
, as shown by such phenomenon as latchkey kids. This period lies between the family-oriented 1950s and 1960s and the "Baby on Board
Baby On Board
Baby on Board is the message of a small sign intended to be placed in the back window of an automobile to encourage safe driving. First marketed in September 1984 by Safety 1st Corporation, the sign became a ubiquitous fad, flourishing in 1985...
" parenting–focused era of the late 1980s to the present. The media notably labeled Generation X as "slackers".
See also
- Achievement gapAchievement gapAchievement gap refers to the observed disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The achievement gap can be observed on a variety of measures, including standardized...
- Digital divideDigital divideThe Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
- Income gap
- Marriage gapMarriage gapThe marriage gap describes observed economic and political disparities between those who are married and those who are single. The marriage gap can be compared to, and should not be confused with, the gender gap.-Politics and marriage:...
- Moral panicMoral panicA moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
- Inter-generational contract
- Intergenerational equityIntergenerational equityIntergenerational equity in economic, psychological, and sociological contexts, is the concept or idea of fairness or justice in relationships between children, youth, adults and seniors, particularly in terms of treatment and interactions. It has been studied in environmental and sociological...
- Youth voiceYouth voiceYouth voice refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. The term youth voice often groups together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, regardless of backgrounds, identities, and cultural differences...
- Youth activismYouth activismYouth activism is when the youth voice is engaged in community organizing for social change. Around the world, young people are engaged in activism as planners, researchers, teachers, evaluators, social workers, decision-makers, advocates and leading actors in the environmental movement, social...
- Student voiceStudent voiceStudent voice describes the distinct perspectives and actions of young people throughout schools focused on education."Student voice is giving students the ability to influence learning to include policies, programs, contexts and principles."...
- Student activismStudent activismStudent activism is work done by students to effect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding...