Ok, Boomer. We’ve all heard it before. Most younger people say it to anyone older than them, not realizing it’s an actual generation. Now, we’re not sure that anyone would say that to Elon, even if they didn’t agree with what he was saying. But if they did, would they be correct? Is Elon Musk a Boomer?
No – Musk was born 7 years after the last year that qualifies people to be considered in the generation of the Baby Boomer. What exactly are Baby Boomers? And what generation is Elon Musk? And how did the term become to be used as an insult?
When it comes to generations, there is a bit of confusion, and overlap as there are no specific requirements, or definitions as to the years in which are considered for particular generations. But there is generally a consensus amongst scholars when categorizing people, based on year of birth, into appropriate generations.
Common Generations
The most common, or popularly well-known, generations for today starts with the Silent Generation, or The Traditionalists. This group was born between 1925 and 1945. However, there are categorized generations before this, including the Greatest Generation, or the GI Generation. Some people categorize this generation as being born before 1924, some have it as between 1910-1924, and others break it down even more into Depression Era, War Era, and Post War Era.
After The Traditionalists came the Baby Boomers from 1946-1964, and much more cohesion amongst the generations, as opposed to their elders, though there are still some differences with years. From the Baby Boomers to currently, the generations are as follows:
- Generation X (Baby Bust) 1965 to 1979
- Millennials (Gen Y) 1980 to 1996
- Generation Z (iGen) 1997 to 2012
- Gen Alpha 2013 to 2025
As we mentioned earlier, there is a bit of discrepancy with the years for some of them. Some have also been unofficially broken down even further as well, but are not necessarily recognized as a separate generation.
Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers were born starting in 1946, named due to the uptick in babies being born post-war. Many of our parents or grandparents are from this generation.
There was a huge cultural and social shift during the Baby Boomer time, and some scholars have broken this generation into Baby Boomer I and Baby Boomer II. The opportunities the earlier Baby Boomers had were not necessarily there for the later ones. It also led to what some refer to as the Me Generation, as they expected what the older ones had to be just given to them.
Ironically enough, these were the same people who would call Millennials the same thing.
After 1964 the increase in baby births started to decline and the new generation was nicknamed the Baby Bust.
Generation X
Generation X has been through a lot. This was the era of latchkey kids, or those who looked after themselves after school, and daycare. Divorce became more prevalent, there was the fall of the Berlin Wall, the events at Tiananmen Square, a change in music genres, etc.
Not everything was bad though, as this was the generation that became the most educated and highest-paid. By 2016 Generation X and Millenials voted more than the Baby Boomers, for the first time in history.
Generation X was also the Generation in which Elon Musk was born. Even with some discrepancy in dates, born in 1971, he is nowhere near the cusp, and therefore can’t be confused with a Baby Boomer.
Generational Insults
Millennials get picked on for a lot, they’re still getting picked on even when people are unknowingly referring to Gen Z.
One of them fought back in November 2019 with two words, “Ok Boomer”, after a Baby Boomer on TikTok declared that Millennials and Generation Z are the Peter Pan Generation, never wanting to grow up.
Again, ironically enough, even though the first mention in November was to an actual Baby Boomer, people are using the phrase for those in the Gen X generation. They were upset that people kept referring to them when it was in fact a different generation, and yet they’re doing the same thing.
This was not the first use of the phrase Ok Boomer, however, it just picked up popularity at that time. The phrase can be traced as far back as 2009 on Reddit.com, and has been used several times over the years.
SpaceX Led by Gen X
A good way to remember what generation Elon Musk is a part of is to remember that he was born as part of Gen X and is the head of Space X. So, even if you don’t agree with something he says, don’t go calling Elon Musk a boomer.