Generation Jones - Growing Up in the 60s and 70s

Born in 1966, for years I considered myself lost - a woman without a generation to claim as her own.

One day I learn of Generation Jones and proclaim, "Hey, that's me!" Yet there is a minor problem. My birth date is off by a year, technically months. As a whole generation lingers it seems like a valid time to ignore age requirements, unlike in my teens.

With Boomer parents and decidedly cynical Gen X siblings, the cultural influences, global attitudes, and motivational differences are easy to see - as are the variations in wrinkles, incidentally.

So, Generation Jones may offer an identity to the lost children of the 60s who have largely ridden Boomers' coat tails, until now.

What is Generation Jones?

The short and informal description of Generation Jones, originally penned by historian Jonathan Pontell, proclaims that people born between 1954 and 1965 make up this distinct generation.

A formidable 25 percent of the population, Generation Jones is now of particular import to politicians and advertisers.

The term "Jones" bares several meanings. According to the Generation Jones web site, "Jones" symbolizes moderation between the "personality extremes of the Boomers' idealism and the Xers' cynicism." Additionally:

Generation Jones yearns for or deeply craves (slang term: Jonesin') a better life, having many unrealized expectations.

Jones, like Doe, is anonymous. This lost generation was passed over by society as the focus leapt from Boomer to Gen X'ers.

Jones represents mainstream - moderate viewpoints and realism are common to Generation Jones.

Growing Up as Generation Jones

We, as I claim my new generation, were the first to embrace and financially support the Internet. In fact, we invented it. Yes, Al Gore is a Generation Jones'er, so is Bill Gates and Steve Job. (Vinton Gray Cerf, a founding father of the technology, however, is a Baby Boomer.)

Long before the Internet revolution, children of the 60s shared a unique culture growing up, some common experiences include:

-- Watergate interrupted our favorite television shows.

President Nixon and Elvis

Credit: public domain

Copyright: public domain