A Look at Who Really Belongs to Generation Y

I have been hearing this term a lot in recent years: "Generation Y." Hmm....like most people, I know this term obviously refers to the modern generation of youth, but I did not really know who belonged to the group. Is it everybody under age 21? Those in their 20s? Does it include me?

The terms Generation X and Generation Y always confused me to some degree. I was born in 1981, and I had found out in my travels that some suggest I am among the last born in the "Generation X" era and others sources say I am among the earliest of the "Generation Y" babies. Well, for a person like me who likes unequivocal definitions for such things, this fact really bothered me! I know my parents are Boomers, and I know my grandparents were among the Greatest Generation. But what about me? To what demographic cohort do I belong?

This question brought me to conduct some research. Sources generally say that Generation Y is the label applied to Americans born during the next big baby boom after the Baby Boomer era itself (ubiquitously stated as being from 1946-1964). While Generation Xers were born during the years when the national birth rate ebbed a bit, Generation Yers marked an increase in birth rates which occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. But when exactly was this second post-World War II baby boom? Demographers, I am finding out, differ on this issue.

A 1999 Business Week magazine article states Generation Y people entered the world between 1979 and 1994, when some 60 million were born. Wow---there are something like 75 million Boomers. No wonder Generation Yers also are often referred to as "echo boomers." Of course, though, I thought a lot would have changed in the demographic perspective of Generation Y in the near decade since this article has been published. However, A 2007 CNN online article says those under 29 are among Generation Y, which puts the beginning of the Generation Y era around 1979 also---hmm...do I spy a trend here?