Controversy 11

Aging Boomers:Boom or Bust?

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Who Are the Boomers

• The Baby Boomers—term referring to the 77 million people born in the United States between 1946 and 1964

• Depending on how we represent boomers as a group, we are likely to come to different conclusions about what it will mean for this large group to move into later life

• So we need to ask: “Who are the boomers?” 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

What Is a Generation?

• Generation can refer to people who are born in a certain time period, or people who are a certain age at a single point in time (although this is usually called a “cohort”)

• Age-Period-Cohort model—a group of individuals will be influenced by each of these three factors—age, period, and cohort

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

What Is a Generation? (cont.)

• Aging effects—effects brought about by the physical process of aging, along with social responses by others to those effects

• Period effects—events or situations affecting all age groups in society at the same time

• Cohort effects—associated with events affecting groups of people during the same years (c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

What Is a Generation? (cont.)

• Distinctive characteristics of the boomer generation include the following:• Much larger size than cohorts before or after• Higher levels of educational attainment than

earlier generations• Praised by some as the “Greater Generation”

because of their push for rights and tolerance during times of social upheaval

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Social Construction of the Boomer Phenomenon

• Social construction—refers to the ongoing human process of making meaning of the social world

• What might be some examples of aspects of human reality that are “constructed”?• Punch-line: social life is “constructed,” and

meaning-making is an ongoing negotiation between people. Meanings are subject to change and transform as our beliefs change

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Social Construction of the Boomer Phenomenon (cont.)

• The boomer phenomenon didn’t only occur in the United States; informative to look cross-culturally

• Interestingly, baby boomers in the United States are portrayed in contradictory ways as selfish and negative, or idealistic and positive

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Boomers in the Years Ahead

• More than four-fifths of boomers repeatedly say they plan to work in their retirement years• Yet, that number is much higher than the

percentage of people who actually do so • Overall, we can’t be certain how society

and government, let alone individual boomers, will respond to changing circumstances in the future

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Reading Discussion: Boomsday

• What are the primary social concerns being address through this fictional account of the aging of the boomers?

• To what extent is the future scenario portrayed by Buckley in Boomsday a realistic possibility?

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Reading Discussion: No Country for Young Men

• McArdle, the author of the essay “No Country for Young Men,” asks a series of provocative questions about the retirement of the boomers: How will it transform the texture of our society? How will it change our economy, culture, politics? When it’s over, will America look better, worse, or just different?

• Discuss these questions and your thoughts about what the future might hold.

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Reading Discussion: The Longevity Revolution

• According to Roszak, what are some of the common characteristics of the “generational profile” given to the baby boomer cohort in the United States?

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Reading Discussion:The Long Baby Boom

• Goldsmith asserts, “There is an urgent need to change the conversation about the baby boom and its future.” In what ways does he feel the conversation should be changed? What does he propose as a more optimistic vision of the aging boomers?

(c) 2011, SAGE Publications, Inc.