Jul 23, 2019
How the post-WWII generation became more open-minded than previous generations.
Baby boomers may be ages 55 to 73, but that doesn’t mean they’re all homebodies and flip-phone users. One of the most common misconceptions about the post-WWII generation is that they are not technology-savvy.
“[That’s] the biggest misconception about baby boomers today, especially by the media and marketing industry,” says Viacom’s Christian Kurz, SVP of Global Consumer Insights (GCI). “The biggest example there really is that Bill Gates is a baby boomer.”
To help audiences understand what defines demographic groups—including baby boomers, Gen Zers, Gen Xers, and millennials—the GCI team created a series of research-backed videos, titled “Generations.” These in-depth studies help our company and our partners to better understand how people see the world. Plus, they allow our brands and businesses to stay ahead of the trends to make sure the stories we tell are resonating with our audiences.
The generation born between 1946 and 1964 earned the “baby boomer” name for a logical reason: As soldiers returned home from WWII, they quickly started families, resulting in a literal baby boom. The suburbanization of communities and the flourishing post-war economy also drove this population explosion.
Baby boomers drove the anti-war movement during Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, counterculture, and second wave feminism.
“All of those things had a massive impact on how baby boomers were forming and shaping their personality and their individualism,” Kurz added. “They as a collective are rejecting what was before. They are starting to become a lot more liberal and are much more open-minded than their previous generations certainly were.”
Today, they remain energized, leading a more physically active lifestyle than the generations that came before them. They also use technology more actively than many assume.
Find out what else defines baby boomers in the video below: