Baby Boomers vs Silent Generation
Coats and ties for men, skirts or dresses for women. That was the dinner dress code for most of the last 37 years at the Sequoias, a high-rise retirement community in San Francisco. But when the owner decided to renovate the dining room, newer residents lobbied for a more casual dining experience with a buffet. More than two years later, some of the old-timers are still grumbling, says Hilde Orloff, president of the resident council. . .
As residences designed for a generation that came of age during the Great Depression make way for one that entered adulthood amid postwar prosperity, more and more retirement communities are experiencing similar culture clashes. Often squabbles arise when administrations propose raising monthly fees to pay for spa cuisine, wellness classes and computer-ready apartments demanded by comparatively spry 70-year olds.
The intergenerational tension is expected to mount as more and more baby boomers enter their golden years, during which they are expected to be healthier and more active than the generation that came before them. By 2030, one in five U.S. residents is expected to be 65 and older. . .
While there has been a lot of talk about what the baby boom generation will want when it retires, the changes already under way have been targeted at their predecessors, the so-called Silent Generation born between 1925 and 1945. Ranging in age from 65 to 82, they are seen as conformist compared to the rebellious boomers, but they launched the civil rights and women's liberation movements. And they tend to be wealthier and more outspoken than the GI Generation that came before them, according to Anne Burns Johnson, president of Aging Services of California.
It is hoped that they will meet in the middle and become a community over time. There are aspects of the communal experience residents never thought that they would be interested in -- and the SG residents who only did water aerobics or chair yoga will say, 'I didn't think I would like line dancing, but it's really fun."
This summary is comprised of bits and pieces of Associated Press' Lisa Leff's article titled "A clash of cultures at the retirement community."
| GI Generation
82 - 100+
1924 - !9 --
Silent Generation
62 -82 years old
1945 - 1925
Baby Boomers
76 million
43 - 61 years old
1964 - 1946
Gen X
41 million
31 - 42 years old
1976 - 1965
Gen Y
72 million
13 - 30 years old
1994 - 1977
Yeppies
20 Somethings
Gen C
Male / Female
any age . . .
creating "content"
with products.
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