Why silent generation

Majorities of Americans support an array of measures to address climate change but stop short of a full break with fossil fuels. Boomers, Silents still have most seats in Congress, though number of Millennials, Gen Xers is up slightly. Even as younger generations gain representation in Congress, older generations still make up the majority of senators and representatives. Millennials stand out for their technology use, but older generations also embrace digital life. Millennials have often led older Americans in their adoption and use of technology.

But there has also been significant growth in tech adoption in recent years among older generations. Our interactive graphic compares the generations today and in the years that each generation was young ages 18 to 33 to demonstrate this sea change in the activities and experiences of young adults that has occurred over the past 50 years.

Because most Gen X folk are still working, they are often great colleagues who can give and take advice, swap gossip and in the case of those with senior positions, who have smashed it serve as inspirations. They will also come for strolls and brunch on Sunday mornings when my younger friends are still hungover in bed. X marks the spot. I was born in , almost bang in the middle of the millennial birth range of to As soldiers on the frontline of getting utterly screwed over by a clearly discriminatory economic system, we are a close-knit bunch.

We are the only generation to have grown up in the transitional phase between offline and online. Nostalgia is common, and any article about a 90s throwback will be popular: dial-up internet; jelly shoes; Pogs; Nokia s. In line with the boom in spending on experiences rather than material things, my twentysomething and thirtysomething friends and I enjoy new activities and restaurants, swimming and weekends away, laughing for days.

The buddies I do have from this group, I mostly communicate with on social media: Instagram or, more often, Twitter. They are more acquaintances than true friends, but I appreciate their wit and creativity.

I do not appreciate them asking me what a CD is. I try to offer younger friends advice and help them out — as my older pals do for me; possibly, I act as a cautionary tale.

I have always gravitated towards people older than I am, but the kids are definitely all right. While the measure of a generation is never universally agreed upon, most use the Silent Generation to connote those born roughly between and the early s. They actually do have a voice. Let me introduce you to a few people of that generation, who are also residents of Plymouth Place in La Grange. It seems like a put-down of a group of people who worked hard and did their part to keep your country and its families strong.

Wars were fought, civil rights were gained and there was a sense of responsibility during these years. Not a bad record for the silent ones. Jan McDermed, another Plymouth Place resident, was born in in a small farming town hit hard by the Great Depression. I was very grateful that my parents could help pay for my college and I was on my own in graduate school," McDermed said.

If that sort of outlook makes me part of the Silent Generation, I was then.