Generation Jones: The Forgotten Middle Child

You’ve heard of Baby Boomers. You’ve heard of Gen X. But tucked right between them is a group you may not know: Generation Jones.* Born roughly between 1954 and 1965, they missed Woodstock but were too old for grunge. That is so me. I was witness but not a participant in the 1960s.

The name comes from that restless feeling of “jonesing” which describes always craving something more. They grew up watching the first-wave Boomers get the best of the post-war prosperity, while they hit adulthood in the ‘70s and ‘80s amid inflation, layoffs, and tighter opportunities.

Why does it matter? In politics, they’ve been classic swing voters. Think Reagan Democrats or Obama supporters. In culture and business, they bridged analog and digital, counterculture and consumerism.

Most people just lump them in with Boomers or Gen X, but Generation Jones reminds us that even within big labels, timing matters. One decade’s difference can shape an entirely different outlook on life.

*Give credit to the term "Generation Jones" to cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell.

John Bradley Jackson
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