The more dribble I read about what Baby Boomers will and won't do; ;the more I understand why those of us working hard to counter ageism can't make more progress. In spite of the fact that our nation and all of the developed world is more senior than junior for the first time in history, the media and a veritable plethora of consultants want us to believe narcissism continues to rule.
I just finished reading about the latest special on how Baby Boomers changed everything - what a worthless focus. In the web posting, Larry W. Jones, President of TV Land and Nick at Nite stated, "Viewing the impact of Baby Boomers through the years is truly remarkable. Generation Boom shows just what a force this generation is to be reckoned with. Right away, Boomer demanded more - beginning with the amount of diapers they needed." What an amazing conclusion from such a trifling of fact. Could it be that the Boom used more diapers because there were 9 million more than the generations that preceded or followed the Boom.
To paraphrase the authors of Freakonomics, what we read about The Boom is based on "a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit." However, if you simply examine the numbers and the facts, the Boom "is not penetrable, is not unknowable, and - if the right questions are asked - is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking" Perhaps it is time for Levitt and Dubner to do a sequel called Baby Boom Freakonomics.
While we know that we tend to share common values in each stage of our life, this reality is ignored when it comes to the Baby Boom as it joins the Eisenhower Generation in the fall and winter of life. Instead of constantly revisiting the 60's, as if were the panacea for modern marketing, we need to focus on the reality beyond the numbers. From marketing to labor issues, the solutions are not that illusive if you know what questions to ask and understand the impact of aging in a post modern world.
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