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The Baby Boom Is Now the Elder Boom

  • Writer: Patricia Faust
    Patricia Faust
  • Aug 9
  • 4 min read
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The Baby Boom is now emerging as the Elder Boom.  How did the Baby Boom become the transformational generation, and what does that mean now as they enter their older years?

The sheer number of the boomers has driven change throughout their entire lifetime.

 

The Baby Boom


Post-World War II America was ripe for this explosion of births.  The economy was sound, men and women coming back from the war were anxious to start families, settle down, and enjoy the economic opportunities of the times.  The World War II generation was the most marriage and family-oriented in US history: 96.4% of women and 94.1% of men in this cohort got married at a younger age than their parents before them.  They had more children, sooner after marriage, and spaced closer together.  On average 4.24 million babies were born per year between 1946 and 1964.  In 1964, the 76.4 million babies born during the baby boom generation constituted a whopping 40% of the US population (192 million).

 

Boomers Impact the Economy


The boomers benefitted from a strong economy at that time, but they were also a major contributor to continued economic growth.  The enormous generation of babies became an enormous generation of children, teenagers, young adults and now seniors.  As they aged, they changed the industries around them.  As babies and children, they drove the sale of toys, candy, and washing machines.  The gigantic group of school children drove the construction of new schools, and suburbs.  As teenagers, they dominated the culture of the 50s and 60s, buying clothing, and records. They were the disruptors of the music industry initiating the birth of Rock and Roll. And they never looked back.

 

Significance of the Boomers


“The generation born in the twenty years following World War II has been a defining force in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  Coming of age in the 1960s and 1970s, they were on the forefront of social change in those decades, including the later stages of the Civil Rights Movement, protesting the Vietnam War, and the second wave of the feminist movement.  It might even be said that those movements gained momentum because of the sheer size of the baby boomer generation, whose shared concerns and life experiences as an age cohort exerted influence on an American culture proportional to their numbers.”

 

Notable boomers, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates introduced the personal computer to everyone.  The development of the world wide web was brought to fruition by Sir Tim Berners-Less.  The Kurzweil 250 musical synthesizer was created by Ray Kurzweil, with advisement from Stevie Wonder.  The Kurzweil 250 was a digital musical instrument that was able to duplicate the sound of a grand piano.  He then went on to develop a succession of other digital keyboards that have been used by artists such as Paul McCartney and Earth, Wind and Fire.

 

The advent of space exploration was championed by President John F. Kennedy. His challenge was to reach the moon first!  The three astronauts on the Apollo mission were Commander Neil Armstrong, pilot Michael Collins, and lunar module pilot Edwin (Buzz) Aldren.  Armstrong and Aldrin were the first humans to land on the surface of the moon.  The was an engineering phenomenon.  Our cell phones of today are more powerful than the computers that were flying the Apollo spacecrafts.

 

The Longevity of the Boomer Generation


The advancement in medical technology has revealed discoveries that have allowed the boomers of today to live healthier lives.  As a result, there are 74 million boomers moving through the benchmark retirement age of 65 to the tune of 10,000 per day.  By 2030 1 in 5 people will be over the age of 65.  The established age for retirement of 65 was an underestimate of the capabilities of boomers to continue working.  There are instances where boomers are aged out of their careers.  For those wishing to return to the workplace, ageism is still a very strong bias.  And then there are those who enjoy retirement and depend on their Social Security checks to help pay their living expenses.  This is when the enormous group of boomers are causing many headaches.  As they age, the ratio of retired Americans compared to working Americans will increase significantly, placing a considerable strain on Social Security, hospitals, healthcare workers, and government agencies designed to help the older population.  The silver tsunami has hit!

 

This is a very real problem, but the people who might be able to help solve this conundrum, have not been invited to the table for discussions.  An aging brain is a powerful tool.  Crystallized intelligence increases with aging.  The expertise and experiences of older people can be valuable assets.  Older people are the ones affected by decisions made to control costs of the senior population.  Disregarding their opinions because they are in their seventies is foolish and short-sighted.  Longevity is a reality, and a chronological age is not the answer for drastic solutions.  This enormous generation is powerful, and their expertise is priceless.  Listen to them.

 

References:

 

Kiger,P. (December 29, 2010). Baby boomer inventions that changed the world. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS182429596720101222

 

 
 
 

Comments

Where did summer go?  It was a goal of mine to be intentional each day of summer to appreciate the warm weather, the long days, and believing we are in the lazy, hazy days of summer.  Turns out that wasn’t exactly how the summer went.  At the beginning of summer, we had a lot of rain.  I mean enough rain to flood the Ohio River and its tributaries.  Everything was wet! Then we went into the heat mode!  At the end of June, we went camping for a long weekend.  We are tent campers!  I think we were the only tent campers in the entire campground.  It was obvious that RVs and Motor Homes were the way to go on this particular camping trip.  Their air conditioners filled the night air with their compressors whirring.  Not to be outdone, my sister-in-law and her husband brought an air conditioner to cool off their tent!  We were really roughing it!!  The 100+ degree temperatures will give us lots of stories to tell about how we survived the heat and still had a great time.

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Then there was July and August and I have no idea what we did to mark those months as memorable.  And now it is September.  This is the best month of the year.  The weather is temperate, and we have an overlap of professional sports in Cincinnati.  The Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball team is finishing up the season.  The Cincinnati Bengals National League Football team is starting their season. The FC Cincinnati Major League Soccer (MLS) team is amid their season. 

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Octoberfest is at the end of this month.  Cincinnati has the second largest Octoberfest festival in the world, second only to Munich Germany!

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September is really all about Raising Awareness for the Aging Population!​

  • Healthy Aging Month (Brain Health)

  • National Senior Center Month

  • National Assisted Living Month

  • Falls Prevention Awareness Week

  • World’s Alzheimer’s Month

  • National Suicide Prevention Month

  • National Recovery Month

  • Substance abuse and mental health services

This list is mostly positive references to senior events/awareness.  Suicide Prevention Month and National Recovery Month might not seem like they should be in this list.  But the statistics of seniors taking their own lives is the highest of all age groups.   I did a little research to confirm that statement.  What I found was unsettling.  My next newsletter will include a blog on senior suicide.  This is really important information for all of us.

 

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is less than a month away!! Yikes – I told you I lost a couple of months of the summer!!!  Here are some facts on the personal impact of Alzheimer’s for families, friends, and caregivers.

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  • Today, more than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s.  By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.  This is a direct correlation to the large size of the Boomer generation.

 

It is hard to conceptualize the impact of these figures if you are not aware of the devastation Alzheimer’s disease leaves behind.  So, let’s make this more personal:

  • Are you a Boomer?  The last group of Boomers will pass through the 65-age threshold in 2030.  Age is a non-modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s.  The percentage of getting Alzheimer’s and other dementias starts to increase rapidly the older you get.  Boomers are now in the high-risk group which accounts for the huge projection of those with Alzheimer’s by 2050.

  • Do you have a parent, grandparent or other relative or friend that are in the over-65 age group?  You will likely experience Alzheimer’s as a caregiver or friend/relative of a caregiver.  Alzheimer’s will impact your life in many ways.

  • Do you have parents in this over-65 age group and children still living at home?  You are now part of the sandwich generation, responsible for care of your parents and your children.  The results of the extreme stress and financial burden will make for a very difficult time in your life.

 

The Alzheimer’s Association is fully aware of the impact of this horrible disease.  Their goal is to Find the First Survivor.  The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is their largest national fundraiser.  Please support/join Team My Boomer Brain as we too fight to bring an end to Alzheimer’s. 

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Link to donate:  http://act.alz.org/goto/faust

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Thanks to all, 

 

Pat

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