Summer 2022 Part 3

 

Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed Martial arts is a sport that should be evaluated. It's a full contact combat sport that has increased its popularity since the start of the 21st century. For decades, it has been used by men and women to express their skills in boxing, wrestling, and other forms of fighting skills. Back in the day, MMA was controversial. Many states banned the sport in America alone. It is only in recent years when MMA has been more promoted in a positive way by mainstream society. Being a youthful sport, it has gone through growing pains. Today, tons of corporations have influence in it, and diverse MMA leagues are in abundance. Venues have been called the Octagon, cage, and an MMA ring to showcase fighters fighting other fighters. Combat sports have existed for thousands of years in human history. We have interstylistic contests in Japan during the early 20th century. We know about the Gracie family using their own Brazilian jiu-jitsu for self-defense and to be involved in MMA culture. 

The legendary Bruce Lee wrote about combat fighting, and he had a scene in the 1973 film Enter the Dragon where an MMA-like match takes place. Muhammad Ali in 1976 fought Inoki in an Exhibition match that ended in a draw. Antonio Inoki was a wrestler. As time goes on, mixed martial arts have become more organized, more regulated, and the talent has spread globally. There are risks in MMA like increased chances of injury, CTE, and other damage to the human body. In our time, some of the best mixed martial artists of all time are human beings like Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Rhonda Rousey, George St.-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Randy Couture, Hkabib Nurmagoemdov, Daniel Cormier, Royce Gracie, Quinton Jackson, Amanda Nunes, Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, Megumi Fuji, Joanna Jerdrzejczyk, Cris Cyborg, and other fighters. One common denominator among these athletes is that they are highly trained in multiple disciplines like boxing, wrestling, judo, jiu-jistsu, kickboxing, etc. These people don't just know one art of fighting. They are high trained in diverse skills too. Mixed martial arts has expanded its influence, culture, and popularity over the years. It is important to show information on everything under the sun, and this sport should have its time to be researched and studied fully.

The History of MMA

The history of mixed martial arts came from ancient times in fighting styles from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Nothing is new under the sun. In ancient China, there was a combat sport called Leitai. This was a no hold barred mixed combat sport that combined Chinese martial arts, boxing, and wrestling. In ancient Greece, there was a sport called pankration. It included grappling and striking skills similar to modern MMA. Pankration was formed by combining the already established wrestling and boxing traditions and, in Olympic terms, first featured in the 33rd Olympiad in 648 BC. All strikes and holds were allowed with the exception of biting and gouging, which were banned. The fighters, called pankratiasts, fought until someone could not continue or signaled submission by raising their index finger; there were no rounds. According to the historian E. Norman Gardiner, "No branch of athletics was more popular than the pankration." There are similar mixed combat sports in Ancient Egypt, India, and Japan. These fighting sports evolved worldwide from Africa to the Americas over the course of centuries and thousands of years. By the mid 19th century, there was the new sport called savate in the combat sports circle. French savate fighting wanted to test their techniques against other traditional combat styles of this time. 

By 1852, there was a contest held in France between French savateurs and English bare knuckle boxers. The French fighter Rambaud alias la Resistance fought English fighter Dickinson and won using his kicks. However, the English team still won the four other match-ups during the contest. Contests occurred in the late 19th to mid-20th century between French Savateurs and other combat styles. Examples include a 1905 fight between French savateur George Dubois and a judo practitioner Re-nierand which resulted in the latter winning by submission, as well as the highly publicized 1957 fight between French savateur and professional boxer Jacques Cayron and a young Japanese karateka named Mochizuki Hiroo which ended when Cayron knocked Hiroo out with a hook.  Catch wrestling was in the late 19th century. It had many styles of wrestling like Indian pehlawni and English wrestling. Modern MMA was influenced by catch wrestling too. There were no holds barred fighting events taking place in the late 1880's. This was when catch wrestling represented the style of catch wrestling, and many other people met in tournaments and music hall challenge matches all over Europe. 

In the US, the first major encounter between a boxer and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan, then heavyweight world boxing champion, entered the ring with his trainer, wrestling champion William Muldoon, and was slammed to the mat in two minutes. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. In September 1901, Frank "Paddy" Slavin, who had been a contender for Sullivan's boxing title, knocked out future world wrestling champion Frank Gotch in Dawson City, Canada. The judo-practitioner Ren-nierand, who gained fame after defeating George Dubois, would fight again in another similar contest, which he lost to Ukrainian Catch wrestler Ivan Poddubny. One early example of mixed martial arts was Bartitsu, which Edward William Barton-Wright founded in London in 1899. It combined catch wrestling, judo, boxing, savate, jujutsu, and canne de combat (French stick fighting). Barttitsu is known as the first martial artist to have combined Asian and European fighting styles. These MMA style contests were all over England among European catch wrestlers and Japanese Judoka champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.

There are many precursors, not ancestors of modern MMA. They existed in mixed style contests in Europea, Japan, and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900's. In Japan, these contests were called merikan, from the Japanese slang for American fighting. Merikan contests were fought among many rules like points decision, best of three throws or knockdowns, and victory via knockout or submission. Sambo is a martial art and combat sport created in Russia by the early 1920's. It merged various forms of combat styles like wrestling, judo, and striking into one unique marital art. The popularity of professional wrestling, which was contested under various catch wrestling rules at the time, waned after World War I, when the sport split into two genres: shoot (where fighters actually competed) and show (which evolved into modern professional wrestling). By 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinksy and professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which catch wrestler Steele won in 35 seconds. 27 years later, Ray Steele's protégé Lou Thesz fought boxer Jersey Joe Walcott twice in mixed style bouts. The first match was a real contest which Thesz won while the second match was a work, which Thesz also won. In the 1940s in the Palama Settlement in Hawaii, 5 martial arts masters, under the leadership of Adriano Emperado, curious to determine which martial art was best, began testing each other in their respective arts of Kenpo, Jujitsu, Chinese and American boxing and Tang soo do. From this they developed Kajukenbo, the first American Mixed Martial Arts.

By 1951, there was a high profile grappling match was Masahiko Kimura vs. Hélio Gracie, which was wrestled between judoka Masahiko Kimura and Brazilian jiu jitsu founder Hélio Gracie in Brazil. Kimura defeated Gracie using a gyaku-ude-garami armlock, which later became known as the "Kimura" in Brazilian jiu jitsu.  In 1963, a catch wrestler and judoka "Judo" Gene Lebell fought professional boxer Milo Savage in a no-holds-barred match. Lebell won by Harai Goshi to rear naked choke, leaving Savage unconscious. This was the first televised bout of mixed-style fighting in North America. The hometown crowd was so enraged that they began to boo and throw chairs at Lebell. On February 12, 1963, three karatekas from Oyama dojo (kyokushin later) went to the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand and fought against three Muay Thai fighters. The three kyokushin karate fighters were Tadashi Nakamura, Kenji Kurosaki and Akio Fujihira (also known as Noboru Osawa), while the Muay Thai team of three had only one authentic Thai fighter. Japan won 2–1: Tadashi Nakamura and Akio Fujihira both knocked out their opponents with punches while Kenji Kurosaki, who fought the Thai, was knocked out by elbows. The Japanese fighter who lost, Kenji Kurosaki, was a kyokushin instructor, rather than a contender, and that he had stood in as a substitute for the absent chosen fighter. In June of the same year, karateka and future kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura faced top Thai fighter Samarn Sor Adisorn: Sawamura was knocked down sixteen times on his way to defeat. Sawamura went on to incorporate what he learned in that fight in kickboxing tournaments.

"“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”

“Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”

― Bruce Lee

By the late 1960's to the early 1970's, the concept of combining the elements of multiple martial arts was popularized in the West by Bruce Lee via his system of Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee believe that, "the best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style, to be formless, to adopt an individual's own style and not following the system of styles." In 2004, UFC President Dana White would call Lee the "father of mixed martial arts" stating: "If you look at the way Bruce Lee trained, the way he fought, and many of the things he wrote, he said the perfect style was no style. You take a little something from everything. You take the good things from every different discipline, use what works, and you throw the rest away." A contemporary of Bruce Lee, Wing Chun practitioner Wong Shun Leung, gained prominence fighting in 60-100 illegal beimo fights against other Chinese martial artists of various styles. Wong also fought and won against Western fighters of other combat styles, such as his match against a Russian boxer named Giko, his televised fight against a fencer, and his well-documented fight against Taiwanese Kung-Fu master Wu Ming Jeet. Wong combined boxing and kickboxing into his kung fu, as Bruce Lee did.

Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki took place in Japan in 1976. The classic match-up between professional boxer and professional wrestler turned sour as each fighter refused to engage in the other's style, and after a 15-round stalemate it was declared a draw. Muhammad Ali sustained a substantial amount of damage to his legs, as Antonio Inoki slide-kicked him continuously for the duration of the bout, causing him to be hospitalized for the next three days. The fight played an important role in the history of mixed martial arts. In Japan, several shoot-style professional wrestling promotions like UWF International and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi attempted to create a combat-based style which blended wrestling, kickboxing and submission grappling. While the matches were predetermined, the style was very convincing at the time and can be retrospectively considered a precursor to mixed martial arts. Professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki founded Pancrase in 1993 which promoted legitimate contests initially under professional wrestling rules. These promotions inspired Pride Fighting Championships which started in 1997. Pride was acquired by its rival Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2007.

A well-documented fight between Golden Gloves boxing champion Joey Hadley and Arkansas Karate Champion David Valovich happened on June 22, 1976, at Memphis Blues Baseball Park. The bout had mixed rules: the karateka was allowed to use his fists, feet and knees, while the boxer could only use his fists. Hadley won the fight via knockout on the first round.

In 1988 Rick Roufus challenged Changpuek Kiatsongrit to a non-title Muay Thai vs. kickboxing super fight. Rick Roufus was at the time an undefeated Kickboxer and held both the KICK Super Middleweight World title and the PKC Middleweight U.S title. Changpuek Kiatsongrit was finding it increasingly difficult to get fights in Thailand as his weight (70 kg) was not typical for Thailand, where competitive bouts tended to be at the lower weights. Roufus knocked Changpuek down twice with punches in the first round, breaking Changpuek's jaw, but lost by technical knockout in the fourth round due to the culmination of low kicks to the legs that he was unprepared for. This match was the first popular fight which showcased the power of such low kicks to a predominantly Western audience. 

Japan had its own form of mixed martial arts discipline, Shooto, which evolved from shoot wrestling in 1985, as well as the shoot wrestling derivative Pancrase, which was founded as a promotion in 1993. Pancrase 1 was held in Japan in September 1993, two months before UFC 1 was held in the United States in November 1993. In 1993, the sport was reintroduced to the United States by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). UFC promoters initially pitched the event as a real-life fighting video game tournament similar to Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity when jiu-jitsu fighter Royce Gracie won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, submitting three challengers in a total of just five minutes. sparking a revolution in martial arts.

The first Vale Tudo Japan tournaments were held in 1994 and 1995 and were both won by Rickson Gracie. Around the same time, International Vale Tudo competition started to develop through (World Vale Tudo Championship [WVC], VTJ, IVC, UVF etc.). Interest in mixed martial arts as a sport resulted in the creation of the Pride Fighting Championships (Pride) in 1997, where again Rickson participated and won. The sport reached a new peak of popularity in North America in December 2006: a rematch between then UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champion Tito Ortiz, rivaled the PPV sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time, and helped the UFC's 2006 PPV gross surpass that of any promotion in PPV history.

UFC grew in popularity from 1997 to 2007. The Ultimate Fighter debuted in 2005. The U.S. Army started sanctioning MMA in 2005, and by 2006, the UFC is super popular with international growth. Elite XC: Primetine, Strikeforce, and other MMA companies have become popular. By 2011, UFC on FOX gained 8.8 million peak viewers on FOX. In 2016, WMG/WME-IMG brought UFC for 4 billion dollars. By 2021, WMG/WME-IMG listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under symbol EDR. 

Its Rules and Regulations

The rules and regulations of mixed martial arts are rather straight forward. It has changed since the days of vale tudo, Japanese shoot wrestling, pankration, and UFC 1. In mixed martial arts, there are divisions in weight classes. There are nine weight classes in the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Their names are:  flyweight (up to 125 lb / 56.7 kg), bantamweight (up to 135 lb / 61.2 kg), featherweight (up to 145 lb / 65.8 kg), lightweight (up to 155 lb / 70.3 kg), welterweight (up to 170 lb / 77.1 kg), middleweight (up to 185 lb / 83.9 kg), light heavyweight (up to 205 lb / 93.0 kg), heavyweight (up to 265 lb / 120.2 kg), and super heavyweight with no upper weight limit. Gloves are small and opened fingered to protect fists. It can reduce cuts and use striking in more creative ways. The Japan's Shooto promotion first required gloves. Gloves can be from 4 to 6 ounces in weight. Most MMA fighters are short with 3 five minute rounds. Championship fights are usually five 5 minute rounds. Boxing commissions and state athletic commissions helped to introduce more rules in MMA. Previously, Japan-based organization Pride Fighting Championships held an opening 10-minute round followed by two five-minute rounds. Stomps, soccer kicks and knees to the head of a grounded opponent are legal, but elbow strikes to the head are not. This rule set is more predominant in the Asian-based organizations as opposed to European and American rules. More recently, Singapore-based organization ONE Championship allows soccer kicks and knees to the head of a grounded opponent as well as elbow strikes to the head but does not allow head stomps. In 2016, ONE later banned soccer kicks. However, they still allow knees to the head of a grounded opponent.

To have a victory in an MMA match, the judge or referee must declare a winner. It can be stopped by the referee due to submission, stoppage by the referee, and a competitor's cornerman throwing in the towel or by knockout. Fighters can have victory by a physical tap out by an opponent, verbal tapping, TKO, and technical submission too. A victory can come by decision, forfeit, disqualification, no contest, and technical decision. MMA Fighters are ranked by many leagues based on their performances and outcome of their fights including the level of competition that they have faced. Sherdog ranks the 10 fighters worldwide only for current available UFC divisions being used by ESPN. Fight Matrix ranks up to 250-500 fighters worldwide for every possible division among men and women. Sports Illustrated ranks the top 10 fighters worldwide for current UFC available divisions. Mixed martial arts promotions typically require that male fighters wear shorts in addition to being bare-chested, thus precluding the use of gi or fighting kimono to inhibit or assist submission holds. Male fighters are required by most athletic commissions to wear groin protectors underneath their trunks. Female fighters wear short shorts and sports bras or other similarly snug-fitting tops. Both male and female fighters are required to wear a mouthguard.

The need for flexibility in the legs combined with durability prompted the creation of various fighting shorts brands, which then spawned a range of mixed martial arts clothing and casual wear available to the public. MMA fighters are in a ring or fenced area. There is the octagon and large arenas in our time that houses the fight competitors. MMA fighters regularly know about boxing, kickboxing muay thai, judo, wresting, judo, luta livre, capoeira, wushu, Taekwondo, and other fighting styles (or stand up, clinch, and ground disciplines). 

MMA Currently

Mixed Martial Arts in 2022 is in a totally different space than even in the 1990's. More fighters are using more boxing and wrestling techniques. The energy is powerful, and we have a new generation of fighters especially their own legacies in their own ways. Marlon Vera had a recent victory over Rob Font. Fighters like Shanna Young, Gabriel Green, Chase Sherman, Francisco Figueiredo, and others have shown their skills in the ring too. One of the great stars of MMA is the fighter, Francis Ngannou. He is the current UFC heavyweight champion. He was born in Cameroon in Africa. Later, he studied mixed martial arts in France before going professional. He has power, strength, and great striking abilities. His MMA fighting skills have improved over the course of many years too. Ngannou can use his uppercut to defeat many opponents. We know about Jon Jones being one of the best mixed martial artists of our generation. Israel Adesanya is talented, and Amanda Nunes is the best woman mixed martial arts fighter of all time. Khabib Nurmadogedov is a very talented fighter too. Khabib defeated Connor McGregor after McGregor disrespected Khabib's faith, father, and other parts of his life. There are other MMA women fighters too like Christaine Justino, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade, Julianna Pena, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and other human beings. 

Modern Day Legends of MMA

There are tons of modern-day legends of the MMA. Anderson Silva made many contributions to MMA with his skills and sly movements. We know about Georges St.-Pierre who had many victories at a later age. People like Matt Hughes, Don Cornier, Cris Cyborg, B. J. Penn, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, and Fedor Emeliankenko all have sacrificed their lives to make massive accomplishments in the MMA. Jon Jones is a modern-day legend too. He is a former two-time light heavyweight division. He was the youngest champion in UFC history with his title victory over Mauricio Rua at the age of 23. We know that Brazil's Amanda Nunes has defeated many legendary women. She is the current women's featherweight champion and former bantamweight champion. She is the first women to hold 2 division titles in the UFC, and she is the first woman to defend 2 titles while holding on to them. She fought 26 professional MMA combat and won 21 of them. Julianna Pena is a legend in her own right, and she defeated Amanda Nunes recently in December 2021 being the biggest upset in the history of the UFC. Valentina Anatolievna Shevchenko is another legendary MMA fighter with only 3 losses. She is known for using precise punches and kicks against an opponent. 

The Culture of MMA

Mixed martial arts culture is diverse. It has been embraced in the four corners of the Earth. Many MMA athletes and others who trained in fighting techniques work at gyms including specific MMA geared gyms too. These MMA gyms are found in urban and rural areas with weights, punching bags, and other equipment. It is filled with men and women who desire to express their talents creatively. A family atmosphere is found in MMA facilities where people train for months before a match. It takes months and years to perfect the craft of MMA too. There are people in MMA with diverse political philosophies too. Many people in MMA are doctors, lawyers, musicians, and teachers. Some are progressives, and others are more conservative. Some are extremists like Colby Covington, former UFC champ Henry Cejudo, Masvidal, etc. who support Donald Trump. Convington falsely predicted that Trump would defeat Biden in the 2020 Presidential election. He criticized LeBron James for being woke. Far-right people use the term "woke" as a code to diminish the right of marginalized and oppressed people the right to be free and have equality without exception. All human beings born on this Earth are created equal period. Trump is a racist, a sexist, and a xenophobe. I'm glad that he lost the 2020 election too, and I make no bones about it. Even Dana White endorsed Trump disgracefully. Now, MMA culture is embraced heavily by young people. 

Conclusion

Mixed Martial Arts has been around for a long time in the world. Its origin stretches the thousands of years of human history among people who used fighting techniques. In Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Oceania, human beings used self-defense sports as a means to gain a sense of power, enjoyment, and to test the limits of human expression. MMA evolved globally over the course of changes. Additions to it came from judo, wrestling, boxing, and other sporting events. One person who helped to spread the MMA philosophy was Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee was not limited to one style of self-defense. He wanted to merge styles in order for the human being to find what is useful and reject what is useless in creating the best style. Each human is different, so different styles are bound to exist. The overall point is that person must honestly express what is best for that person using all sorts of tools. Bruce Lee was more than a movie star. He was a serious martial artist who trained actors and ordinary people on Jeet Kune Do to better their lives. He even worked with fellow martial arts Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the film Game of Death (it was released posthumously). MMA is more regulated now than back in the day. The popularity of the culture is now in the mainstream. Billions of dollars of revenues, jets sending fighters globally, and politics involved all are related to the modern atmosphere of mixed martial arts. 

The Generations

 

Generations have existed throughout the ages of time. They have massive differences historically and culturally. Thought patterns, social movements, and other forms of inventions are diverse over the course of time. Yet, there are some similarities among generations too. Each generation has people who care about the oppressed, each generation dealt with family connections, and each generation confronted many evils in order to try to make the society reach its highest aspirations. It doesn't matter what generation folks live in, we all have that responsibility to advance liberty and justice for all. At the end of the day, we want our descendants to live in a better world than in the past and the present. I'm an older Millennial as I'm almost 40 years old in 2022. Some get confused about the definition or length of time that a generation may consist of. A generation can span about 20 years or so. In a generation, you typically find people in that generation have many commonalities with folks in other generations. The Greatest Generation saw WWII. The Greatest Generation saw jazz plus swing music, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the old school Age of Hollywood. The Silent Generation makes up of those who were leaders in the early Civil Rights Movement. They saw McCarthyism, the Cold War, and the increased usage of nuclear technology. Baby Boomers were leaders of Counterculture and the anti-Vietnam War Movement. Baby Boomers saw a massive increase in educational opportunities as colleges plus universities were massively cheaper back then. Generation X was heavily made up of latch key kids, people being entrepreneurial, and saw angst plus a musical revolution (with BET, the Box, and MTV)). They saw the rise of the AIDS epidemic, the increase of video games and personal computers, and the start of the popularization of the Internet). 

My Generation of the Millennials witnessed recessions, 9/11, the 1990's, hip hop being the dominant musical genre, and the growth of the movement against police brutality. My generation saw the rise of social media, the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular usage of cell phones, and a childhood filled with Internet technology. We were children when the 1996 Olympics existed, and we saw both the end of the old school and the start of the new school. Generation Z is the first generation to see Tik Tok, other social media accounts, and a youthful movement of self-expression. Generation Z was born with cell phone technology, they are some of the young people who witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of them are young activists on social issues. Generation Alpha is the first generation in human history to be born into smartphone technology, and they are forming their own legacies as I write these words. Generation Alpha is the first generation born entirely in the 21st century. They never saw the 20th century. I lived through both the 20th and 21st centuries. Therefore, we have to appreciate the resiliency of human culture and do our parts to establish that human liberation that we all deserve. 

The Lost Generation

To learn about Generations fully, you have to look at themes and concepts chronologically. One of the early generations of the 20th century was the Lost Generation. This was a time when people were born from 1883 to 1900. These are the group of young people who lived through the horrors of WWI. They saw early adulthood during World War I. Many of the survivors of the war were so traumatized by the violence and death of WWI, that some people of this generation felt disillusioned about life totally. Some American expatriate writers came into Paris during the 1920's. Getrude Stein coined the term of the Lost Generation. It was popularized by the author Ernest Hemingway found in his 1926 novel called The Sun Also Rises. The Lost Generation existed after the Industrial Revolution. They were media consumers, literate, and had conservative social values for the most part. They lived during the Spanish flu pandemic and saw the Roaring Twenties. The Roaring Twenties was a cultural revolution in America which was a prelude to the counterculture of the 1960's. The Roaring Twenties saw the Harlem Renaissance, new types of movies, sports stars, the growth of the Mafia in America, and new prosperity for many human beings in America. It also saw massive anti-black race riots that killed tons of innocent black Americans too. The Lost Generation saw the Great Depression with many of their children going into World War II as soldiers, nurses, mail carriers, etc. The last surviving person, who was known to have been born during the 19th century, died in 2018. Folks who passed away during this generation were poets like Isaac Rosenberg, Rupert Brooke, Edward Thomas, and Wilfred Owen. Composer George Butterworth and physicist Henry Moseley passed away during this era too.

When the Lost Generation grew up, their families were heavily patriarchal with the man being the breadwinner and primary authority figure. The wife took care of the home and children. Not to mention that many generations would share a home which was common back in the day. Rich households had domestic workers in them like maids. There were more laws to address child abuse, child labor, and other terrible work conditions in the world. Beating children was still commonplace. By the late 19th century and early 20th century, sewer systems, subway systems, and other infrastructure were modernized to stop the spread of disease like cholera. Electricity was slower and gas lights plus candles were still used. Children had penny toys and teddy boys and other toys. Many women worked in industrial jobs during WWI. After the war, women's suffrage existed. There was massive economic instability in places of the world too. When the Lost Generation became middle aged, they witness World War II and other chaos in the world. The radio educated people and inspired people to defeat the Axis Powers. By the 1950's and 1960's, the Lost Generation were in their senior years. They had retirement and saw a world massively changing. Most people of this generation lived to their late 60's and early 70's. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby captured the richer people in The Lost Generation filled with excess and wealth. Many of the famous Lost Generation members were F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, T. S. Elio, Ezra Pound, Jean Rhys, and Sylvia Beach. 

The WWII Generation (the Greatest Generation)

After the Lost Generation, there was the Greatest Generation (or the World War II Generation). These human beings were born from 1901 to 1927. They were shaped heavily by the Great Depression, and they were heavily participants in World War II. The title of this generation was popularized by the 1998 book from American journalist Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation." This generation came of age when the country of America suffered bread lines, and they grew up to defeat the Nazis and the rest of the Axis Powers during the bloodiest war in human history being World War II. This generation has also been classified as the G.I. Generation from authors William Strauss and Neil Howe in their 1991 book entitled, "Generations: The History of America's Future." G.I. stands for the Americans soldiers during World War II. The members of this generation in their youth saw the Progressive Era, WWI, The Roaring Twenties, and WWII along with the Spanish Flu pandemic. When they were children, they saw the radio, cars, and other inventions. They watched TV during their adulthood. The G.I. Generation witnessed the Golden Age of old school Hollywood. As children, teens, and adults, they saw comedies, musical films, comedy films, and monster films plus gangster films. The films shown on the TCM network are readily witnessed by that generation. Comic books like Superman and Batman were read by them. Also, they sang and participated in jazz, blues, gospel music, folk music, and swing jazz. The Swing Generation was related to the WWII generation with fashion, music, and dancing. When the WWII Generation were in their adulthood, tons of people in the Greatest Generation would listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats about the news of the day. World War II transformed everything in the world. The technology that we see today, and the social changes present now came as a product of WWII. 

Women of the G.I. Generation saw more job opportunities from working in factories to having more corporate jobs. Black Americans and other persons of color had the same opportunities too. Economic expansion existed, and people of this generation fought for civil rights and equality too. Malcolm X was part of the G.I. Generation. He was older than Dr. King. Dr. King was part of the Silent Generation. After WWII, the G.I. Generation gave birth to 76 million babies from 1946 to 1964 which is unprecedented in American history. The G.I. Bill helped to subsidized families. Many people of that time lived in the suburbs, were conservative, and dealt with the Cold War. Some members of this generation served in the Korean War. The Second Red Scare existed too. Sexism and racism plus other forms of oppression existed massively during that time period too. The first member of the Greatest Generation to be elected President was President John F. Kennedy. JFK led a Space Race against the Soviets. LBJ was part of this generation who promoted his progressive Great Society programs that helped millions of the American people. When this generation faced middle age, they saw the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the generational culture clash that continues to this very day in 2022. Many people of that generation saw WWII, so they became super patriotic. Some didn't understand how many of the youth and progressives were against the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was an unjust war, because North Vietnam was no threat to America, the war could have been solved easily by peaceful negotiation as early as 1945, it stripped resources from America that could be better used to fight poverty and racism, the war harmed black lives disproportioned to the black American total population, and the Gulf of Tonkin resolution was based on a lie. This generation continued to be heavily conservative in older age like George H. W. Bush. President Jimmy Carter is the last surviving President from the Greatest Generation. Many have been treated for COVID-19 like the 104-year-old man Lee Wooten. Queen Elizabeth II is a member of the generation. Many British people survived the Blitz or when Nazi bombs killed British people and destroyed buildings during WWII. People of this generation saw the growth of the independence of African and Asian nations and other massive changes in the world. 

The Silent Generation 

The Silent Generation was after the G.I. Generation and just before the Baby Boomers. The Silent Generation included people who were born from 1928 to 1945. There were about 23 million people of the Silent Generation in America as of 2019. This generation was smaller because during the Great Depression and WWII, Americans had fewer children. These people are noted for their leadership roles in the Civil Rights movement, forming modern day rock and roll of the 1950's, and being part of people who saw massive cultural changes in America. The Silent Generation as a term came from Time Magazine in a November 5, 1951, article entitled, "The Younger Generation." These human beings were young adults during the McCarthy Era. Many people in that generation didn't speak out against McCarthy's extremism and violations of the freedom of speech. This generation had strict childhoods in America, Canada, and the UK too. As children, they experienced the Great Depression firsthand, while their parents reveled in the highs of the Roaring Twenties. They saw WWII and many lost their fathers and older siblings in the war. Many of them witnessed the start of the Cold War. By their adulthood, many of them married and had children. They gave birth to the Baby Boomers. Some waited to have children later to give birth to the Generation X generation. Many of them had divorces too, because the stigma of divorce rapidly declined by the 1960's and 1970's. Other people of the Silent Generation rebelled and fought oppression are Nina Simone, Jerry Rubin, Muhammad Ali, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jesse Jackson, Joan Baez, Berry Gordy, Aimir Baraka, and other human beings.  The Beat Generation were originated in the Silent Generation. 

The Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers are included in some of the most influential generations in human history. They are younger than the Silent Generation and older than Generation X. They were born from 1946 to 1964, or part of the post-World War II baby boom. Many of the Baby Boomers are children of the Greatest Generation or the Silent Generation. They are often the parents of the late Generation Xers and Millennials. Some late Baby Boomers are parents of some of Generation Z too. The Baby Boomers had their childhoods in the 1950's and 1960's. They saw cultural changes that caused many of them to be the first in their families to go into college. They saw the peak of Cold War tensions between especially America and the Soviet Union. The oldest members were 18 in 1964. Their large size contributed to the power of the counterculture and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. In many countries, this period was one of deep political instability due to the postwar youth bulge. In China, boomers lived through the Cultural Revolution and were subject to the one-child policy as adults. These social changes and rhetoric had an important impact in the perceptions of the boomers, as well as society's increasingly common tendency to define the world in terms of generations, which was a relatively new phenomenon. That this group reached puberty and maximum height earlier than previous generations added to the tension between the generations.

In the West, Baby Boomers came of age with massive government subsidies in postwar times involving housing, education, civil rights, and voting rights. Many of them believed that they could change the world. By the 21st century, they make up a large portion of elderly human beings. From 1940 to 1950, there was an increase of 2,357,000 people in the American population. Sylvia F. Porter wrote about this boom in the May 4, 1951 edition of the New York Post. The first recorded use of "baby boomer" is in a January 1963 Daily Press article by Leslie J. Nason describing a massive surge of college enrollments approaching as the oldest boomers were coming of age. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the modern meaning of the term to a January 23, 1970, article in The Washington Post. Baby Boomers were too young to remember WWII, but they were old enough to remember the John F. Kennedy's assassination in many cases. In the US, the generation can be segmented into two broadly defined cohorts: the "leading-edge baby boomers" are individuals born between 1946 and 1955, those who came of age during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights eras. This group represents slightly more than half of the generation, or roughly 38,002,000 people of all races. The other half of the generation, usually called "Generation Jones", but sometimes also called names like the "late boomers" or "trailing-edge boomers", was born between 1956 and 1964, and came of age after Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. This second cohort includes about 37,818,000 individuals, according to Live Births by Age and Mother and Race, 1933–98, published by the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics. In China, there was the Great Leap Forward of massive population growth in Communist China. From the early 1930's to the late 1970's, IQ scores increased rapidly in the Flynn effect. People were more adept at doing many specific tasks involving scientific and analytical thinking. The reason is that there was more improved nutrition, higher literacy levels, better educational opportunities, and a more intellectual stimulating environment. The rising standard of living caused this to be possible for Baby Boomers. 

In many places of the West, social welfare programs helped the economies of many nations from America to France. With more Baby Boomers going into college, society changed. By the 1950's and 1960's, television was dominant media service stronger than the radio. Baby Boomers were influenced by music, youth culture, and scholars like Jack Kerouac (and Herbert Marcuse of the Frankfurt School of Social Theory). Baby Boomers saw a cultural revolution from the Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique in 1963, Dr. King, Malcolm X, Jimi Hendrix, and second wave feminism in general. Some Baby Boomers were liberals and others were conservatives. Many Baby Boomers wanted to be open to go against mainstream culture to establish a newer style of living. There were moderate members of the counterculture and more revolutionary elements in it that wanted radical change in society. Baby Boomers saw protests, rebellions, civil disobedience, wars, and other conflicts worldwide. Hippies were popular, but they didn't make up the majority of society. There was a more permissive attitude about sexuality growing since the 1960's. What was once taboo was shown openly by the Baby Boomers. The growth of contraception and antibiotics grown the sexual revolution along with its proponents being funded to show their voices. Second Wave feminism saw the creation of NOW (the National Organization for Women) and the Equal Rights Amendment movement. Changes to divorce laws and abortion laws were the signs of that time period. Later, changes happened in society. Cohabitation increased, divorce rates grown, and we see the mixture of economic booms and busts since 1968. Baby Boomers were in middle age by the early 2000s. Some saved money for retirement. Many Boomers don't follow traditional religion. Some Baby Boomers exited the workforce more quicker since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Baby Boomers live longer than previous generations, and they save tons of wealth. Tons of money are spent on them for resources like medical devices, because the Baby Boomer population is so large in the world. Most elderly Baby Boomers are conservatives, because on average older people are more conservative than younger people. Baby Boomers saw massive change in the world from the Apollo Program, the rise of RFK, the Watergate scandal, the oil crisis of 1973, and the Vietnam War. Famous Baby Boomers are people like Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Jobs, Bono, Julieanna Richardson, Erin Brockovich, Bill Murray, and other human beings. 

Generation X

Generation X is a highly influential group of people. They are younger than the Baby Boomers and older than the Millennials. They are people born from 1965 to 1980. There are about 65.2 million Generation Xers in America alone. Many of them are parents of Millennials and Generation Z. They were the latchkey generation where kids were given keys by parents to an empty home. They had less adult supervision than previous generations. They saw massive divorces, the War on Drugs, and other situations. Some call these people the MTV Generation when they were teens and young adults in the 1980's and the 1990's. Music videos were abundant. They saw the start of hip hop, punk, heavy metal, grunge, and other genres of music. They witnessed tons of video games and movies. Generation X witnessed the end of the Cold War and the growth of capitalism worldwide. Generation X had cultural angst, suffered more complications economically than Baby Boomers, and was a time in transition. Some call this generation as the 13th Generation too or the 13th generation since the American independence. Generation X saw birth rates declined in the West. The birth rate will increase by the 1980's. The oldest Generation X is 57 and the youngest Generation X person is 42 years old. Individuals born in the Generation X and millennial cusp years of the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s have been identified by the media as a "microgeneration" with characteristics of both generations. Names given to these "cuspers" include Xennials, Generation Catalano, and the Oregon Trail Generation. 

Generation X are known to be hardworkers among men and women. They are a diverse demographic. Many of them had to take on many adult responsibilities as children, because many of their parents worked tons of hours. Some older Generation X people embraced Reaganomics at the end of the Carter Presidency years. Generation X people came of age during the 1980's crack epidemic, the war on drugs, and the prison industrial complex where many African Americans were impacted in urban communities. 

The U.S. Drug turf battles increased violent crime. crack addiction impacted communities and families. Between 1984 and 1989, the homicide rate for black males aged 14 to 17 doubled in the U.S., and the homicide rate for black males aged 18 to 24 increased almost as much. The crack epidemic had a destabilizing impact on families, with an increase in the number of children in foster care. In 1986, President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act to enforce strict mandatory minimum sentencing for drug users. He also increased the federal budget for supply-reduction efforts.

Fear of the impending AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s loomed over the formative years of Generation X. The emergence of AIDS coincided with Gen X's adolescence, with the disease first clinically observed in the U.S. in 1981. By 1985, an estimated one-to-two million Americans were HIV-positive. This particularly hit the LGBT community. As the virus spread, at a time before effective treatments were available, a public panic ensued. In a panic, bigotry grown. Today, we have a long way to go, but we have more facts on HIV/AIDS than ever before. Sex education programs in schools were adapted to address the AIDS epidemic. Generation X saw Atari, Commodore, and Apple with personal computer devices. They were among the first children to have busing to try to have integration in public schools. They witnessed Roots and Title IX (passed in 1972) helped young women especially to have athletic opportunities. Still, racism was very vicious back then like today in 2022. In the U.S., compared to the boomer generation, Generation X was more educated than their parents. The share of young adults enrolling in college steadily increased from 1983, before peaking in 1998. In 1965, as early boomers entered college, total enrollment of new undergraduates was just over 5.7 million individuals across the public and private sectors. By 1983, the first year of Gen X college enrollments (as per Pew Research's definition), this figure had reached 12.2 million. This was an increase of 53%, effectively a doubling in student intake. As the 1990s progressed, Gen X college enrollments continued to climb, with increased loan borrowing as the cost of an education became substantially more expensive compared to their peers in the mid-1980s. By 1988, there were 14.3 million people in high education in America. Women outpaced men in completion rates by this time. 

Generation X saw struggles in the job market because of inflation, scandals, and economic changes. Some Generation X people were disaffected with politics because of political scandals. With the Berlin Wall gone, some believed in the myth that capitalist neoliberalism was the only economic system around to embrace. Generation X loved bikes, loved to explore, and were involved in fun. They were part of the early Internet system with floppy disks, America online, and a massive growth of business during the 1990's. Many of them were working, forming start up companies, and weren't slackers. In the U.S., Gen Xers were described as the major heroes of the September 11 terrorist attacks by author William Strauss. The firefighters and police responding to the attacks were predominantly from Generation X. Additionally, the leaders of the passenger revolt on United Airlines Flight 93 were also, by majority, Gen Xers. Author Neil Howe reported survey data which showed that Gen Xers were cohabiting and getting married in increasing numbers following the terrorist attacks. Gen X survey respondents reported that they no longer wanted to live alone. Now, Generation X are in middle age. Many of them live a balanced, active, and happy life. They are self-reliant, savvy, and love the spirit of entrepreneurship. They grew up in the Golden Age of hip hop. Many of Generation X hip hop artists are Kane, EPMD, Jungle Brothers, Wu, and other artists. 

Unlike millennials, Generation X was the last generation in the U.S. for whom higher education was broadly financially remunerative. In 2019, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis published research (using data from the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances) demonstrating that after controlling for race and age, cohort families with heads of household with post-secondary education and born before 1980 have seen wealth and income premiums, while, for those after 1980, the wealth premium has weakened to a point of statistical insignificance (in part because of the rising cost of college). The income premium, while remaining positive, has declined to historic lows, with more pronounced downward trajectories among heads of household with postgraduate degrees. Hip hop back then was diverse with artists talking about politics, the streets, sex, and other issues. Public Enemy's Fight the Power song was an anthem for Generation X hip hop fans. Generation X popularized the independent film movement in the world. 

In cinema, directors Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Sofia Coppola, John Singleton, Spike Jonze, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, and Richard Linklater have been called Generation X filmmakers. Smith is most known for his View Askewniverse films, the flagship film being Clerks, which is set in New Jersey circa 1994, and focuses on two convenience-store clerks in their twenties. Linklater's Slacker similarly explores young adult characters who were interested in philosophizing. Literature grew. Generation X people volunteer, help elderly members of their families, and they have an increased risk of heart attacks (because of high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease). About 1 in 7 of all Americans will develop chronic kidney disease in his or her lifetime. That's real. Generation X are usually the parents of Generation Z, and sometimes millennials. Jason Dorsey, who works for the Center of Generational Kinetics, observed that like their parents from Generation X, members of Generation Z tend to be autonomous and pessimistic. They need validation less than the millennials and typically become financially literate at an earlier age, as many of their parents bore the full brunt of the Great Recession. Well known Generation X human beings are: Kobe Bryant, Will Smith, Britney Spears, Martin Lawrence, Robert Downey Jr., Slam Hayek, Jay Z, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, Biggie, Tim Duncan, Usher, Aaliyah, Ron Artest, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Kate Moss, Shaq, Mariah Carey, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Gwen Stefani, etc. 

 

Generation Y (The Millennials)

Now, my generation is Millennials or Generation Y. My generation are people born from 1981 to 1996. Most of us are children of Baby Boomers and Early Generation Xers. Millennials are often parents of the Generation Alpha. Millennials live in a time of declining fertility rates globally, and many Millennials get married later in life. Some people are having fewer children than their predecessors. Many Millennials are less religious but more spiritual. We are the first generation that grew up in the total Internet Age globally. We saw the end of the old school era and the start of the new school era of culture. We saw the elevated usage of mobile devices and social media. Millennials experienced massive economic disruptions from wars and recessions. We lived through crisis after crisis like 9/11, the war on Terror, the Great Recession, COVID-19, and another recession in 2020 (as a product of the COVID-19 pandemic). Millennials exists as the oldest of this generation became adults around the turn of the millennium. I was 18 in 2001. 

Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe, known for creating the Strauss–Howe generational theory, are widely credited with naming the millennials. They coined the term in 1987, around the time children born in 1982 were entering kindergarten, and the media were first identifying their prospective link to the impending new millennium as the high school graduating class of 2000. They wrote about the cohort in their books Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 (1991) and Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (2000). The Millennials are also called Generation Y. From the early 1980's to the mid 1990's, there was an increase of birth rates in America. Some people call this generation Generation Me, Generation Next, and Generation 9/11. American sociologist Kathleen Shaputis labeled millennials as the Boomerang Generation or Peter Pan Generation because of the members' perceived tendency for delaying some rites of passage into adulthood for longer periods than most generations before them. These labels were also a reference to a trend toward members living with their parents for longer periods than previous generations. Kimberly Palmer regards the high cost of housing and higher education, and the relative affluence of older generations, as among the factors driving the trend.

Millennials saw 9/11, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Great Recession, the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, and the Internet explosion. The cohorts born during the cusp years before and after millennials have been identified as "microgenerations" with characteristics of both generations. Names given to these cuspers include Xennials, Generation Catalano, the Oregon Trail Generation; Zennials and Zillennials, respectively. Many scholars define Millennials with the traits of confidence, tolerance, a sense of entitlement, and other characteristics. Millennials are not narcissistic, but we just feel that human beings are entitled to justice by birthright. 

Psychologists Jean Twenge, W. Keith Campbell, and Ryne A. Sherman analyzed vocabulary test scores on the U.S. General Social Survey ({\displaystyle n=29,912}{\displaystyle n=29,912}) and found that after correcting for education, the use of sophisticated vocabulary has declined between the mid-1970s and the mid-2010s across all levels of education, from below high school to graduate school. Those with at least a bachelor's degree saw the steepest decline. Hence, the gap between people who never received a high-school diploma and a university graduate has shrunk from an average of 3.4 correct answers in the mid- to late-1970s to 2.9 in the early- to mid-2010s. Higher education offers little to no benefits to verbal ability. Because those with only a moderate level of vocabulary were more likely to be admitted to university than in the past, the average for degree holders declined. There are various explanations for this. Back in the day, tons of people used very eloquent vocabulary. A 2007 report by the National Endowment of the Arts stated that as a group, American adults were reading for pleasure less often than before. In particular, Americans aged 15 to 24 spent an average of two hours watching television and only seven minutes on reading. In 2002, only 52% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 voluntarily read books, down from 59% in 1992. Reading comprehension skills of American adults of all levels of education deteriorated between the early 1990s and the early 2000s, especially among those with advanced degrees. According to employers, almost three quarters of university graduates were "deficient" in English writing skills. Meanwhile, the reading scores of American tenth-graders proved mediocre, in fifteenth place out of 31 industrialized nations, and the number of twelfth-graders who had never read for pleasure doubled to 19%. The lesson here is that you have to read to gain cognitive abilities period. Reading a book or literature for at least 15-30 minutes every day benefits you. That's common sense. 

Despite having the reputation for "killing" many things of value to the older generations, millennials and Generation Z are nostalgically preserving Polaroid cameras, vinyl records, needlepoint, and home gardening, to name just some. In fact, Millennials are a key cohort behind the vinyl revival. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s, certain items whose futures were in doubt due to a general lack of interest by millennials appear to be reviving with stronger sales than in previous years, such as canned food. Many artists and other famous human beings of the Millennial generation are Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Serena Williams, Amandla Stenberg, Lebron James, John David Washington, Michael B. Jordan, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Meghan Merkle, and other human beings. More Millennials have selected more than one racial group in abundance in the 2000 U.S. Census plus beyond. Political scientist Shirley Le Penne argues that for Millennials "pursuing a sense of belonging becomes a means of achieving a sense of being needed... Millennials experience belonging by seeking to impact the world." Educational psychologist Elza Venter believes Millennials are digital natives because they have grown up experiencing digital technology and have known it all their lives. Prensky coined the concept ‘digital natives’ because the members of the generation are ‘native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games and the internet’. This generation's older members use a combination of face-to-face communication and computer mediated communication, while its younger members use mainly electronic and digital technologies for interpersonal communication. Fertility rates have declined in Asia and other parts of the world. This trend is in Europe too.

Millennial population size varies, depending on the definition used. Using its own definition, the Pew Research Center estimated that millennials comprised 27% of the U.S. population in 2014. In the same year, using dates ranging from 1982 to 2004, Neil Howe revised the number to over 95 million people in the U.S. In a 2012 Time magazine article, it was estimated that there were approximately 80 million U.S. millennials. The United States Census Bureau, using birth dates ranging from 1982 to 2000, stated the estimated number of U.S. millennials in 2015 was 83.1 million people. In 2017, fewer than 56% millennial were non-Hispanic whites, compared with more than 84% of Americans in their 70s and 80s, 57% had never been married, and 67% lived in a metropolitan area. According to the Brookings Institution, millennials are the “demographic bridge between the largely white older generations (pre-millennials) and much more racially diverse younger generations (post-millennials)."

In fact, millennials have benefited the least from the economic recovery following the Great Recession, as average incomes for this generation have fallen at twice the general adult population's total drop and are likely to be on a path toward lower incomes for at least another decade. According to a Bloomberg L.P., "Three and a half years after the worst recession since the Great Depression, the earnings and employment gap between those in the under-35 population and their parents and grandparents threatens to unravel the American dream of each generation doing better than the last. The nation's younger workers have benefited least from an economic recovery that has been the most uneven in recent history." Millennials are the most highly educated and culturally diverse group of all generations, and have been regarded as hard to please when it comes to employers. To address these new challenges, many large firms are currently studying the social and behavioral patterns of millennials and are trying to devise programs that decrease intergenerational estrangement, and increase relationships of reciprocal understanding between older employees and millennials. The UK's Institute of Leadership & Management researched the gap in understanding between millennial recruits and their managers in collaboration with Ashridge Business School. Also, many Millennials face strokes, heart disease, and diabetes at younger ages. MMA, boxing, the NBA, soccer, and football are popular among millennials. 

2018 surveys of American teenagers 13 to 17 and adults aged 18 or over conducted by the Pew Research Center found that millennials and Generation Z held similar views on various political and social issues. More specifically, 56% of millennials believed that climate change is real and is due to human activities while only 8% reject the scientific consensus on climate change. 64% wanted the government to play a more active role in solving their problems. 65% were indifferent towards pre-nuptial cohabitation. 48% considered single motherhood to be neither a positive or a negative for society. 61% saw increased ethnic or racial diversity as good for society. 47% did the same for same-sex marriage, and 53% interracial marriage. In most cases, millennials tended hold quite different views from the Silent Generation, with the Baby Boomers and Generation X in between. In the case of financial responsibility in a two-parent household, though, majorities from across the generations answered that it should be shared, with 58% for the Silent Generation, 73% for the Baby Boomers, 78% for Generation X, and 79% for both the millennials and Generation Z. Across all the generations surveyed, at least 84% thought that both parents ought to be responsible for rearing children. Very few thought that fathers should be the ones mainly responsible for taking care of children. Millennials are more willing to vote than previous generations when they were at the same age. With voter rates being just below 50% for the four presidential cycles before 2017, they have already surpassed members of Generation X of the same age who were at just 36%. Millennials helped Barack Obama to be President of America. Digital technology has been used heavily by Millennials too. Millennials are conscious, educated, adventurous, ambitious, and love travel too. 

Generation Z (Zoomers)

Generation Z or Zoomers are born from 1997 to 2012. They were raised completely on social media like Tik Tok. Most of them are children of Generation X. They are the first social generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and portable digital technology. Generation Z include very progressive people. Many of them have lower rates of teenage pregnancies, consumer alcohol less, and less likely to use psychoactive drugs. Generation Z view academic performance as very important along with job prospects. They delay marriage. Generation Z young adults and adolescents have higher rates of allergies, a higher awareness and diagnoses of mental health issues, and more likely to be sleep deprived. They are the iGeneration being raised on iPods, iPhones, and iPads. The Economist has described Generation Z as a more educated, well-behaved, stressed and depressed generation in comparison to previous generations. In 2016, the Varkey Foundation and Populus conducted an international study examining the attitudes of over 20,000 people aged 15 to 21 in twenty countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They found that Gen Z youth were happy overall with the states of affairs in their personal lives (59%). Most Generation Z people get along with their families, teachers, and other people in their communities. Generation Z loves to research issues of nostalgia in the past from music to cars. Vintage fashion is heavily popular among Millennials and Generation Z.

Generation Z have a love affair with fan fiction, writing, comics, and pop culture themes like K-pop, amine, Star Trek, Marvel movies, etc. A survey by the National Literacy Trust from 2019 showed that only 26% of people below the age of 18 spent at least some time each day reading, the lowest level since records began in 2005. Interest in reading for pleasure declined with age, with five- to eight-year-olds being twice as likely to say they enjoyed reading compared to fourteen- to sixteen-year-olds. There was a significant gender gap in voluntary reading, with only 47% of boys compared to 60% of girls said they read for pleasure. One in three children reported having trouble finding something interesting to read. Generation Z are heavily found in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and other places of the world. Generation Z is a very large population with over 2.47 billion people while Millennials have 2.43 billion people. Generation Z make up the majority of the population of Africa. Over 1 billion people living in Africa are younger than 25 years old. Many have an increase of nearsightedness. Food allergies are more common among Generation Z than previous generations. 

One possible explanation, supported by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is that parents keep their children "too clean for their own good". They recommend exposing newborn babies to a variety of potentially allergenic foods, such as peanut butter before they reach the age of six months. According to this "hygiene hypothesis", such exposures give the infant's immune system some exercise, making it less likely to overreact. Evidence for this includes the fact that children living on a farm are consistently less likely to be allergic than their counterparts who are raised in the city, and that children born in a developed country to parents who immigrated from developing nations are more likely to be allergic than their parents are. 

Generation Z are more progressive than previous generations. They want change to fight climate change. Religion in Western countries are declining while the rest of the world, religion has been increasing. Generation Z are less likely to use marijuana than older generation when the legalization of marijuana is increasing in many states of America. Zommers have strong computer literacy. Also, cyberbullying is more common now than among Millennials. Many girls suffer cyberbullying constantly. Famous Generation Z members are people like Great Thunberg, X Gonzalez, Paige Layle, Nadya Okamoto, Genesis Butler, Maya Penn, and other human beings. Generation Z are filled with influencers, entrepreneurs, and some of the most creative young people of any generation in human history. 

Generation Alpha

Generation Alpha are the group of young people born from 2012 to 2025. They are the youngest generation alive today. They are now in elementary school and middle school mostly. They are much younger than Generation Z. Generation Alpha's birth rates have fallen worldwide. Their childhood has been dominated by smart technology, social networks, and streaming services. Many of them have increased allergies as some can't eat peanuts including other foods. Some have health issues related to increased screen time. COVID-19 will impact this generation for years and decades to come. By 2025, Generation Alpha is expected to reach two billion human beings. 

For comparison, the United Nations estimated that the human population was about 7.8 billion in 2020, up from 2.5 billion in 1950. Roughly three-quarters of all people reside in Africa and Asia in 2020. In fact, most human population growth comes from these two continents, as nations in Europe and the Americas tend to have too few children to replace themselves.

2018 was the first time when the number of people above 65 years of age (705 million) exceeded those between the ages of zero and four (680 million). If current trends continue, the ratio between these two age groups will top two by 2050. Fertility rates have been falling around the world due to rising standards of living, higher access to contraceptives, and more educational and economic opportunities. In fact, about half of all countries had sub-replacement fertility in the mid-2010s. The global average fertility rate in 1950 was 4.7 but dropped to 2.4 in 2017. However, this average mask the huge variation between countries. Niger has the world's highest fertility rate at 7.1 while Cyprus has one of the lowest at 1.0. In general, the more developed of countries, including much of Europe, the United States, South Korea, and Australia, tend to have lower fertility rates. People in such places tend to have children later and fewer of them. However, surveys conducted in developed economies suggest that women's desired family sizes tend to be higher than their completed fertility. Stagnant wages and eroding welfare programs are the contributing factors. While some countries, such as Sweden and Singapore, have tried various incentives to raise their fertility rates, such policies have not been particularly successful. Moreover, birth rates following the COVID-19 global pandemic might drop significantly due to economic recession. As a matter of fact, data from late 2020 and early 2021 suggests that despite hopes (or jokes) of a baby boom due to the lockdowns, precisely the opposite happened, at least in developed nations like France or the United States, but not necessarily developing ones, such as Brazil or Uganda.

Education is in fact one of the most important determinants of fertility. The more educated a woman is, the later she tends to have children, and fewer of them. At the same time, the global average life expectancy has gone from 52 in 1960 to 72 in 2017. Higher interest in education brings about an environment in which mortality rates fall, which in turn, increases population density. All these factors reduce fertility, as does cultural transmission. Increasing immigration is real, while policies that encourage people to have more children rarely succeed. Moreover, immigration continues to spread at the global level. During the early to mid-2010s, more babies were born to Christian mothers than to those of any other religion in the world, reflecting the fact that Christianity remained the most popular religion in existence. However, it was the Muslims who had a faster rate of growth. About 33% of the world's babies were born to Christians who made up 31% of the global population between 2010 and 2015, compared to 31% to Muslims, whose share of the human population was 24%. During the same period, the religiously unaffiliated (including atheists and agnostics) made up 16% of the population but gave birth to only 10% of the world's children. Nigeria is having massive population growth now. Africa's population growth in general has been increasing, its growth now higher than Asia. 

Generation Alpha kids have experienced an increased role of being taught by teachers. They have access to more digital learning. Some believe that more allergies among children is based on some parents keeping places too clean without allowing the body to adjust to new environments. Vaccination rates have dropped in the 2010's among all types of vaccines. Many in Generation Alpha have obesity and malnutrition. Many youngsters have a lack of vitamins and minerals. There is an increase of nearsightedness worldwide by regular use of electronic devices and eyestrain. Generation Alpha already have witness COVID-19, the evil Russian invasion of Ukraine, and other events. Generation Alpha will reach adulthood by the 2030's. By that time, the human population will be just under nine billion people.  By that time, the world will have the highest ever proportion of people aged over 60, meaning we have an increasingly aging world population. According to Mark McCrindle, a social researcher from Australia, Generation Alpha will most likely delay standard life markers such as marriage, childbirth, and retirements, as did the previous generations. McCrindle estimated that Generation Alpha will make up 11% of the global workforce by 2030. He also predicted that they will live longer and have smaller families, and will be "the most formally educated generation ever, the most technology-supplied generation ever, and globally the wealthiest generation ever."

The United Nations forecasted that while the global average life expectancy would rise from 70 in 2015 to 83 in 2100, the ratio of people of working age to senior citizens would shrink due to falling fertility rates worldwide. By 2050, many nations in Asia, Europe, and Latin America would have fewer than two workers per retiree. U.N. figures show that, leaving out migration, all of Europe, Japan, and the United States were shrinking in the 2010s, but by 2050, 48 countries and territories would experience a population decline.

As of 2020, the latest demographic projections from the United Nations predict that there would be 8.5 billion people by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and 10.9 billion by 2100. U.N. calculations assume countries with especially low fertility rates will see them rise to an average of 1.8 per woman. However, a 2020 study by researchers from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, published in the Lancet projected there would only be about 8.8 billion people by 2100, two billion fewer than what the U.N. predicted. Generation Alpha will carry the torch from previous generations to make their own legacies to make the world better. 

Reflection

Studying the eras of generations in the modern world is very vital. The reason is that we learn lessons, develop plans to make a better future, and realize how much we have in common despite our numerous differences. At the end of the day, we care for our families, we want our communities to be strong, and we have a love for the future improvement of our society in general. Not to mention that we desire justice and liberty for all. A generation deals with people born and living during a certain period of time. The average length of a generation can be from 20-30 years. A generation is also called a cohort in social science. Massive events or culturally revolutionary change characterize various generations. For example, the Silent Generation helped to form the leadership of the Old School civil rights movement and helped to develop rock and roll music of the 1950's including the 1960s. The Baby Boomers were part of the anti-war movement, some were leaders of the counterculture, and they saw increasing advancements in education during the postwar era. Generation X saw angst, the rise of BET and MTV, the Golden Age of Hip Hop, and a sense of resiliency via individual power. My Generation or the Millennials or Generation Y saw 9/11, the Great Recession, and the pandemic. The Zoomers saw the complete influence of social media, computer technology, the January 6, 2021 insurrection against the U.S. Capitol, and the legacy of the pandemic too in their own lives. Generation Alpha are children now, and they have total domination of technology, increased allergies, and a future that they will shape the Earth forever. With fights against police brutality, a new resurgence of far-right extremism, progressive activism, and other developments, it's never a dull moment in 2022. Yet, we will continue to advance the cause of liberty and justice fully. 

By Timothy