How does a generation get it’s name? Well ever since I saw 60 Minutes’ gross special Millenials (technically it’s what I am, although I think I might be closer to Generation X - I was born in 82, which is on the cusp of the Millenials). I don’t think I’ve ever been more offended by a claim about myself and my peers as when I watched that special. My favorite part (you can watch the segment on the above link) is when a woman marvels that young people aren’t slaving away at big companies anymore - perhaps she should question how big companies have changed and aren’t loyal themselves. I mean who wants to devote their life to a company that will most likely dump you when you get old for a younger version or decide to outsource the job? That isn’t narcissism or naivety, it’s standing up for ones self. They actually go on to blame Mr. Rogers!!! But I digress, my thinking about generations was brought on by a piece I read in Harvard Business Publishing about how the generations are named and what the name of the current generation (CBS’s Millenials) should really be. It actually makes more sense than one might think:

frankly that is a bit of a wild card – it’s really whatever sticks. Baby Boomers was pretty straightforward (there was a boom in the number of babies), although people tried other names (the Me Generation was one I remember). Gen X came from a novel written by Douglas Coupland, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture although this generation, as well, has been offered other tags (Slackers being one of the most dreadful).

I guess my assessment is that we collectively end up settling on names that don’t have a strong negative connotation (like the Me Generation or Slackers would) and we resist names that are too narrow – focusing on only one aspect of the generation. That’s why I suspect various other names for Gen Y haven’t really stuck. Millennials speaks to their births spanning the turn of the century; NetGen addresses their comfort with technology.

But, let’s agree that Generation Z would be just plain awful. We can do better. Please, let’s not use that for these poor kids. [HBP]

The author goes on to suggest the term Re-Gen..

What do you think? Do you have an idea of what to name this crop of kids. Let us know in the comments and in the meantime, takepart and give Mr. Rogers a visit. He’s still number 1 in my book and I think it’s quite alright to tell kids they’re special.