What generation are you part of, really? Take this test.
If you want to know how old you really are, look at the media you use rather than the generation you were born into.
Generational labels are important in the discussion of the changing workforce. For example, we need to understand who is pushing for change and who is criticizing change in order to understand how to create workplace bridges. And increasingly, young people are calling for baby boomers to get out of the way.
However I get a lot of email from people at the later end of the baby boom who do not identify with baby boomers. To some extent researchers have dealt with this issue by categorizing the latter section of the baby boom separately, as Generation Jones (born between 1954 and 1965). This category will make some people feel better, but there still will be baby boomers who are indignant at being lumped with the delusional, self-centered, money-hungry baby boomers.
But hold it. Maybe you are not really part of the generation your birthday falls under.
Here’s an idea: We should determine our generation not by our age but by how we use media. This comes from Margaret Weigel, who has worked at Harvard and MIT doing research on digital media engagement:* “We should not judge people rigidly by the years they were born,” she says, “If we want to define people by categories, it should be by behaviors because this is something each of us chooses.”
Another reason to use media engagement to peg someone’s age is that the media we use reflects both the space we live in and the circle of friends we run with. For example, you probably won’t find the Wii at a senior center, and you do what your friends do or you’re out of the loop.
So here is a test I put together with the help of an interview with Weigel and an evening reading her blog. Add up your points to figure out what generation you’re really a part of:
Do you have your own web page? (1 point)
Have you made a web page for someone else? (2 points)
Do you IM your friends? (1 point)
Do you text your friends? (2 points)
Do you watch videos on YouTube? (1 point)
Do you remix video files from the Internet? (2 points)
Have you paid for and downloaded music from the Internet? (1 point)
Do you know where to download free (illegal) music from the Internet? (2 points)
Do you blog for professional reasons? (1 point)
Do you blog as a way to keep an online diary? (2 points)
Have you visited MySpace at least five times? (1 point)
Do you communicate with friends on Facebook? (2 points)
Do you use email to communicate with your parents? (1 point)
Did you text to communicate with your parents? (2 points)
Do you take photos with your phone? (1 point)
Do you share your photos from your phone with your friends? (2 points)
0-1 point – Baby Boomer
2-6 points – Generation Jones
6- 12 points – Generation X
12 or over – Generation Y
(Note: This post contains the views of Weigel and not necessarily those of Harvard and MIT.)
I scored 17, which puts me in Gen Y despite the fact that many online resources try to shove me into Gen X (born 1976). Truth is, I have little in common with people who spent their teens in the 80’s, since I spent mine dealing with computers and the internet in the 90’s. I’ve NEVER understood why 1976 gets lumped into a category filled with people born in the 1960s, when it is so much more logical to pair us with individuals born in the late 70s and early 1980’s (where we belong).
This is the most patently stupid thing I’ve seen.
Your Generation designation is based on when you were born, not what you like or are “in to”.
It is a definition clearly defined by specific dates, and very easy to google what the designations are.
You don’t take some stupid “test”.
Maintain up the great work mate. This weblog publish shows how well you realize and know this subject.
9 points. Generation X. Sounds right.
But this quiz has shortcomings…for example, it would make my Boomer boss and Boomer dad Millennials. Last I checked, they were well into middle age.
I also live in a city with 20 y/olds who seldom use technology, either because they have no interest or because they can’t afford it. So they’re Boomers, according to your quiz. Hmm.
p.s. My dad turns 61 soon. Definitely a Boomer. Don’t know exactly how old my boss is, but he’s closer to 50 than 40.
I was born in 1997 and got a generation x?
Could you update this quiz? I am slow to adapt to new technology – smartphones etc. – but place in gen y because this is 5 years old. my 2007 self would have placed borderline gen jones and gen x. Would love to see an updated quiz that takes into account today’s new technology and the new popularity of facebook/texting with older adults.
I scored an 8, which is definitely humbling. I am a college student, and tend to think of myself as tech-savvy: in the past year, I’ve:
1. Created a collaborative class wiki because my teacher wasn’t posting readings online;
2. Started recording lectures on my phone in one of my classes, which helps because exams are detail-oriented, and listening to the recordings while working out;
3. Introduced my university colleagues to Dropbox, then ended our 40-year practice of posting meeting minutes on a clipboard on the wall (they’re online now);
4. Transferred grant application and internal feedback processes to interactive online forms.
I’m constantly on my laptop, and my research in analytical/physical chemistry involves computer simulations and programming.
At the same time, Facebook and other social networking sites make me uncomfortable because content stays around forever and employers can hold users responsible for what their friends post. Sending texts and instant messages had always been difficult for me because the form isn’t conducive to long explanations. However, the professor I’m working with now uses Skype on a daily basis and rarely checks email, so I’ve adapted.
I was suggested this web site by my cousin. I am not sure whether this put up is written by way of him as no one else realize such targeted approximately my trouble. You are amazing! Thanks!
defined by behavior? I’m 58 and I listen mostly to 80’s music but to evanescence,flyleaf,green day ,pink,lana del rey,etc..also newer shows on tv like the following,banshee,etc..am retired .by appearance,most people think i’m late 30’s to mid 40ish..i power walk a couple miles a day.i I date women in their early mid 30 to late 30’s…I don’t know what generational ‘letter’ i’m classified under if based on average behavior
I scored 20 points……I do not text my parents, they are too old to figure out how to access it. I was born in 1954 and I use and teach technology everyday in my work and life. Also I used to listen to music from the 70’s and 90’s, but I have found that 28 years ago that traditional Celtic music from Ireland/Scotland is what really moves me. Also learning Gaelic as a second language. I have always hated to be sized up and put in a box and labeled. As we go through this life we need to always keep learning, keeping our bodies and minds alert. Life is ever changing and we need to learn to bend with it like bamboo, when the winds of life try to knock us down, just bend and bounce back. Eat healthy and smile more.
15. And here I thought I was Gen X.
Dumb questions. I do most of that and I am 57.
I always think of myself as Generation XY and scored a 12, which fits in both categories. Figures!!
Interesting and consistent with my feelings, as a 54 year old, that Baby Boomer thinking isn’t logical – just material.
I scored 16 (excluding the two parent communications questions, because they’re dead) – 19 (if communicating with siblings is a proxy for the parent communication).
Big up and some luv to Ms. Penelope for writing / packaging the content. Much love and happiness to you and to the Farmer.
C
I was born in 1967 and scored 2 points (I emale my Mum/she emales me occasionally ; and I look at videos on You Tube).
Don’t have a mobile phone ..
I’m 58 years old, so actually either a younger “Baby Boomer” — or here, an older “Generation Jones”.
I got an 11. I never knew I was part of “Generation X”.
Hmm. My memory is slipping. I’m only 57.
American centric! That’s just Horrible! Imagine actually liking the country you live in.
Born a Millennial (Gen Y), scored Gen X (11). I can see that.
Scored 13 at 62 and confirmed my hypothesis that defining generations is a marketing ploy designed to assist salepeople and pollsters communicate with the sellers or help form the teams to compete for the scraps. Aside from that, we are all still, like always, having some fun with the difficulty in making ends meet.