Generation Jones

Generation Jones is the generation or social cohort between the Baby Boom generation and Generation X. The term was coined by American cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell, who argues that the term refers to a full distinct generation born from 1954 to 1965.^[1] Media coverage of Generation Jones typically has described it as a distinct generation, using Pontell's dates.^[2][3] Others see this as a subset of the Baby Boom Generation, primarily its second half.^[4][5] A third view is that Generation Jones is a cusp or micro-generation between the Boomers and Xers.^[6][7]

Members of Generation Jones

Bill Gates, born 1955

Madonna, born 1958

Sarah Palin, born 1964

Barack Obama, born 1961

Tom Cruise, born 1962

Brad Pitt, born 1963

Members of Generation Jones were children and teens during Watergate, the oil crisis, and stagflation.^[8][9] Unlike "Leading-Edge Boomers," most of Generation Jones, primarily its latter segment born from 1960 forward, did not grow up with World War II veterans (although some were Korean War veterans) as parents, and, as they reached adulthood, there was no compulsory military service and no defining political cause, as opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War was for the older boomers. For many, their parents' generation was sandwiched between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers.^[10] Also, by 1955, a majority of U.S. households had at least one television set,^[11] and so unlike Leading-Edge Boomers born from 1946 to 1953, many members of Generation Jones (trailing-edge boomers) have never lived in a world without television. Generation Jones were children or teenagers during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and were young adults when HIV/AIDS became a worldwide threat in the 1980s. The majority of Joneses reached maturity from 1972 to 1979, while younger members came of age from 1980 to 1983, just as the older Baby Boomers had come of age from 1964 to 1971.

The name "Generation Jones" has several connotations, including a large anonymous generation, a "keeping up with the Joneses" competitiveness and the slang word "jones" or "jonesing", meaning a yearning or craving.^[12][13][14] Pontell suggests that Jonesers inherited an optimistic outlook as children in the 1960s, but were then confronted with a different reality as they entered the workforce, in the case of the United States, during either the inflationary period of the Ford administration, the recessionary period of the Carter administration, or the Reaganomics of the Reagan administration and the shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy, which ushered in a long period of mass unemployment or underemployment. Mortgage interest rates increased to above 12 percent in the mid-eighties,^[15] making it virtually impossible to buy a house on a single income. De-industrialization arrived in full force in the mid-late 1970s and 1980s; wages would be stagnant for decades, and 401(k)s replaced pensions in nearly all avenues of employment except those in the public sector, leaving them with a certain abiding "jonesing" quality for the more prosperous days of the past.

Generation Jones is noted for coming of age after a huge swath of their older siblings in the earlier portion of the Baby Boomer population; thus, many note that there was a paucity of resources and privileges available to them that were seemingly abundant to older Boomers. For example, Baby Boomers often filled senior and more lucrative employment positions vacated by retiring Greatest Generation and older Silent Generation members, leaving Jonesers with fewer opportunities for promotion because their Boomer siblings would enter retirement windows only slightly ahead of them. Therefore, there is a certain level of bitterness and "jonesing" for the level of doting and affluence granted to older Boomers but denied to them.^[16]

The term has enjoyed some currency in political and cultural commentary, including during the 2008 United States presidential election, where Barack Obama (born 1961) and Sarah Palin (born 1964) were on the presidential tickets. As of 2025^[update], the two most recent former vice presidents, Kamala Harris (born 1964) and Mike Pence (born 1959) respectively, are members of Generation Jones.^[17]

Cultural, economic, and political dimensions

While charismatic leaders like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. inspired millions of older Boomers to work for—and witness—positive social change, Generation Jones were in elementary school or not yet born.^[18] The Woodstock pop festival (1969) was a defining moment for older Boomers; Generation Jones tends to remember the Watergate scandal (1972–1974) and the cultural cynicism it begat. While in high school, members of Generation Jones had a distinct feeling of having just missed the real hippie era.

Generation Jones has been covered and discussed in newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio shows.^{[19][20][21][22]} Pontell has appeared on TV networks such as CNN, MSNBC, and BBC, discussing the cultural, political, and economic implications of this generation's emergence.^[23][24][25]

In the business world, Generation Jones has become a part of the strategic planning of many companies and industries, particularly in the context of targeting Jonesers through marketing efforts.^{[26][27][28][29][30][31]} Carat UK, a European media buying agency, has done extensive research into Generation Jones consumers.^[32][33]

Politically, Generation Jones has emerged as a crucial voting segment in US and UK elections.^[34][35] In the U.S. 2006 congressional and 2004 presidential elections, and the 2005 U.K. elections, Generation Jones's electoral role was widely described as pivotal by the media and political pollsters.^{[36][20][37][38]} In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, Generation Jones was again seen as a key electoral segment because of the high degree to which its members were swing voters during the election cycle. Influential journalists, like Clarence Page^[34] and Peter Fenn,^[35] singled out Generation Jones voters as crucial in the final weeks of the campaign.^[39] Numerous studies have been done by political pollsters and publications analyzing the voting behavior of Gen Jonesers.^[40][41] Generation Jones voters are likely to contain the highest proportion of Brexit voters.

The election to the presidency of Barack Obama, born in 1961, plus Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, born 1964, focused more attention on Generation Jones. Many journalists, publications, and experts – including Jonathan Alter (Newsweek) have classified Obama as a member of Generation Jones.^[42]

Key characteristics assigned to members are pessimism, distrust of government, and general cynicism.^[40][43]

In Pontell's opinion, US Jonesers shifted left in 2020, which he attributed to Trump's response to the COVID-19 crisis and President Trump's mocking of President Biden's senior moments. "There are lots of seniors out there that also have senior moments," Pontell says. "They don't really like the president mocking those one bit."^[44]

See also

• Society portal

• List of generations
• Cusper
• Xennials
• Zillennials
• Interbellum Generation