What is a generation and why do we have them?

Summary

Brains On! Science Podcast for Kids

Episode: "What is a generation and why do we have them?"

Release Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Molly Bloom
Kid Co-Host: Paige (Naperville, Illinois)
Expert Guests: Dr. Jean Twenge (Psychologist), Kim Parker (Pew Research Center), Corey Seemiller (Generational Researcher)

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Overview

This episode dives into the idea of "generations" — what they mean, who gets to name them, and why they can be helpful (or sometimes misleading) for understanding ourselves and each other. Molly Bloom and Paige explore the major living generations, how generational labels get created, and discuss the usefulness and limits of grouping people by birth years. The episode is packed with fun moments, thoughtful questions from kids, and expert insight that brings clarity to the big idea of "generations."

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What is a Generation?

• Definition:
  • Family Generations: Each step in your family tree — parents, grandparents, etc.
  • Social Generations: Large groups born in a similar 15-year period, like Millennials or Gen Z, who share cultural experiences.
• Paige’s curiosity: She wondered especially about why and how these large generational groups get made.
  • [02:30] Paige: "Yeah, I asked why are generations made for people?"

2. Meet the Major Generations (US Focused)

• Each group is described with defining characteristics and notable shared experiences.

Baby Boomers (1946–1964)

• Origin: Spike in birth rates post-WWII.
• Cultural impact: Hippies, civil rights, economic optimism.
• Jean Twenge: "So they really dominated the culture at every single time point." [05:00]

Generation X (1965–1979)

• Traits: Non-traditional, pop-culture unity, "slacker" stereotype.
• Known for watching the same cartoons, loving Star Wars, lots of childhood freedom.
• Jean Twenge: "They are known as the last generation to have a unified pop culture experience." [05:55]
• Molly: "You know the show Stranger Things? Those are Gen X kids." [06:15]

Millennials (1980–1994)

• Traits: Tech optimism, economic ups and downs, coming of age with the Internet.
• Molly: "We grew up without smartphones or the Internet, but those things became a big part of our lives when we were in late high school or college." [06:52]

Generation Z (1995–2009)

• Traits: Entire adolescence with smartphones; racially and ethnically diverse; value work-life balance; tech-savvy but aware of downsides.
• Jean Twenge: "Gen Z, born 1995-2009. First generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone." [07:18]

Generation Alpha (2010–?)

• Current children and tweens; known (sometimes jokingly) for "skibidi toilets" and new trends.
• Paige: "I think that we're not all just like all like the new trends and stuff...also just like people too." [08:09]

Generation Beta

• Just beginning (babies from ~2025 onward), not much is known yet.
• Paige: "Good luck." (to Gen Beta kids) [08:43]

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3. Why Do Generations Get Named — and How?

• No official board or group names generations; names "just stick" over time.

• Examples:

  • "Baby Boomer" — coined by journalists.
  • "Generation X" caught on after Douglas Coupland's book in 1991.
  • "Millennials" were first called "Generation Y."
  • "Alpha" is like starting over at "A."

• Paige: "Kind of boring if you ask me." [13:22]

• Kids’ alternate names for Gen Alpha:

  • Fluctua, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Generation Gamer, Gentech, Generation Together, Generation Brains On [13:32–14:18].

4. Stereotypes and Generalizations

• Each generation gets labeled (often unfairly) by those older than them.

• Dr. Corey Seemiller: "Every young generation has been labeled something." [15:21]

• Paige: "Gen Alpha has been called the Glass Generation because we spend a lot of time on screens, but also because some people think we are emotionally fragile, like a glass window that breaks easily." [15:09]

• Molly: "Stereotypes are when you make a big statement about a whole group of people. It's a label that doesn't always reflect reality." [15:36]

• Corey corrects the "lazy" Gen Z stereotype, saying they're actually "cautious and thoughtful" [15:57].

• Generational research is based on averages; doesn't capture everyone's uniqueness.

• Paige: "But when you do that, you miss out on a lot of the ways that people in generation are different too." [16:32]

5. Are Generations Useful for Understanding People?

• Kim Parker (Pew Research Center): They help us spot broad social change, but age and stage of life are often as important as generational grouping.
  • Kim Parker: "The trickiest thing about generations is that it's not just another word for age... It's not because they're part of this unique group that we're calling a generation." [21:56]
• Example: Attitudes about taxes may change with age, not necessarily with generation [22:21].
• Social scientists use surveys over time to measure and compare generational attitudes (e.g., about technology, optimism, politics) [23:13–23:50].
• Tech is the big separator now—youngest kids spend more time on screens, less time in person with friends [23:55].

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Generations help us see the ways we are different from those who came before us."
  — Jean Twenge, [03:58]
• "I think that we're not all just like, all like, the new trends and stuff and that we're also just like people too."
  — Paige, [08:09]
• "We can definitely do better. That's why we asked all of you to tell us what you'd name your generation."
  — Molly Bloom, [13:23]
• "Every young generation has been labeled something. Usually not nice by older generations."
  — Corey Seemiller, [15:21]
• "If you hear people talking about Gen Alpha, always doing this or saying that, it's totally normal if you think, 'Hey, that doesn't sound like me. I'm my own person.'"
  — Molly Bloom, [16:52]
• "The trickiest thing about generations is that it's not just another word for age... It’s not because they’re part of this unique group that we’re calling a generation."
  — Kim Parker, [21:56]
• "Generations are groups of individuals and everyone is unique."
  — Molly Bloom, [25:53]

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Fun & Interactive Moments

• "Mystery Sound" Challenge: Paige and Molly guess a springy doorstop is a car or drill. [09:05, 26:19]
• Mr. Bonejangles: The talking skeleton tries to puzzle out his own "generation," eventually invents "Generation Boo" for ghosts and spooky things. [17:07, 24:18]
• Listener Input: Kids suggest new names for Generation Alpha, adding creative and silly suggestions. [13:32–14:18]

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Important Timestamps

• Defining Generations: [02:30–03:11]
• Meet the Generations: [04:18–08:02]
• Naming Generations: [12:20–13:12]
• Stereotypes Discussion: [15:09–16:37]
• Are Generations Useful?: [21:22–24:10]
• Generations Recap: [25:28–25:53]
• Listener Mystery Sound Reveal: [26:19–27:07]

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Key Takeaways

• Generations are labels for large groups of people born around the same time who often share cultural experiences, but they’re not official or perfect.
• Generational names come from the media, writers, and what catches on, not from any authority.
• Stereotypes about generations are common and usually inaccurate — it’s important to remember individuality is greater than any label.
• Studying generations can reveal patterns and change, but age and context play a big role in how people act and think.
• The episode encourages curiosity, creativity (kid-proposed generation names!), and critical thinking about sweeping generalizations.

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Closing Thought

Generations can help us understand big social patterns, but at the end of the day, everyone is unique. As Molly sums it up:
"Generations are groups of individuals and everyone is unique." [25:53]

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Recommended for:
Curious kids, families, teachers, and anyone interested in how social science helps us think about ourselves and the world in new ways.

Transcript

[Molly Bloom]

Lemonader.

[Paige]

Brains on Universe. You're listening to Brains on, where we're serious about being curious.

[Molly Bloom]

Brain rot. Skibidi toilet Riz. These are words often associated with Generation Alpha.

[Paige]

Generation Alpha is the name given to people who are born after 2010. So people like me and maybe you too.

[Molly Bloom]

Not me. People my age are called millennials. We say things like yolo.

[Paige]

And adulting generations aren't just about the language you use. They're supposed to help others understand what people your age have been through.

[Jean Twenge]

Because, like, let's say your grandparents just grew up in a very different time and you can talk to them about what it was like when they were children. That's a generational difference. And if you can ask them about their experience, then you might understand them better.

[Paige]

But do they always help us understand each other?

[Molly Bloom]

Coming up, we're going to learn about the generations alive today. How they're different from each other.

[Paige]

Plus, what if you really don't feel like you're part of your generation?

[Molly Bloom]

No matter your age, you'll learn something cool. Stick around. You might never know who made your dinner table or your tennis racket or your car, but you definitely know who made this podcast. Hi, it's us. Me, Sandon, Molly, and Mark.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

We made it.

[Molly Bloom]

And when you join SmartyPass, you're supporting us directly so we can keep answering your questions and doing things like finding cool animal facts. Did you know koalas are marsupials and not bears? Pretty cool. And calling scientists, hey, scientist, you rock. And writing jokes like, I'm reading a book on anti gravity. I can't put it down. Plus, when you join SmartyPass, you get access to all our bonus episodes ad free versions of our shows, online hangouts with our team, and more. Go to brainson.org to join Smartypass and keep us doing what we love to do. Making fun filled, fact filled, and sometimes fart filled episodes for you. Thanks. Brains On. You're listening to Brains On. I'm Molly Bloom and my co host today is Paige from Naperville, Illinois. Hi, Paige. Hi. So, Paige, you asked us a question about generations.

[Paige]

Yeah, I asked why are generations made for people?

[Molly Bloom]

A generation can mean a couple different things. One meaning of a generation can be specific to your family. So each link in the chain of your family history is a different generation. Like you represent a generation. Your parents are the generation before you. Your grandparents are two generations before you, your great grandparents are three generations before you, and on and on, all the way back to the beginnings of humans.

[Paige]

But the generations I was curious about. Those are something else. There are large groups of millions of people all born roughly in the same 15 year period.

[Molly Bloom]

These are often called social generations. So, Paige, what made you curious about this?

[Paige]

I was like looking up on my phone because I heard about the new generation Beta and I was just wondering why and like, how they made these very, very cool.

[Molly Bloom]

So how do you feel about being part of generation Alpha?

[Paige]

I don't know how they're like, different from each other. I just feel like I don't know how to feel about it though, because it's kind of just like I feel just part of the generation because I think I'm born.

[Molly Bloom]

So do you think generations are like a useful thing to talk about?

[Paige]

I feel like, yeah, because it's like, help us understand each other and how different we are from each other.

[Molly Bloom]

Well, to help us dig into your question, we called up an expert.

[Jean Twenge]

My name is Jean Twenge. I am the author of the book Generations. I'm also a professor of psychology at San Diego State University.

[Paige]

Jean studies generations and she says social.

[Molly Bloom]

Generations help us see the ways we are different from those who came before us.

[Jean Twenge]

So you think about your grandparents. Smartphones didn't exist when they were your age, and so their childhood and their adolescence was different. And that's just one example.

[Molly Bloom]

So what are the major generations alive in the US today? Let's get to know them.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Meet the generations, the baby boomers.

[Paige]

Your grandparents might be baby boomers. Here's Jean again.

[Jean Twenge]

So baby boomers born about 1946-1964. This is a generation that's very large. That's where they get their name from.

[Molly Bloom]

A baby boom means there was a huge giant jump in the number of babies born in a period of time. A boom, if you will.

[Paige]

From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s in the US things were pretty good for a lot of people.

[Molly Bloom]

It was pretty easy to go to college, then get a good job. Houses were affordable. This made a lot of people want to start big families. So a lot of babies were born, hence the baby boom.

[Jean Twenge]

So they really dominated the culture at every single time point.

[Molly Bloom]

They were hippies and they protested for civil rights and against war. In the 1960s, they got a lot.

[Paige]

Of attention for trying new ways of living in the 1970s.

[Molly Bloom]

In the 1980s and 1990s, many settled down and became big spenders. They started families.

[Jean Twenge]

A lot of baby boomers are retiring, and for the first time in a very long time, they are not having as much influence as they used to.

[Molly Bloom]

Generation X.

[Jean Twenge]

So then there's Gen X. That's Those born from 1965 to 1979.

[Molly Bloom]

The name refers to the fact that this generation was against a lot of traditional values around money and fitting into society. They put an X through all that stuff. Sometimes they got labeled as slackers.

[Paige]

They are also one of the last generations where everyone pretty much watched the same things and heard the same music.

[Jean Twenge]

They are known as the last generation to have a unified pop culture experience. So they love their Star wars, they love their Saturday morning cartoons. So your parents, a Gen Xer, ask them what they did on weekends when they were growing up, and they'll be able to tell you all about Saturday morning cartoons and having a lot of freedom to ride around on their bikes.

[Molly Bloom]

You know the show Stranger Things? Those are Gen X kids.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

The millennials.

[Jean Twenge]

Millennials, born 1980-1994, grew up in a time of a lot of optimism during the 1990s, are known for being optimistic, although not as optimistic as they used to be.

[Molly Bloom]

This is me, my generation.

[Paige]

The name comes from the fact that these people became adults around the turn of the millennium, the late 90s and the early 2000s.

[Molly Bloom]

We grew up without smartphones or the Internet, but those things became a big part of our lives when we were in late high school or college. At the time, people were pretty excited about all the good technology could bring.

[Paige]

And your generation lived through some tough times for the economy, too, which might be why you're not as optimistic as you were when you were younger.

[Kim Parker]

Fair.

[Molly Bloom]

Next we have Generation Z. Gen Z.

[Jean Twenge]

Gen Z, born 1995-2009. First generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone.

[Paige]

These are people in late high school or maybe just about to reach their 30s.

[Molly Bloom]

They've grown up around screens and social media, and they're pretty comfortable with how that technology works. But they've seen the downsides of it, too.

[Paige]

So far, they're the most racially and ethnically diverse generation of grownups ever seen.

[Molly Bloom]

In the US and they've been known to put a lot of value on balancing work with having a life outside of their jobs.

[Jean Twenge]

Next is Generation Alpha, born 2010 to who knows when known for skibidi toilets.

[Paige]

Geez, I hope that's not all we're known for.

[Molly Bloom]

Don't worry. There's plenty of time to redefine who you all are. So, Paige, what do you think people should know about your generation?

[Paige]

I think that we're not all just like, all like, the new trends and stuff and that we're Also just like people too.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah, that's a really good way to look at it. So there is one more generation, a very new one.

[Paige]

Some researchers say that last year a new generation started, Generation Beta.

[Molly Bloom]

They're just little tykes at the moment, but who knows? Maybe in a few years a member of Generation Beta will be listening to this podcast.

[Paige]

Hi from the past.

[Molly Bloom]

So, Paige, any advice to future gen Beta kids listening?

[Paige]

Good luck.

[Molly Bloom]

Very, very fair. Before we move on, it's time to tackle a challenge for the ages. It's the mystery cell. Paige, are you ready for the mystery sound?

[Paige]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

All right, here it is. Hmm. What do you think, Paige?

[Paige]

I feel like it sounded at the beginning it sounded like one of like those like tools for like the things that like put nails in, like that. The screwdriver or like, like a drill? Yeah, yeah, the drill. Yes, sir. But like at the end it sounded like a car moving away. So I feel like it's like maybe one of like an like electrical or like car, like something.

[Molly Bloom]

Ooh, nice. Yeah, it sounded like it faded out for sure. So like it feels like it's like moving away from us. Yeah, I have no idea. Maybe like someone doing like a snare drum roll in a marching band walking away from us. Maybe. I don't know. But we'll hear it again and get another chance to guess and hear the answer at the end of the show.

[Paige]

Stay with us.

[Molly Bloom]

We are doing an episode on the science of baseball. And baseball has some pretty great chants and cheers, but you know what is severely lacking in that department? Science. Let's fix that. Send us your idea for a science based game day chant or cheer something short and sweet like science. Science. You're the best. Put ideas to the test, record your chant and send it to [e-mail] contact. You can also send us mystery sounds, questions, or just tell us a great science joke you heard. We can't wait to hear from you again. Brainzon.org contact Today's episode is sponsored by Bombas. People keep asking about my 2026 resolutions and you know, I've got the usual about, you know, of stuff I'd like to eat more of, I'd like to exercise more, I'd like to hang out with people I love, but there's one on the top of my list which is to get comfy. And that's where Bombas comes in. They're bringing serious comfort to all of my everyday go tos. The all new Bombas sports socks are engineered with sport specific comfort for running, golf, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and ball sport. This year I am going to walk a lot. I'm going to take my dog on long walks and these cushioned socks are perfect for those long walks that I'm going to be taking. Another resolution I have is to hang out with my friends more. And the new squishy Saturday suede slip on shoe is perfect for comfort on the go and stylish to boot. So when I go see my friends, they'll say, oh, cute shoes. And for every item you purchase, an essential clothing item is donated to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchased one donated with over 150 million donations and counting. Head over to bombus.com family26 and use code family26 for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O-M-B-A-S.com family26 code family26 at checkout. Molly the Millennial here with Paige, a true Gen Alpha Kid Millennial Boomer Gen Alpha. Ever wonder what's with those names?

[Paige]

Uh, yeah, I have. Who came up with them and why aren't they better?

[Molly Bloom]

Turns out there's no one person or even a group of people who names the generations. People start out using all kinds of names for a generation until one just sort of sticks.

[Paige]

Yeah, journalists started using the name Baby boomer in the 1960s. It was catchy.

[Molly Bloom]

The name Generation X was around for a while, but it didn't stick until 1991 when a guy named Douglas Copeland wrote a book about 90s youth called Generation Tales for an Accelerated Culture.

[Paige]

What comes after X? Y?

[Molly Bloom]

Of course, millennials were called Generation Y.

[Paige]

For a while, but eventually people switched to Millennials.

[Molly Bloom]

So the name Generation Z makes more sense when you realize that came after what was supposed to be Generation Y but were later called Millennials.

[Paige]

Gen Z are also called Zoomers or just Gen Z.

[Molly Bloom]

And Alpha is just another way of saying A. So Gen Alpha is just the Alphabet starting over again.

[Paige]

Kind of boring if you ask me.

[Molly Bloom]

I agree. We can definitely do better. That's why we asked all of you to tell us what you to name your generation. And here's what you came up with.

[Paige]

I would call my generation Fluctua because kids fluctuate in how they behave, act, and grow. I think the new name would be Twinkle Twinkle Little Star because it's a funny name that I don't think I would say like 100 times a day. And I would call my generation Generation Gamer because we play games on our Nintendo. We also play Sorry if I got to choose a new name for my generation, which is Generation Alpha, I would name it Gentech because I feel like a lot of tech is evolving and starting to become popular in this generation. My name for our generation is Generation Together.

[Molly Bloom]

Know what?

[Paige]

Let's call it Generation Brains On.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah, sounds like a lot of responsibility. But I can get behind Generation Brains On. Shout out to Will, Itzel, Nolan, Mindy, Julian and Miguel for those fabulous ideas. Paige, what would you call your generation if you could rename it?

[Paige]

I would say Generation probably just A. Because, like, it kind of sounds a little weird if it's like Alpha if it doesn't follow like the Z. And I haven't really heard the Zoomers.

[Molly Bloom]

For Generation Z. Yeah, yeah, I think that sounds good. Yeah. Because we don't really have a Generation A. Yeah, it just went right to Alpha.

[Paige]

It's like a little odd.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah, it is a little odd. So not all names for generations are positive. For a while, people were calling Millennials the Me Generation because they thought we were obsessed with ourselves and entitled. We did take a lot of selfies.

[Paige]

Gen Alpha has been called the Glass Generation because we spend a lot of time on screens, but also because some people think we are emotionally fragile, like a glass window that breaks easily.

[Kim Parker]

Every young generation has been labeled something.

[Molly Bloom]

Usually not nice by older generations. That's Corey Seymiller. She also studies generations.

[Paige]

She says a lot of times our ideas about generations are based in stereotypes.

[Molly Bloom]

Stereotypes are when you make a big statement about a whole group of people. It's a label that doesn't always reflect reality. One side. It's important to understand that there's is.

[Kim Parker]

Something maybe behind that label.

[Molly Bloom]

Right. We saw this with Generation Z where.

[Kim Parker]

People were saying Generation Z are lazy.

[Molly Bloom]

And that's a stereotype. That's not helpful. And that's not very nice because that's not necessarily the case with a lot of people in that generation. Right. Corey says Generation Z is actually a pretty cautious generation. They take their time making important decisions. So to someone else that may seem like they're doing nothing or being lazy, but really they're thinking over their options to pick the best path forward.

[Paige]

Yeah. And that's actually a positive thing.

[Molly Bloom]

Also, any research about generations is based on averages. They're trying to paint a picture of a huge group of people by looking at what is most common.

[Paige]

But when you do that, you miss out on a lot of the ways that people in generation are different too.

[Molly Bloom]

If you grew up in a big city versus out in the country, you probably have some different views of the world.

[Paige]

Generational research might miss that.

[Molly Bloom]

So if you hear people talking about Gen Alpha, always doing this or saying that it's totally normal.

[Paige]

If you think, hey, that doesn't sound like me. I'm my own person.

[Molly Bloom]

Totally.

[Paige]

Brainstorming. Molly, Is there a skeleton at the studio door?

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Knock, knock. May I come in?

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, hi, Mr. Bonejangles. The walking, talking skeleton that lives at Brainzon headquarters.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

You forgot to mention tap dancing. Ha, ha, ha. Watch the fancy femur work. Woo. Oops, dropped a rib. Better put that back in.

[Paige]

Nobody look impressive for a bunch of bones.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Why, thank you. But alas, I've come not to dance, but to ponder. Because I heard you talking about generations, and it made me wonder, what generation am I?

[Molly Bloom]

Well, we can figure that out. When were you born?

[Mr. Bonejangles]

That's the thing. I have no idea. I've done a skeleton of research and can't seem to find any record of my birth. And I can't remember it because I have brain rot.

[Paige]

You mean you talk in memes?

[Mr. Bonejangles]

What? Who is meme? My brain literally rotted away. There were maggots. I am a skeleton. You know, truthfully, I never used it much anyway.

[Molly Bloom]

Well, maybe we can figure it out based on your earliest memories. What technology was big when you were young?

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Oh, when I was baby Bonejangles, I used my own teeth as a rattle. I remember. Back then, screens were all the rage.

[Paige]

That's helpful. Were they TV screens or smartphones?

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Window screens. They let the air in and kept the bugs out. Amazing technology.

[Molly Bloom]

Hmm. I don't know if we're gonna figure this out right now. I'm sorry.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Ack. Alas, woe is moi. I'm all a bone in the world. No generation to belong to. I'll just go skulk in a dark hallway. Goodbye.

[Molly Bloom]

Let's hit pause on our generation conversation and check out the mailb. Okay, let's see what's in the mailbag today. Oh, here's a letter from Max from Carlsbad, California. It says, hi, brains on hi, Molly, Mark, Sandon, and Gangledore. I don't know how to spell his name. Okay, pause for a second. Max, Gungador is spelled G U, N G a D, O, R. So if anyone else wants to write mail to Gungador, that's how it's spelled. Okay, back to the letter. I have a question. How and why do we give organisms scientific names? And what's the scoop on taxonomy? Max, I love this question so much. We actually have an awesome piece about taxonomy in our episode about the brontosaurus. It involves Carl Linnaeus Ghost. I advise you to go check it out. It's super, super fun. That's the brontosaurus episode. Okay, back to the letter. I hope I can get featured on your episode. Hooray. Max, you're on this episode. Okay, I also have a suggestion for your hq. An animal photo booth. It's like a regular photo booth, but for animals other than us. I hope you can build that as soon as you see this letter. And if you do, send me some silly mammal photos. Okay, Max, we are on it. Okay, back to Max's letter. I can't wait for an adventure with you, but my mom's calling me to get off the iPad. Seriously. Hopefully see you soon, Max. P.S. and then there's Morse code. Okay, I'm gonna put that through my little Morse code machine right here. Oh, Max, that is a really awesome message. I'm not going to give it away in case people want to try to figure it out, but thank you, Max. Thank you for writing and thank you for that message. Want Brains on without the interruptions? Just join SmartyPass. You'll get ad free versions of all of our shows, plus bonus episodes. Go to smartypass.org to sign up.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Thanks, Brains on.

[Molly Bloom]

Hey, Molly and Paige, back in the studio. So now we know the major generations.

[Paige]

The baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Generation Alpha.

[Molly Bloom]

So why does it help us to group people into these categories?

[Kim Parker]

I think it can be very useful because it gives you kind of a broad view of how the country's changing.

[Molly Bloom]

That's Kim Parker. She works for a group called the Pew Research Center. They study how people feel about the.

[Paige]

World, and they've been studying different generations for a while.

[Kim Parker]

So the trickiest thing about generations is that it's not just another word for age. So age is a really interesting way to understand public opinion and public behaviors, because people really differ in those things by age. But part of that is just because they're young versus middle, aged versus old. It's not because they're part of this unique group that we're calling a generation.

[Molly Bloom]

Right? Some differences between generations just have to do with the fact that they're different ages. Here's an example. Older people might feel like taxes are the worst taxes. Again, why?

[Paige]

And younger people might think they're no big deal. Dad, it's cool to pay your share to help the community chill.

[Molly Bloom]

Now, is that difference because these generations have different feelings about paying taxes?

[Paige]

Or do people feel fine about taxes when they're young, but mad about them when they're older and they have to pay more.

[Kim Parker]

It's a really important distinction to make because sometimes people will just look at a group of young people and be like they're acting a certain way or they have a certain set of beliefs. It might just be because they're young. It doesn't necessarily mean it's because they're part of this group that shares, you know, certain things in common.

[Molly Bloom]

So how do we figure out how people are changing over time?

[Paige]

We ask them.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah. Groups like the Pew Research center, colleges and universities, even the government, they've been asking questions about how people see the world for a long time.

[Paige]

They'll give young people a long list of questions about all sorts of things.

[Molly Bloom]

How do you feel about politics? How often do you see your friends? When was the last time you called your mom? Are you happy? Do you rent? Or oh, how many dogs is enough dogs? Do you generally feel good about the future? And then when they have answers for lots and lots of people, they can see what the most common responses are and compare that with how older generations answered those same questions when they were young.

[Paige]

As you might expect, one of the biggest changes lately is around technology.

[Molly Bloom]

Young people today are spending more time on screens than older generations did. They're also spending less time hanging out with friends in person. This is different from how past generations lived. Researchers are curious to see how this will play out as those kids get older.

[Paige]

And how will they find out? More research.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Molly Paige. I found the skull lution to my problem.

[Paige]

You remembered when you were born.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

Negativo. Instead, I decided to make up my bone. Generation, meet Generation Boo. Generation Boo rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? That's not rhetorical. I am genuinely asking. I don't have a tongue. I have no idea if it does. But yes, it's a generation for all as creepy creatures that may have been alive since time immemorial. Dracula. Frankenstein's monster. That wig in your grandmother's closet that smells like Aquanet and chicken soup. We're all Genbu.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, I'm so happy for you. Must feel nice to finally have a clique. It is.

[Mr. Bonejangles]

We're known for loving a good scare, having a good sense of humorous, and of course, loving screen time. That's when we open up all the windows and let the breeze in through our screens. We know how to have fun. In fact, I'm off to do that now. Ta ta.

[Molly Bloom]

Social generations are large groups of millions of people all born around the same time.

[Paige]

They often share similar life experiences and will sometimes have similar views of the world.

[Molly Bloom]

But generations are based on averages. So even within any generation, there are a lot of differences.

[Paige]

Sometimes people use generations to make stereotypes or big claims about a whole group of people, but that can be hurtful and unhelpful.

[Molly Bloom]

And it's important to. Important to remember that generations are groups of individuals and everyone is unique. That's it for this episode of Brain Sun. This episode was written by sand and Totten, edited by me, Molly Bloom, and sound design by Mark Sanchez and Rachel Breese. Special thanks to Stephanie Hennegie. And we had engineering help from Tsavo Walker. All right, Paige, are you ready to go back to that mystery sound?

[Paige]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

All right, here it is. What do you think?

[Paige]

I'm still kind of stuck on the drill idea. I don't know what else it would be. Wait, but maybe I haven't, like, maybe, like, if it's, like, race car, like, tracing or like, when they're, like when they're going to a pit stop and they're, like, drilling on, like, the tires and it's going away.

[Molly Bloom]

Ooh. Love that idea. That's really great. Yeah, I. I'm with you. I think that's a fabulous guess. Should we hear the answer?

[Paige]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, here is the answer.

[Paige]

Hello, my name is sky, and I'm from Neskina, New York. That was the sound of a springy doorstop, so.

[Molly Bloom]

A springy doorstop.

[Paige]

I did not. I would not think of that.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, but now we know if we're ever making a movie and we need the sound of a race car or a drill, we can just use a springy doorstep.

[Paige]

Yes.

[Molly Bloom]

And do our sound effects. I love it. That was tricky.

[Paige]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Nice work, Sky. You stumped us. Now it's time for the brains honor roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives. Lucy from social circle, georgia. Olive. Emma and annie from minneapolis. Charlie from lakewood, ohio. Rami from tacora, new zealand. Marlo and adley from la, los angeles. Laura from minneapolis. Audrey from calgary. Kendricks and karaji from carson, california. Caselli from washington, utah. Adlin, nile, evan and luke from lethbridge, alberta. Alex and chelsea from portland, oregon. Ray from shore and by sea, england. Mara from columbia, south carolina. Amelia from springfield, illinois. Aria from melbourne, australia. Milan from miami. Cassian from greensboro, north carolina. Titus from alexandria, louisiana. Lauren from green isle, minnesota. Lulu from madison, tennessee. Sophia from salem, new york. Tempe from ontario. Aubrey from easley, south carolina. Adomas from carrick. On shannon, ireland, kenilway from toronto everett from northbrook, illinois rozzy and jacob from new york city lydia from washington e from champlin, minnesota warren from houston, texas max from muskegon, michigan jacob and ben from spanish fork, utah abigail from raleigh, north carolina delphine from milan, italy allen from louisville louie and ari from tacoma, washington hamish from queensland, australia camilla from houston, houston layla and elijah from portsmouth, virginia sophia and theo from oak hill, virginia adeline from missouri michaela from sinking spring, pennsylvania evelyn from beaverton, oregon jackson from wichita, texas rua from ithaca, new york harriet from aberdeen, scotland eddie and william from washington, d.c. eliza from san miguel de allende, mexico oliver from geneseo, new york alia from brooklyn, new york meridian from henderson, nevada ben from chesapeake, virginia charlie from rushton, united kingdom ellery from hong kong marcus from san raymond, california tallulah from los angeles IO from mulaney, australia yusuf and faye from kuwait city quinn from oswego, new york elijah from vancouver and violet from sebastopol, california. We'll be back next week with another episode of Brains on.

[Paige]

Thanks for listening.