Born Into an Era: How Society Creates and Reinforces Generational Identity 

Ever heard people say, “Oh, all of you younger people are always so dramatic. We used to take care of all the things alone. This generation is so weak, always having mental issues.”  There are three scientific components of Generational Identity:

• Change Component: changes that cause generational differences and shape their identity. Include both major and minor events. 
• Relational Component: it states that people often perceive generation in relation to other generations (often shows up ‘us’ vs ‘them’ )  
• Convoy Component: generations act as an interactive system of age peer relationships, which is often present throughout the lifespan. By Settersten (1999) 

What Differentiates The Two Generations? 

Generation consists of a cohort; a cohort consists of individuals who were born at roughly the same time and grew up under similar circumstances, and they roughly have similar socio-cultural and global experiences. The generations differ among one another on the basis of socially transformative events that take place during people’s adulthood and adolescent years( Mannheim,1952). He called the ‘formative period’. These transformative events can be social, cultural, and environmental. Some of the events can be major – COVID-19 pandemic, Ban on Cultural practices (triad talaq, etc), Terrorist attacks, Riots, Earthquakes, etc. or minor – advancements in science and technology, acceptance of positive social practices, etc. These events are the main cause of generational changes. 

Read More: Encanto, Bruno And Intergenerational Trauma

How Does Society Force Generational Norms? 

Have you ever encountered an Instagram account of any elderly actress? Surely you would have come across comments that she should dress according to her age. Or why is she going to the gym? She is too old for the gym. Leave that for youngsters. There is always a certain pressure to act according to age, to do the things that people of the same generation are doing. If any younger generation individual, Gen Z for instance, enjoys activities like cooking, knitting, embroidery or dresses in a casual way, they are considered lame by their peers.

Similarly, if any elderly woman tries to do certain things, like riding a bike, wearing bold makeup, or remarrying, she is met with remarks like these things suit only the younger generation. Society rewards individuals who regulate their life choices as per social norms via praise and appreciation. Family via socialisation passes down their values, ideas and attitude to the children – Intergenerational Norm Transfer. 

Individuals from a very young age, mainly in their formative years, tend to observe their elders and the behaviour of people around them; they tend to learn these norms over time. Over time, these external social norms are often internalised as personal beliefs and values. When social norms are internalised, people tend to follow them because they align with their self-concept and moral compass, even without rewards. 

People often try to seek out and collect and interpret information in a way that confirms their pre-existing beliefs and expectations about a particular generation’s behaviour, which indirectly reinforces those stereotypes. 

Read More: Understanding Intergenerational Trauma and Its Effects on Family Mental Health

Why Do Conflicts Among The Groups Exist? 

Society often uses the differences between different generational groups, often creating conflicts. It often goes about us vs them. Often, younger generations are considered lazy by the older generations, whether it is Gen Zs and millennials or millennials and older generations. The changes in traditions and culture with time are often tough to adjust to for the older generations.

Older generations often find it harder to adjust to changes due to slower processing. Also, individuals become less open to experience after the age of 25. Also, the newer traditions often challenge their ideologies and beliefs, hence making it hard for them to adapt like the LGBTQ community. For older generations, the final goal of marriage and relationships was having kids and the continuation of the family name; hence, they are not able to understand the concept of soulmate or love.  

Similarly, the younger generations who are open to new ideas and beliefs – like millennials being open to advances in technology and the idea of equality towards women, democracy and love, Gen Zs being open to LGBTQ acceptance and providing them equal rights and mental health, Gen Alpha being open to the use of AI – often are criticised by their older generations. They find it harder to strike a balance between their own choices and respecting and satisfying their parents, who are from older generations. The major difference in beliefs is are major cause of conflicts. These differences are used by society to create a generational identity and control the narrative. 

Read More: Why Adulting Looks Different for Millennials and Gen Z

Does the interference of the media affect this identity? 

The media often control social narratives through advertisements, social media, outlets etc. They make the trends. These media often create narratives like The lazy generation – Gen Zs, The techno freek generation – Gen Alpha, The technophobes millennials, etc. These narratives tend to stereotype the generation, leading to the creation of conflicts. The younger generation often tends to ignore the suggestions of the older generation, thinking that they have no idea, which can be true in some cases, like individuals who have graduated from their marketing degree in 2025 will have more knowledge than those who graduated in 1990, as the market changes every decade, but this is not true in all cases.