h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Over the last few weeks I've noticed quite a lot of people are having their 50th birthdays this year. At first I thought this was partly explained by my wife and I both hitting the half century so I was noticing it more but when I started to see tv and radio celebs celebrating 50 along with more than a few colleagues and acquaintances on social media, I started to wonder.

So I googled (as you do) and discovered that according to census data, in 2009 most people in the UK were 43 years old. Which would make them 50 in 2016.

So are we the peak baby boomers? Any 50 year old hootooers around?

I think there was a baby boom in Ireland in the 1960s too. The American boom was earlier bacause they the didnt have the interruption of the war in the 40s.

Isn't 50 too young to be a Baby Boomer? It seems to be accepted that cut-off birth year was 1964.

So these are the very first group of Generation X.

I understood that in most parts of North America, the 'boom' was considered done around 1960. I just snuck into that by seeing the last few months of the 50s.

Whereas over here it didn't start until 1960.

I'm a '68 girl, and I think here, we were one of the bigger years since the post war babies. So... boom-ish, I suppose.

Yes... I belong to the 45-49 bar in this pyramid, yellow part.

http://www.scb.se/Grupp/Artiklar/Befolkning/Befolkningspyramiden-har-blivit-ett-torn/Befolkningspyramid-for-Sverige-den-31-december-1900-och-2013.png

I was born in 1948, but I'm not a baby any longer.

I was born in 1954 and that makes me a baby boomer in anyone's books.

The following generations seem to have come in waves, too - it may be that because my children are in their early 30s and having their first babies that I know lots of people in similar age groups and positions, but I wouldn't be surprised if figures didn't back up my theory - the baby-boomer generation spawned their kids in the early 80s, and they, in turn are all now having their own babies.

Isn't life wonderful?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaAqze81y4Y

sorry,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaAqze81y4Y

I refuse to be categorised

Though I'm 45 so not by any stretch a boomer I guess. It's strange though - I was lecturing some students today on a piece of biochemistry that I was describing as 'recent' then I looked at the students and had to say - er... but before any of you were born

When did early 90s get that long ago?

And nothing significant happened before any of us was born.

I'm so glad I am retired.I got thoroughly depressed looking at the birth dates of my charges..

Demographically, The Baby Boom Generation is specifically related to statistics from the US Census Bureau and spans from 1946 to 1964. Culturally it's wider than just the US of course.

I am also turning 50 at the end of this year. I'm demographically from the early "baby bust", later called Gen X.

Possibly the greatest effect these demographics will have on me is that as part of that post baby boom bust in population, I have little confidence that in our (US) Social Security system as the Baby Boomers have been straining it and Congress has been draining it. I'm sure the youngest boomers in Congress will make changes before I get to retirement age, likely extending that age and further limiting benefits.

Who knows what Congress will do? They seem dysfunctional to an extreme.