Generation Jones is the social cohort of the latter half of the Baby boomers to the first years of Generation X. The term was first coined by the cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell, who identified the cohort as those born from 1954 to 1965 in the U.S. who came of age during the oil crisis, stagflation, and the Carter presidency, rather than during the 1960s, but slightly before Gen X. Other sources place the starting point at 1956 or 1957. Unlike boomers, most of Generation Jones did not grow up with World War II veterans as fathers, and for them there was no compulsory military service and no defining political cause, as opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War had been for the older boomers. Also, by 1955, a majority of U.S. households had at least one television set, and so unlike boomers born in the 1940s, many members of Generation Jones have never lived in a world without television – similar to how many members of Generation Z have never lived in a world without personal computers or the internet, which a majority of U.S. households had by 2000 and 2001 respectively. Unlike Generation X, Generation Jones was born before most of the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and '70s. The name "Generation Jones" has several connotations, including a large anonymous generation, a "keeping up with the Joneses" competitiveness and the slang word "" or "jonesing", meaning a yearning or craving. It is believed that Jonesers were given huge expectations as children in the 1960s, and then confronted with a different reality as they came of age during a long period of mass unemployment and when de-industrialization arrived full force in the mid-late 1970s and 1980s, leaving them with a certain unrequited "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 brothers and sisters in the earlier portion of the baby boomer population had come immediately preceding them; thus, many complain that there was a paucity of resources and privileges available to them that were seemingly abundant to older boomers. Therefore, there is a certain level of bitterness and "jonesing" for the level of freedom and affluence granted to older boomers but denied to them. The term has enjoyed some currency in political and cultural commentary, including during the 2008 United States presidential election, where Barack Obama and Sarah Palin were on the presidential tickets. Their kids are millennials or older members of gen z. They used a more relaxed style of parenting as the X’ers and older members passed on the blind optimism as the boomers.
Cultural, economic and political dimensions
Many came of age during the 70s and early 80s. They shared similar pop culture and MTV with Gen X’ers. They were young adults navigating the workforce in the 80s and 90s, but still felt the 2008 economic crisis. This hit them hard because they had to help and advise their older millennial children while also providing for their younger gen z kids. Generation Jones has been covered and discussed in newspapers and magazines and on TV and radio shows. Pontell has appeared on TV networks such as CNN, MSNBC, and BBC, discussing the cultural, political, and economic implications of this generation's emergence. 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. Carat UK, a European media buying agency, has done extensive research into Generation Jones consumers. Politically, Generation Jones has emerged as a crucial voting segment in Western elections. 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. 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 and Peter Fenn, singled out Generation Jones voters as crucial in the final weeks of the campaign. Numerous studies have been done by political pollsters and publications analyzing the voting behavior of GenJonesers. 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, David Brooks and Karen Tumulty — have characterized Obama as a member of Generation Jones. Key characteristics assigned to members are pessimism, distrust of government, and general cynicism.
