Will you please help me understand the concept of generataion?

Question

Right now I am 20 years old. I have a step-sister that is 26 and a younger sister who is 14. I also have a nephew and niece of the age of 9 and 7.

My questions are:

1. Would I fall into my step-sister's generation?

2. Would my little sister considered part of my generation or part of my uncle's kids? (Keep in mind that she is 6 years younger than me---like the case of me and my step-sister, but five years older than the nephew).

I suppose the ultimate question that has always confused me is when does one generation(for example, my step-sister's) begin and the other one end? Thanks:-)

Answer 1

generations hmmmm as in family or as in different generations of people? theres to many ways to put it

Answer 2

The problem is, I think, that social generation is something that is, to an extent, kind of fluid. I hate to use Wikipedia as a reference, but this just says it so perfectly:

"The term Generation Y refers to a specific cohort of individuals born from about 1980 through and including the year 1994. However this is disputed by demographers and varies across countries; so the years 1988-2008 is also somewhat widely used.[1] "Generation Y" alludes to a succession from Generation X, a term which was originally coined as a pejorative label by the Canadian fiction writer Douglas Coupland in 1991.[2]"

So, the reason you're confused is that no one else can really agree about it either. On top of that, it's not even really anything official.

Also from Wikipedia:

"So, today a generation refers to a cohort of people born into and shaped by a particular span of time (events, trends and developments).[2]"

Social generation is based on social climates, rather than a set and standard number of years. So one generation might very well last longer than the one that came before. You can't really go by any standard rule like, "every 10 years the generation changes". Your best bet is to research specific generations, and then decide where you best fit. And of course, there may be some overlap, since apparently even the experts can't agree on when they end and begin.