SLU Professor Argues Generational Labels Like ‘Boomer’ And ‘Millennial’ Are Misguided

While “the cyclical nature of generational denigration is embedded in our history,” generational labels like “Baby Boomer” and “Millennial” are artificial and wrong, says St. Louis University associate professor Cort Rudolph. Rudolph recently wrote about the topic in his campus editorial “OK Boomer Not OK, Nor Backed by Research.” In this discussion, Sarah Fenske talks with Rudolph about use of the recent phrase “OK Boomer” and what the research tells us about whether there are major differences between the Silent Generation, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and the most recent category, Generation Z. Paul Taylor, author of “The Next America” and former vice president of the Pew Research Center, also joins the conversation.