Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future

by Jean M. Twenge

Author Erica Jong (b. 1942) calls Silents the “whiplash generation.” “Caught between our mothers (who stayed home) and the next generation (who took the right to achieve for granted), we suffered all the transitions of women’s history inside our skulls,” she wrote in 1994. “Whatever we did felt wrong. And whatever we did was fiercely criticized.”

Some of them have managed to keep running, but others are done with the relentless change and have stepped out of the race. They may have supported change when they were younger, but now think things have changed enough. It’s the “stop the world—I want to get off” sentiment that many generations experience as they get older.

Lack of trust can also come from the move away from social rules that stems from individualism; although individualism teaches respect for others’ differences, it can also promote a “me first” mentality that disregards others’ preferences and can lead to distrust.

World history suggests that transferring religious beliefs into politics will not end well.