Naming generations has been happening for what seems to be a very long time. Demographers use generation letters to begin a relevant conversation about the changes they see happening around us. Please note that a birth range doesn’t guarantee an outlook they might have, the demographics that fit it, and cultural shifts that a group shares but it just might tell us a lot about how they might see the world. The naming shortcut reminds us that not everyone sees the world the way we do.

• Baby boomers
• Gen X
• Gen Y
• Gen Z
• Millenials

The last four are pretty unimaginative if you ask me, but I also know that a baby boomer is probably thinking of the world differently than a millennial is right now. These are inexact labels, but helpful nonetheless.

So what to call the next generation?

Several people have coined the term “Generation C.” It’s so well-suited, and could very well stick to this group of people.

The C is for Covid, C is for Carbon, C is for Climate.

The combination of years of school spent at home, in a mask, combined with the significant revolution (economic, political, and social) that our industrialism has led us to means that this generation will be different than the ones before. Every decision, investment, and interaction they will make going forward is going to be filtered through the lens of carbon, remediation, and resilience.

What is the next generation letter going to be? Is it time to stop giving them letters and give them just a name? Even the Baby Boomers have a new subgroup called “Boollinneals”. You know the Baby Boomers with millennial tendencies and traits!  Let’s face it most of us Baby Boomer raised a Millenial or two.