I’ve been reading a lot about Generation Z recently. Also known as “post-Millennials,” Gen-Zers were born between the ’90s and the early ’00s. Speaking of the ’00s, I remember debates about what to call those years (2000 — 2009). I rejected “the zeros” but liked “the oughts,” perhaps because I spent most of those years thinking about what I ought to do and then not doing it. Like staying on topic, which I always ought to do and just now did not. Anyway, back to Generation Z: I don’t care much about the traits and careers of Generation Z. I do care about the name. Generation Z came after Generations X and Y. Where do we go from here? Someone started us close to the end of the alphabet, undoubtedly rebelling against the parental generation, the Baby Boomers. (You notice that group had a sensible name. World War II ended and boom, a bunch of kids were born. A big bunch. Enough to make a boom.)
So what’s next? Maybe there will be a return to the beginning of the alphabet (Generation A, which will probably have too much self-esteem because of the label) or doubles (Generation ZZ, which will perceive a license to sleep wherever they please). I can also envision computer terminology creeping into the picture: Generation Z.2, anyone? They’ll all be wired, anyway.
Lack of foresight in assigning labels, by the way, isn’t confined to generation-naming. Art fell into the same trap with the term “modernism,” a movement that began in the late 19th century and continued through the early part of the 20th — not exactly antiquity but also not what I’d include in a statement about “modern times.” Ditto for post-modernism (mid-1980s onset). I guess everything after that is post-post-modern. Quick quiz: How many “posts” does it take to make autocorrect self-destruct?
My conclusion: Think before you name. Think before you do pretty much anything! Otherwise you end up with a mobile ballet studio
or a name that has no place to go.
I’ve often seen those trucks around the city and laughed at the incredible lack of foresight either in naming, font size, or spatial assignment. However, a mobile ballet studio would be cool, as long as it’s not mobile while the ballet is going on, especially on NYC streets! (Then again, maybe not, nothing moves to fast on NYC streets. 😉)
Good point about gridlock. But even if they’re moving, you’re holding onto a “barre,” right?
I wouldn’t mind having a crate to rest on during my Sunday morning Barre Pilates class: Crate & Barre Pilates for Senior Citizens.
Now there’s a name that would fit nicely on the side of a truck!
FYI, I recently sent the following note to the president of Cal State LA, who happens to have been the dean of Arts and Letters while I was a grad student at Florida State University (FSU). The photo is of a trash can overflowing onto the floor with food garbage.
Dear Dr . Covino,
The attached photo, taken in my BUS 3050 computer classroom (KHB4005) on the Friday before Spring Break, recalls one of my favorite blogs, “Grammarian in the City: Snarky Remarks on Language I See and Hear in New York City.” Authored by retired English teacher and author Geraldine Woods, whose book Grammar for Dummies has been a go-to resource of mine since Stanley Fish touted it during his 2001 visit to FAU, the photo blog showcases the city’s limitless supply of mis-spelled and mis-worded signs, culled from Ms. Woods’ routine jaunts through the city and her equally limitless imagination for ironic quips. I’m not sure what she’d say about the sign in my photo, though. It has no obvious grammatical flaw and the irony speaks for itself. (In the interest of full disclosure, I moved the sign from outside the door before taking the photo.)
Best Regards,
William Cooper
Thanks so much for sharing this letter, Bill! I’m honored!
Haha, I’ve always thought this about the New School too. It’s actually older than me!
Good point! At my school, the “new gym” was built in the Sixties.
You’re right – by calling this latest cohort of kids “Generation Z,” they’ve done the equivalent of painting themselves into a corner. They’ll have to come up with a whole new naming system.
I wonder who coins these terms and how they stick. A group in a closed room, secretly naming not babies, but generations? Interesting to speculate who “they” are.
Erri,
You raise some thorny questions well worth pondering, but which alas I cannot answer. However, I would like to bring up Dr. Seuss’s “On Beyond Zebra” for consideration. What say you?
You’ve stumped me. I don’t know that book, but I’ll check it out.