The Beta Generation and Other Nonsense - On the Limitations of Generational Logic

Abstract Introduction: The lives of young people in the first place, but of all of us, are much more complicated than to immediately, almost automatically, pour the “generation sauce” on everything. However, it seems that today, in scientific, science communication and popular literature, the generational response often seems to be the only one. Purpose: Our study tries to give a far from complete picture of how the generational logic, even if valid, is regularly overstretched by its research and expert users. Moreover, the problem is not only that the data supporting these generational concepts are, to put it mildly, incomplete, but also that unfortunately the formation of generations from current age groups could only be genuinely confirmed after many years of thorough, in-depth social science research, with much academic debate. Methods: Traditional desk research, such as literature search, data mining and web search not using any support of artificial intelligence. Conclusions: It shall be important to understand that, like all scientific theories, generational logic has its limitations and is not a panacea for all problems.