Which one are you?

你是哪一代人呢？

Since you're on the internet right now, and assuming it's not your first time, you've probably already noticed that this space is pretty much dominated by a younger crowd.

由於你現在正在上網，而且假設這不是你第一次，你可能已經注意到這個空間主要是年輕人使用的。

You've likely heard them referred to as Millennials or as Gen Z.

你可能聽過人們稱呼他們為千禧世代或 Z 世代。

And how are they different from generations X and Y?

他們與 X 及 Y 世代有什麼不同呢？

What's with all the labels anyway?

這些標籤又是怎麼回事呢？

And how can you make heads or tails of which one you belong to and what defines your generation?

要如何知道自己屬於哪一世代，以及什麼因素界定了你所處的這一世代呢？

Well, according to sociologist Carl Mannheim, it all comes down to generational location, meaning that all members of a generation share a similar collective experience.

根據社會學家卡爾·曼海姆的說法，這一切都歸結為世代地位，也就是說，同一代的所有成員都共享類似的共同經驗。

We'll get into what those might be for your generation.

我們將探討這些經驗對你所處的這一世代代表什麼。

But before we do that, take this moment to subscribe to our channel and hit that notification bell, so that you'll always be the first to see all our new videos.

在我們開始之前，請先訂閱我們的頻道並開啟小鈴鐺，這樣你就可以第一時間收到我們所有新影片的通知。

Now, where were we?

我們說到哪裡了？

Yes, people are categorized into generations depending on when they were born.

啊對，人們依照他們的出生時間被分類為幾個世代。

For today's video, we're gonna focus on people born in the US.

在今天的影片中，我們將重點關注在美國出生的人。

As of now, there are five living generations.

截至目前，有五代人在世。

The Traditionalists also known as the Silent Generation who were born before 1945.

傳統派，也被稱為沉默的一代，他們出生於 1945 年之前。

Then there's the baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964.

接下來是嬰兒潮一代，出生於 1946 年至 1964 年之間。

Anyone born between 1965 and 1979 are considered Generation X.

凡是在 1965 年至 1979 年之間出生的人都被視為 X 世代。

While Millennials or Generation Y were born between 1980 1995.

而千禧世代或稱 Y世代出生於 1980 至 1995 年間。

Finally, there's Gen Z or Centennials who were born from 1996 to the present.

最後是 1996 年至今出生的 Z 世代或稱 Centennials。

These ranges are just approximations, of course.

當然，這些世代的範圍只是大概的估計。

You can be born within three years of the beginning or end of a generation and still belong to it.

你有可能在一個世代的開始或結束前後三年出生，仍然被歸類為該世代。

What's more important is the collective experiences people born within these years share.

比較重要的是，出生於這些年代的人們共享的共同經驗。

The Traditionalist Generation who are now age 73 and older has a wide range of collective experiences.

現年 73 歲及以上的傳統派擁有各種各樣的共同經驗。

Some are old enough to remember one or both of the World Wars, the Great Depression and even the invention of sliced bread.

有些傳統派的人年紀已經很大，他們可能還記得一戰、二戰、經濟大蕭條，甚至切片麵包發明的時候。

As a result of these experiences, most traditionalists value hard work, commitment and practicality, and they don't like to be wasteful.

由於這些經驗的影響，大部分的傳統派重視勤奮工作、忠誠和務實，並且不喜歡浪費。

That's not to say other generations don't share these values; it's just that the scarcity of resources during these trying times fostered a culture of doing whatever it took to survive.

這並不是說其他世代沒有這些價值觀，只是因生活在這些艱難時期，資源短缺養成了一種不計代價求生存的文化。

They also tend to be more respectful of authority, that is the "always respect your elders' generation," which you might recognize in your older relatives.

他們也更傾向於尊重權威，也就是「尊重長輩」的觀念，這可能是你會在年長的親戚身上發現的特點。

Traditionalists gave birth to the baby boomers who were, of course, part of the huge birth rate increase following the second World War.

傳統派生下了嬰兒潮一代，他們當然也是第二次世界大戰後出生率增加的一部分原因。

Boomers changed a lot about American society, particularly (in) advertising and marketing.

嬰兒潮一代為美國社會帶來了很多變化，尤其是在廣告和行銷方面。

Since they were such a large part of the population, they did a lot of the spending and had a great impact on the economy once they entered and left the workforce.

由於他們佔了人口的很大部分，他們在進入和離開勞動力市場時進行了大量的消費，對經濟產生了巨大的影響。

The post-war political landscape was pretty rocky, so there's plenty of collective experiences for this generation to choose from.

戰後的政治局勢相當動盪，這個世代有很多共同的經驗：

The Vietnam War and the controversy surrounding the draft, the Cold War and the red scare, the civil rights movement, Woodstock and counterculture, the moon landing, and the list goes on.

越南戰爭和徵兵的爭議、冷戰和紅色恐慌、非裔美國人民權運動、胡士托音樂節和反主流文化、登月等等，這些都是這一代人共同擁有的經驗。

All these experiences made for a wide range of characteristics and values.

這些經歷造就了許多不同的特質和價值觀。

This generation started out liberal when they were involved in all the political and social movements, but they then grew more conservative as they aged.

這一代在一開始參與各種政治和社會運動時是自由派的，但隨著年齡增長，他們變得越來越保守。

There's some disagreement as to when exactly the boomers end and Gen X begins.

有關嬰兒潮ㄧ代何時結束，X 世代何時開始，這一點存在一些分歧。

A lot of people born from 1961 to 1964 don't identify as boomers and don't have any emotional connection to the collective experiences that shape them.

很多 1961 年至 1964 年出生的人不認為自己屬於嬰兒潮ㄧ代，也沒有跟塑造他們的共同經驗產生情感連結。

This has prompted some researchers to classify Generation X as those born from 1961 to 1981.

這促使一些研究人員將 X 世代分類為 1961 年至 1981 年出生的人。

Gen X got to experience the aftermath of all the changes the boomers made.

X 世代經歷了嬰兒潮一代所帶來的種種變革的結果。

With both parents now entering the workforce, Gen X kids had less adult supervision than previous generations which caused them to be more peer-oriented.

由於雙親都進入職場工作，X 世代的孩子比之前的世代少了成人的監督，因此他們更傾向於以同儕為導向。

The use of computers also took off during these years, making Gen X more entrepreneurial than their parents and grandparents.

電腦也在這個時期開始普及，讓 X 世代比他們的父母和祖父母更具有創業精神。

The collective experiences of Gen X include the crack epidemic and the emergence of the AIDS crisis,

X 世代的共同經驗包括了古柯鹼濫用危機和愛滋病危機的興起，

which made them much more cynical and disaffected as teens and young adults than boomers or Traditionalists had ever been.

這讓他們作為青少年和青壯年人比起嬰兒潮一代和傳統派更加憤世嫉俗和不滿。

Music also defined a lot of this generation, with the invention of music videos and the popularization of hip-hop, rap and Grunge.

音樂也定義了這一代人的很多文化特點，隨著音樂錄影帶的發明和嘻哈、饒舌和油漬搖滾的流行。

Millennials, they've been the topic of much debate, even over when their generation starts and ends.

「千禧世代」一直是許多爭論的焦點，甚至包括他們起始和結束的年代。

Some demographers have decided that Millennials were born as early as 1977, while others extend their cut-off to as late as 1999.

一些人口統計學家認為千禧世代的出生年份最早可至 1977 年，而其他人則認定結束年限最晚可至 1999 年。

And of course, there's the ever-popular Millennial bashing.

當然，還有人們一直以來總愛抨擊千禧世代。

Other generations complain that Millennials are selfish, entitled, narcissistic, addicted to their phones, lazy, impatient, impulsive, overly sensitive, weak-willed, and the name-calling goes on and on

其他世代抱怨千禧世代自私、嬌生慣養、自戀、沉迷於手機、懶惰、不耐煩、衝動、過於敏感、意志薄弱等，許多這類的貶低詞。

While it's true that some Millennials share these traits, the same can be said of literally anyone else in the world.

雖然有些千禧世代確實有這些特點，但同樣的話也可以用來形容世界上其他人。

There's no need to vilify an entire generation for wanting and expecting good things for themselves or for taking full advantage of the awesome technology that surrounds them.

沒有必要因為整個世代想要追求美好的事物或是充分利用周遭的先進科技就貶低他們。

In fact, the sweeping technological advances of the digital age have made Millennials much more group-oriented than their predecessors,

事實上，數位化時代帶來的大量科技進步讓千禧世代比起以前的世代更重視群體合作，

which accounts for their social progressiveness and tendency towards left-leaning politics.

這也解釋了為什麼他們追求社會進步和傾向於左派政治。

And Z includes everyone born in the 21st century.

而 Z世代包括所有在 21 世紀出生的人。

They can be the children of either Gen X or Millennial parents, and this difference can affect their relationship with the technology, they've grown up with.

他們可能是 X 世代或千禧世代父母所生的孩子，這種差異可能會影響他們與他們成長期間所接觸到的科技之間的關係。

Gen X parents who were raised without widespread access to the internet are more likely to be restrictive with their kids' devices.

在網路尚未普及時長大的 X 世代父母比較會限制孩子使用電子產品。

Millennial parents, on the other hand, grew up as the technology we have now was developing and gaining popularity,

千禧世代的父母則相反，他們是在現今科技發展和普及的年代長大的，

so they tend to be more lenient when it comes to their children using gadgets.

因此對於孩子使用電子產品會比較寬容。

Such digital savvy lends itself to the entrepreneurial spirit mentioned earlier with Gen X.

這樣的數位技能有助於先前提到的 X 世代的創業精神。

So Gen Z also tends to value collaboration more in both school and work.

所以 Z 世代也傾向於更重視在學校和工作中的合作。

Centennials were born into an environment where digital devices were widespread and readily available.

Z 世代出生時數位裝置已普及且便利。

So they have a very different relationship with it than previous generations.

他們與這些科技間的關係跟以前的世代非常不同。

In fact, 40% of Centennials surveyed said that a reliable Wi-Fi connection is more important to them than reliable bathrooms.

事實上，有四成的 Z 世代一致認為連得上 Wi-Fi 比找得到洗手間更重要。

Of course, it's possible they might use that Wi-Fi to find a nearby public restroom, but still, it's the principle of the matter.

當然，他們可能會使用連上的 Wi-Fi 來尋找附近的公廁，但道理就是這樣。

Millennials and Centennials share the most similarities and collective experiences out of all the living generations.

千禧世代和 Z 世代是所有現存的世代中，最相似且共同經歷相近的兩個世代。

So there's a lot of debate about the exact range for each of them.

所以對於精確界定他們的範圍有許多爭論。

No matter where exactly these generations start, they've mostly experienced the same things.

無論這些世代的年份定義到底為何，他們大部分都經歷了相同的事情。

A majority of Millennials can remember where they were when the September 11th terrorist attacks happened.

絕大部分的千禧世代都記得在九一一襲擊事件發生時自己身在何處，

They can tell you exactly when they got their first cell phone, and when they first made a Myspace account.

他們可以清楚地告訴你他們何時第一次拿到手機，以及什麼時候第一次建立 Myspace 帳號。

They can recognize the theme songs to Family Ties, Rugrats and other popular shows of the 80s and 90s.

他們可以認得出《親情紐帶》和《尿布一族》等 80 和 90 年代經典電視節目的主題曲。

Someone born in 1996 might not remember or have an emotional connection to the events of 2001, which is why some researchers classify them as Centennials rather than Millennials.

有些研究人員將 1996 年出生的人歸類為千禧世代，而非 Z 世代是因為他們可能對於 2001 年的事件沒有記憶或情感連結。

The technological immersion that marks the turn of the century and defines the younger generations has definitely affected how they communicate.

標誌著世代交替並定義年輕一代的科技沉浸無疑影響了他們的交流方式。

Everything online happens pretty much instantaneously,

所有在網路上的事情幾乎是瞬間發生的，

so Millennials and Centennials tend to expect other things to happen quickly too, especially responses to texts and emails.

所以千禧世代和 Z 世代的人傾向於期望其他事情也發生得很快，尤其是在回覆簡訊和電子郵件方面。

It's also led to a specific sort of humor in Gen Y and Z that completely baffles older generations.

這也導致了 Y 和 Z 世代發展出讓老一輩的人完全摸不著頭腦的特殊幽默感。

A lot of this humor references other jokes, so if you haven't seen a specific Vine or SpongeBob episode, then it just sounds like nonsense.

很多這種幽默都會參考其他的笑話，所以如果你沒有看過某個特定的 Vine 影片或是海綿寶寶中的某一集節目，那麼這笑話聽起來就像在胡言亂語。

You could even count meme culture as a collective experience that two generations share.

你甚至可以把迷因文化當作這兩代人的共同體驗。

But when it comes down to it, generational lines are just as arbitrary as borders on a map.

但歸根結底，世代之間的界線就像地圖上的邊界一樣是隨意的，

They don't really matter.

其實並不重要。

They're just stuff we made up to help define ourselves better.

它們只是我們為了幫助更好地定義自己而編造出來的東西。

But really, you can define yourself and your generation however you want.

但其實，你可以按照自己的意願來界定自己和你所屬的世代。

So what defines your generation?

是什麼定義你的世代？

When do you think each of the generations start and stop?

你覺得每一個世代的開始跟結束是什麼時候？

What are some collective experiences people share in the place you're from?

你所在地區有哪些共同體驗？

Tell us in the comments below.

在下面的留言區中告訴我們。

Give this video a like if you found it useful, share it with your friends and family and always remember to stay on the bright side of life.

如果你覺得這個影片有用，請按讚，與你的朋友和家人分享，並永遠記得保持積極的態度。