Long Ago? Or Not... How The 80's to The Present is Perceived on Social Media
Marketers using social media can take advantage of this connection with the past to reach members of Generation X and Generation Y in particular who may have strong associations with “retro” 80’s culture and feelings of nostalgia.
The first question asked: Ignoring the fact that both time periods are 40 years; based on your own experiences do you find this perception of time to be accurate? i.e. Do you agree with the statement “the 1980's don’t really seem that long ago”? Answers were a simple “Yes” or “No.”
Among 139 respondents, over 70% agreed that “the 1980’s don’t really seem that long ago.” This data appears consistent with my own informal observations regarding comments on various Social Media platforms:
The remaining questions centered on gathering data about age, generational identity, education, income, social media usage, computer experience, and the various social media sites most frequently used. Respondents were ages 18-65. There were 10 questions.
Overall, respondents appeared well educated with over 30% possessing a Master’s Degree or Doctorate:
Average income was estimated to be just over $70,000:
Approximately 85% used social media regularly:
Most respondents spent at least 10 hours per week online and approximately 9% spent more than 50 hours:
The following social media apps were identified as being the most popular:
* Multiple responses were allowed.
Just under two thirds of respondents rated themselves as “Average” with almost one third considering themselves “Expert”:
The final question was “If you answered Yes to Q1, why do you think this is?” Responses varied. Here are the ones that were most interesting:
Because the 1980's were a part of my life, whereas the 1940's were not.
Stark difference between the 40s and the 80s, not nearly as much difference between the 80s and now.
Personally lived during that time and experienced growing up in the 80’s. Very immediate and personal so naturally as it is a living, real memory to me, it seems more immediate in time.
Because that’s the ages I relate to. Nobody relates to 1940, no nostalgia for us 40 year old’s to look into for those years.
I have a good memory of things that happened 40 years ago so it can’t have been that long ago.
It just doesn’t seem like we are that removed from the 80’s yet - doesn’t seem like it was 40 years ago.
I think years actually experienced seem closer than those only read about. I think the turn of century, returning to zero, makes the 80’s seem closer. But mostly, just being alive and present makes time seem shorter. The 40’s and 50’s seem further from the 80s because most people don’t remember them firsthand.
It feels as if it was all just 10 years ago. I feel as if tech has made it easier to hold on the years past.
Time is relative to the observer. There has been a huge jump in technology blurring the perception of time.
Pop culture from that time is still big.
80’s fashion, style, trends, and etc. are seen all the time daily on social media.
Possibly because of the everyday use of technology, or because the new millennium was a big deal then every year after was just a year, or perhaps it’s just because We’re older now and time seems to go faster the older you get.
I wasn’t even born in the 80’s and I feel that it was not that long ago.
From 1940 to 1980 the world went from radio and B&W to Walkman’s and Color TV.
I just feel like the impact the 80’s had on our culture is still really relevant today.
Time is an illusion. No, but really, I think it’s because there’s so much that went down in that time period AND we still have a lot of people around that experienced that time period, it’s impossible for it to not be present. We hear stories about the 80’s a lot. Have a thousand repercussions on our present from that time. How can it feel so far away when we never quite let that time go?
Next, a “word cloud” analysis produced a visual summary of key terms based on the above open-ended responses:
Predictably “Generational Identity” was strongly correlated (.83) with Age. This chart shows the age distribution for each generation:
What is most interesting about the above chart is that a few of the responses fell outside the anticipated age range for each generation. There is a 30-34 year old for example identifying as a “Baby Boomer,” two 18-24 year old’s identifying as “GenX,” and even a few 40 and 50 something’s apparently identifying as “GenZ,” the youngest people in the survey. Were these mistakes? Possibly. But it may reflect something larger.
A casual review of “on-line” comment sections will reveal a great deal of diverse opinion and misunderstanding regarding the definitions and characteristics of each so called “generation.” On sites such as Twitter, YouTube, or TikTok these discussions frequently border on outright hostility. It is not uncommon to see proud identification with one’s own perceived generation and bitterness and blame toward all the others.
Compounding the issue further, no singular published definition exists about where each generation begins and ends. Consequently, there is a great deal of confusion and disagreement over what actually constitutes a “generation.” For example, it is not unusual to see many posters today identify as “GenX.” The widely accepted definition of this cohort typically runs from 1965 to the early 1980’s. But not everyone agrees with this. During the 2008 presidential campaign, various media outlets announced that Barack Obama would become the first “GenX” President. This was not entirely accurate as President Obama was born in 1961 and would actually be a member of the “Baby Boom” generation.
This confusion is not limited to GenX. Which years actually belong to Generation Y, better known as the “Millennial” generation, has not always been clear either as it has been redefined many times over in the media and popular culture. Originally defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as those born from 1982-2000, this age cohort is consistent with the 18 year span of the Baby Boomers. Again, a review of the comments section of any online news site will often uncover mischaracterizations of what actually constitutes a “Millennial.” Based on my own interactions on social media, there appears to be an even greater misunderstanding of the differences between GenY and GenZ. “Generation Z” would of course include those born after the turn of the century. All teenagers today would fall into this category. The oldest members of GenZ would be turning 21 this year. Recently, however, some organizations such as Pew Research have moved the start of GenZ back into the late to mid-1990’s further adding to the confusion between who is a member of GenZ and who is a Millennial.
I frequently encounter these misunderstandings in my own business interactions. Just a few years ago I was working as a consultant on a marketing project where the goal was to “target millennials” with first time home buying assistance and resources. I could see from their initial data that the company was clearly looking only at older teens and early “twentysomethings.” I asked what they thought Millennials were. The person organizing the ad campaign (who appeared to be in his early to mid 30’s) replied “you know, like your students...” I pointed out that most likely he and I were both “Millennials.” He gave me a strange look so I explained that Generation Y actually began somewhere in the early 1980’s. Some of us were now approaching 40 and had careers and families and already owned homes. I suggested he use an age range such as “18-24” as that would better represent the segment of the population he was seeking. Like many, he was confusing Millennials with “Generation Z” teenagers.
Curious, I asked him what generation he thought WE were and he said without hesitating: “Baby Boomers.” I was caught off guard by this expecting perhaps “GenX.” But his comment made me realize why I see others making similar mistakes. There is a lot of disinformation out there. Watching TV the other day I noticed an ad for “retirement planning for baby boomers.” The target age: “45 and over.” 45? Really? Better not tell my GenX friend born in 1977 that she’s a “Boomer.” Likewise, others in business who are trying to reach out to younger consumers seem to be just as confused. The other day I heard a radio ad offering help selling to “adults, teens, and millennials...” There is a widely circulated “clickbait” ad promoting life insurance to those “Born Before 1985.” I’ll let you draw your own conclusions:
But the misunderstandings don’t stop there. My own personal experiences on social media have also lead me to believe that “OK Boomer” when used as a pejorative actually means “anyone over 29 you don’t agree with.” And I am careful to avoid using the term “Xennial” altogether. Here’s why: While the attempt to explain a certain very narrow age group who had access to early technology, cell phones, and the Internet but without the universal use of smart phones and social media that today’s teenagers enjoy is appreciated, I believe there will always be some overlap between those at the beginning and end of every “generation.” Arbitrarily creating labels only adds to the existing confusion. Ironically, the only generation to ever be officially “named” was in fact the Baby Boom generation which spanned 1946-1964. All the other generations have been subject to change and interpretation.
One solution to the problem is to simply use age categories of perhaps five, or maybe ten, years. At least for my own research and consulting this has worked well and avoids anything that might be “triggering.” Using clearly defined categories allows greater focus and better representation of who exactly is being included rather than using an overly broad definition or terminology which no one seems to understand. For example, most of us who are in our 30’s probably share more in common with our parents when they were 35 than we do with our “teenage” selves. Designing a survey to target ages “30-39” would make more sense in this case then saying “Millennials.” Even the term “older millennial” may carry negative connotations and is subject to misinterpretation.
Finally, supporting the original idea that we do in fact tend to perceive the last four decades as recent history, there were differences for each Generation between those who felt the 1980’s seemed “closer” than 40 years and answered “Yes” to Question 1 than for those who answered “No.” Perhaps not surprisingly, the smallest difference was for GenZ who were not born until well after the 80’s ended and would have no memory of the decade. For them “the awesome 80’s” may indeed seem a long time ago:
The differences in answers to Question 1 were not statistically significant (p <= .05) when compared across all four Generations. However, when “Baby Boomers/GenX” and “Millennials/GenZ” were combined and compared, there was in fact found to be a significant difference (p <= .05) regarding their responses. Finally, the highest level of significance (p <= .01) was when responses between the youngest and oldest Generations (GenZ and Baby Boomers) were compared directly.
Whatever one decides to call this effect, the question regarding the perception of time is reflected in the way people identify with (and react to) what they see on social media and should be considered when designing advertising content. Using specific age categories rather than labels would eliminate any subjective bias toward a particular generation and allow content creators to better focus on consumers within a specific age demographic. Researchers trying to better understand age and cultural differences regarding past experiences may also benefit from considering this perception of time. Marketers trying to promote a product or service effectively to people say, 25 or older, can use these memories and associations from the past 40 years to develop an effective strategy. Especially one designed for social media where the 1980’s continue to live on.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/archives/2015-pr/cb15-113.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obamas-generation-x-factor/
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/
https://www.purewow.com/family/what-is-a-xennial
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/baby_boomer.asp
