We have heard of the Millenials, Generation X and Baby Boomers. More recently there is Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Except for a few nomenclatures, most don’t sound very convincing. Of course all refer to different periods of birth and people can be identified by their current age, but there is one Generation that people have missed out. And that one is without any age restriction and is perhaps is longest lived generation in the modern technological context – I call it the Meta Generation or Gen Meta, and the individual – Metan.
Just a brief about the recent generations……Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are people born between 1981 and 1996. Millennials are often described as adaptive and creative, and are motivated by sharing gifts, creative work, and making an impact on others. So they say.
Generation X, or Gen X, is the demographic cohort of people born between 1965 and 1980, following the Baby Boomers and preceding the Millennials.
The Baby Boomer generation, also known as boomers, includes people born between 1946 and 1964. I guess this was the right time to have many kids as things were affordable and most families had 2 to 3 kids, and perhaps hence the name.
Much earlier were the following generations, but which are not inconsequential now as you will read further.
- Lost Generation – 1883-1900. ( Don’t know why called that way, but we will try to find out )
- Greatest Generation – 1901-1927. ( They worked hard, started the second industrial revolution and fought the WW1 and again set things in place for latter generations )
- Silent Generation – 1928-1945. ( These guys were the silent sufferers with the long term effects of WW1 & WW 2 on them also of a long term depression )
My META Generation spans across Generation Z, the Millennials, The Gen X and even partly the Baby boomers. Not all people in each category fall into the Meta Category. But the Metans now account for much of the population now in each generation. The traits and characteristics of the Metans are same across the board & also irrespective of their ages. You can consider Meta as a subset of all the 4 generations. So a Meta could be borne anywhere between 1950 to 2024 and later too. Any new generations to be added will for sure add to the subsets.
The Meta generation is a generation evolved by the internet ( ‘”affected” would be a wrong word to use here ), the social media and multiple web tools and Apps. Whether they do any harm or good is not going to be discussed here. But the META generation is here to stay and quietly their clan increases YOY. They don’t trouble anyone in real life, (may be they do in reel life ) and they are generally devoted to the virtual world. Devoted would be the right word and not “lost”. Metans use the net for synonyms carefully that’s why I am careful. If there is any major issue like hatred, animosity and jealousy, it is all virtual –like in complex online games . To describe the METANs , you do not need AI or the Meta Description Generator. But each Meta person would like to have his own Meta Tag Generator. But sometimes the Meta is actually not a Meta according to him/ her but a soul in transition from reality to the virtual.
You can never blame a Metan for anything, because you may be looking at the Virtual Him/Her. He or she is not the real HIM / HER . They identify themselves by this Tag on their profiles. They don’t look down on what asset they have ( no pun intended ), but are happy with their public acceptance of their profile, whether it is HIM/HER/or anything else. You have to like a METAN
Typically a Meta/ Metan can be identified by:
– Continuously being on the mobile,
-Their life is defined by what they like of others and what others like of theirs. The item to be liked / disliked is generally a small post of 5 lines which maybe inconsequential or not make much sense to the Non-Metans.
-It generally does not matter to Metans as to what is the fact/ fiction/ reality- as long as that get accepted in the social world. There are less personal opinions, but more generally accepted opinions.
-Metans spend time on FB, Insta, Twitter, Linkedin and other apps
– Metans don’t want to push their ideas much as it would be out of the rules of their generation, but they are very generous in sharing a lot of information, though all which was shared much earlier and for many times. It is not to be read as Metans don’t have original ideas or thinking, but the generosity of sharing other person’s ideas is mind boggling and takes away their own time to think. Their intelligent mind understands a post or a write up just by reading the first line, and that’s enough to decide whether that post deserves a like, a thumbs down, a forward or a share or simply a delete.
-Metans do not buy a newspaper, they edit it, they cut it and reprocess it.
-Metans don’t trouble anyone with their ideas on difficult issues like a war such as that between Ukraine –Russia and Isreal- Palestine. They say that such things would be avoided if all including politicians immersed into ‘’meta-bolism’’. Metabolism replicates the harsh reality in the virtual world and solves all issues with a few quick clicks. Example of that would be if Putin and Zelensky has been busy online playing ‘’BOMB-BOMB’’ OR ‘’MISSILE TO MISSILE’’ games, they would have never entered into a real war. Metans sincerely believe that Governments in many countries have failed to keep internet rates low and the signal reach is also grossly limited. This is the reason why some people step outside the Meta zone and create trouble.
-Metans have a difficult future as many things threaten to take over their serious work. Automatic metadata generation tools which are machine learning based, may take over the identity and soon many Metan clones or duplicates will be actually communicating on their behalf spreading false and data structured thinking on their behalf- superior to their thinking. Imagine wrong messages getting forwarded which are not in sync with one’s ‘’original’’ thinking. No No,-Metans will not let that happen.
-Though they live in two worlds- virtual & reality, Metans do worry about the reality. But they are also politically cautious. Each Metan when he wakes in the morning, even if has to jump to the loo badly, will first quickly check if the US President or the Indian Prime minister has sent any message for him.
-Metan families are peace loving for obvious reasons, as there is no time to fight, and each one carries his weapon all the time (even during dinner time), which keeps him sedated, secluded and a happy member of his family.
-Metans don’t complicate the economy and their own life either, just as the Millenials, Baby Boomers and Gen did. They don’t see the need to buy a second home, go on international holidays and buy expensive cars. All these can be achieved virtually with high technology powered by technology. I think this really practical thinking. How to be happy, has to be learnt from the Metans. Metans fully justify the meaning of Being COOL. Soon you will have digital spouses, same sex virtual marriages and children and homes, all purchased lying on the couch. In case you do not like anyone, you can simple delete them or click on the divorce button.
-Metans wake up with their mobile in hand, eat, drink and live with FB and Instagram posts as starters and Tweets for dessert. They love to cook using the internet information but then it is their moral duty to ensure online apps and tools work well, so the final click is for Zomato Swiggy. The sign of a perfect Metan is his work habits -work hard till his mobile phone falls off his hands and he falls asleep after the hard day’s grind on his weapon.
On a serious note we have to accept that each generation is shaped by the contemporary social and economic climate. Generations change about every 25 years, and the entire cycle starts anew every 100 years. Now lets go back to the first generation mentioned earlier – The LOST Generation (1883-1900). With Metans, life has come a full circle. However try to figure out which generation is really the lost one