About Generational Categories -What Everyone is Getting Wrong

Megan Gerhardt • November 19, 2021

Every few years, new thought pieces emerge claiming that getting rid of generational categories is the solution to ending harmful generational stereotyping. Over the last month, I’ve been sent several articles calling for the end of generations. Whether from academics who are failing to find the differences they hypothesized between Boomers and Gen Z, or journalists who have decided the answer to the dangers of generational stereotyping is to just eliminate generational categories altogether, the call to end generational labels just doesn’t quit. While these concerns are well-intentioned, they almost always miss the mark. Why? Most articles fail to grasp why generations actually matter. They also tend to offer simplistic solutions that put simply, don’t work.

An End to Stereotypes, Not Generations

Beneath the noble cries to “get rid of generations”, these articles want what I want: for generational stereotyping to stop. It’s lazy. People born within a 15-20 year time period are not all the same and cannot be fully understood or captured by a cliched generational trope.

But the solution to ending generational stereotyping is not getting rid of generational categories. One more time for the people in the back row: Stop suggesting that getting rid of generational labels is going to somehow solve this problem.

To understand why this isn’t the solution, we need some Gentelligence – generational intelligence. Gentelligence allows us to view generational differences in a smarter way, one that views this kind of diversity as an important source of potential for learning and collaboration.

Peeling Back the Layers

Generational labels are best thought of as a layer of our identity. This layer exists among many other layers: age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, the list can go on. There is room to embrace all layers of identity that influence who you are and your perspective on the world. As stated in Vanity Fair, “A generation is the creation of shared experiences, the things that happened, the things you did and listened to and read and went through, and as important, the things that did not happen.”

Growing up in a different time does influence the way we see the world and our place in it, and to eliminate generational categories is to pretend it doesn’t. But being part of a particular generation doesn’t describe everything we are; that is where those other layers of identity come in. Born at the beginning of the Millennial generation? Your age and your generation interact to create a generational lens that is different from that of the youngest Millennials.

Needs vs Fulfillment

So how different are generations, really? That’s a question I get asked often. The answer is too long for a blog post. But here’s a secret: we all share universal needs, no matter what generation we are. Research shows that all people have core needs for values like respect, connection, competence, and autonomy. In that way, people across generations aren’t different at all. This is where Gentelligence comes in. While these needs are universal, the ways in which the different generations define and pursue the fulfillment of those needs can look quite different.

Let’s take the need for autonomy. Gen Xers grew up in an era when parenting norms allowed for children to roam the neighborhood unsupervised. They became our first “latchkey kids” letting themselves in the house after school to enjoy a few hours of parent-free time before mom and/or dad returned from work. For this generation, autonomy at work may mean not having a boss that tells them how they do their work, preferring instead to figure it out for themselves.

Millennials, in contrast, grew up when parenting norms had shifted toward a need to schedule children’s time and fill it full of activities. In school, teachers handed out rubrics to help students understand how to fulfill (and exceed) their expectations. For Millennials, autonomy may be best defined as choosing the kind of work they find most interesting, but wanting more direction on how the work itself should be done.

Mind the Gap

When viewed through a different generational lens, we can find the behavior of those older or younger than us pretty confusing. We often end up misinterpreting it. That’s when we fall into the generation gap.

The answer to ending generational shaming isn’t getting rid of generational categories. It’s using Gentelligence to understand our similarities and differences and find more successful ways to communicate. Our generational lenses are full of potential, and it’s time to start treating them that way.

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Why Generation A Might Just Be the...Analog Generation

By Megan Gerhardt • February 13, 2026

It has been said that everything old becomes new again on a long enough timeline. There's a fascinating generational trend I've been seeing among younger Gen Zs and the oldest of Gen A (Note: I am not calling that generation Gen Alpha, because that name is nonsensical and outdated already, and that generation is barely in their teens. More on that soon)--a craving for low-tech, no-tech, screen-free experiences. Gentelligence focuses primarily on generational dynamics in the workplace, and I do predict this will have implications for where and how these generations want to work. Despite the chaos surrounding back-to-office policies and experiments, our youngest members of the workplace (and our soon-to-be newest employees) are showing signs that they value time away from screens. I first noticed this last year among my own students, who were overwhelmingly setting change goals in my change management class focused on reducing screen time. Versions included "cleaning up my sleep routine" (putting the phone away at least 30 minutes before bed, eliminating blue light before bed, reading physical books), "reduce my weekly screentime", "stop doomscrolling", and "impose limits on TikTok and Instagram time". It was a sign that it was no longer just their parents or older generations who wanted them off their phones; they wanted themselves off their phones, too. For a wave of young people raised in an era of tech overload, it seems we have reached the point of maximum saturation, and they are pushing back. As one of my students astutely mentioned to me last year, "There are no boundaries now...our generation is just trying to figure out how to put some of them back." I've doubled down on the need for this in my teaching, having conversations with students about how to ethically use AI as a thought-partner while balancing protected time for our most scarce resource these days: deep thinking and connection. It was this need, coupled with the overwhelming research showing the improved retention and learning that occurs when students handwrite their notes and put away their laptops in class, that led me to declare our classroom a laptop and phone-free zone. We still use slides to guide conversations, but there are no longer 30 laptop screens popped up in front of them, distracting even those who are trying hard to focus. Surprisingly, I've had very little pushback. I was concerned they would feel like I was forcing them backwards, but collectively we seem to be exhaling. The discussions have never been better. As our younger Gen Zs reach young adulthood and our oldest Gen As become teenagers, they are emerging from a kind of social experiment they entered unwittingly — a life that has never known a world without constant screens. They are realizing how different they feel when they unplug. Gen Z and Gen A even have a term for this: touching grass. That's right, when the default is constant tech immersion, they had to come up with a phrase to represent the intentional effort it takes to step away. Whenever possible, I try to engage in some real-time generational anthropology, just to explore my hunches and (when possible) debunk stereotypes. Gentelligence is all about being curious rather than judgmental, and I am most definitely curious about these early signs that our younger generations are seeking a better balance between their tech and non-tech worlds. Last month, I was in Chicago for a keynote and found myself in a trendy food hall over lunch. There were little shops surrounding the food hall, including one of my all-time weaknesses, a stationery store . Pens! Journals! Paper! Notebooks! (I, too, love the analog. After indulging myself in a number of vital paper goods, I was tucking into a sandwich in the food hall and saw a (literally) noteworthy sight: a table of early 20-somethings, gathering on their lunch hour and...writing in their journals. Multi-colored pens, stamps, and conversation were plentiful. There was not a phone in sight. That in and of itself was remarkable. It turns out that stationary stores are experiencing a resurgence . Knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and sourdough baking are also all having a moment. Physical books ( and bookstores! ) are making a comeback. A few weeks later, I was at another event, this time a very trendy commercial interior design conference, where we were discussing ways to design spaces that promote intergenerational interactions (yes, it was as cool as you might be thinking). I saw a young designer at the cocktail hour and walked over to introduce myself. I asked if I could pick her brain on something, as I figured it was part of her JOB to be up on the latest trends. I asked her whether she was feeling a personal pull to use less tech, or if this was something she had seen among her peers. That's when she told me about Analog Bags . (I won't go down that rabbit hole here, but feel free to explore the link and know that I am absolutely creating my own Analog Bag as we speak). At that same design conference, a book was recommended to me: Megatrends by John Naisbett. The gentleman who suggested it said it changed his life. He thought I would find it interesting, given my interest in generational trends, behavioral cycles, and, of course, my classes in change management. I ordered it as soon as I got back to my hotel room (fun fact: it was published in 1982, so you'll have to find a vintage copy!). I've been devouring it, and among the many eye-opening insights was the observation that " the more 'High Tech' we become, the more we need 'High Touch.” Now, Naisbett was referring to the high-tech era of the early 1980s, when personal computers were entering the scene, but the relevance of the comment almost 45 years later, in the age of AI, was not lost on me. Those who have lived their entire lives as products of high-tech are now blazing the trail to meet their need for high touch. Let this be my formal declaration (for whatever it's worth) that I predict our youngest generations will lead us back to a balance between tech and high-touch: they are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, and their message is clear. They are living, breathing embodiments of a life flooded with endless tech, fake news, constant connectivity, dopamine hits, and input dictated by algorithms, and it appears they may have had enough.