And I was still under the impression that FaceBook etc were a younger generational thing. This article shows just how much social media is influencing baby boomers.
For example;
That must include both beloved old friends who will remind you who you are, especially as you start forgetting, and new, younger friends who will keep you active and engaged. As a bonus, they’ll likely be around long after your older friends are gone.
“We’re moving into a period of interdependency. It’s very much a two-way street. We’re going to need friends, but they’re going to need us,” says Green, 61. “As we age we’re going to have to abandon the pride that has been part of baby boomers’ strength — our determination to handle things ourselves, to be in charge and not rely on anyone else.”
For the whole article click here.
Filed under internet, technology by admin
After the last post a sobering reminder of some of the issues that go with getting older.
This article from Fox Business titled What Baby Boomers Need to Know About Alzheimer’s is a reminder of the health risks we are all facing as time marches on.
“November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness month. Fellow baby boomers, I know very well what you think when you hear the word “Alzheimer’s.”
‘Never going to happen to me. Was a shame to see that happen to my once-so-sharp and witty [name of friend/relative you know affected by the disease here]. That just happens to old people, I’ll never get old.’
But deep down, we all know there is more to it than that. And here are some statistics from the 2010 Alzheimer’s association report that we cannot afford to ignore:
•One in 8 people aged 65 and older (13%) have Alzheimer’s disease
Related Links
How to Recognize Caregiver Burden
Risk Factors and Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s
The A, B, Cs and 1, 2, 3s of Annuities
Baby Boomers Disproportionately Represented in Bankruptcy Proceedings
Lost Your Job? Try Not to Take it out on Your 401(k)
•Every 70 seconds, someone in America develops Alzheimer’s. By mid-century, someone will develop the disease every 33 seconds
•The number of Americans surviving into their 80s and 90s and beyond is expected to grow dramatically due to advances in medicine and medical technology, as well as social and environmental conditions. Since the incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias increase with age, the number of people with these conditions will also grow rapidly.
•The 85-years-and-older population currently includes about 2.4 million people with Alzheimer’s disease … when the first wave of baby boomers reaches age 85 (2031), an estimated 3.5 million people aged 85 and older will have Alzheimer’s.
•By 2050, the number of Americans aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is projected to number between 11 and 16 million – unless medical breakthroughs identify ways to identify or more effectively treat the disease. Barring such developments, by 2050 more than 60% of people with Alzheimer’s disease will be 85 or older.”
Pretty sobering! For the full report click here.
Filed under Health and Fitness by admin
I have been posting for a while now and thought it prudent to remind us all of who we are …….. So What’s a Boomer …………….I think bbhq.com puts it so well I am just going to copy there definition. Having said that I am am a now a self proclaimed ‘Cusper.’
Glad you asked. Stated very simply, the demographers, sociologists and the media define baby boomers as those born between (and including) 1946 and 1964. (There is no law or constitutional amendment so stating; and other boundaries have been suggested. But this is the time frame most commonly used.) In 2009, that would make us between 45 and 63 years old. There are about 75 million boomers in the U.S.; we currently represent about 29% of the U.S. population. (In Canada, we are sometimes known as “Boomies”; there are 6 million of us there. In Britain, our generation is known as “the bulge.”)
The term is used (nobody knows who coined the phrase) to define the “boom” in births after WWII. Our Boomer Stats page identifies the number of U.S. births during the 40s, 50s and 60s.
The 1960s is the decade that defined the boomers. The music, events, and the social changes made a permanent impression on us. Those of us born during the “peak” boomer years, ‘52-’57, were in our formative years during the sixties. There were so many changes in the sixties that how old you were during the decade greatly affected how you turned out. 1961 was a whole lot different from 1969!
Those born at the early end of the spectrum were in our early 20s by 1970. The deaths of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King; the Vietnam war and related protests; and the Watergate scandal… all made deep impressions on us.
At the other end, those born after 1959 have no direct recollection of the assassination of President Kennedy; most were not yet listening to rock music by the time the Beatles broke up. Buddy Holly, the Shirelles, Peter & Gordon, Leslie Gore, Dion, Nat Cole, Herman’s Hermits, the Mamas & Papas, Frankie Avalon, the Platters, the Drifters, the Everly Brothers, the Four Tops, and other great music artists of the 50s and 60s are not part of the foundation of their music tastes. They were more likely to use illegal drugs…. often to a great and disturbing excess. And they were never subjected to the military draft. So any attempt to lump us all together probably won’t work. We can tell, by the e-mail we receive here at BBHQ, that there is much that ties us together, but also much that separates us.
Our e-mail indicates that many of us are committed to marriage and are still happily married to our high school sweethearts. And many of us have been married and divorced… more than once. We are the generation that pushed the divorce rate up to 50%… and made it seem “normal” and thus acceptable.
Many of us went to work for a company, worked our way up the ladder, and are now enjoying the fruits of our labors. We will retire in a few years, and live a life of leisure, or embark on a second career. But many of us are entrepreneurs, and have never worked for a big company. Many of us plan never to retire.
For more - including a picture of the first recognised baby Boomer please visit bbhq.com
Although a few months old I find that this article has hit the nail on the head when it comes to re-defining the popular generational names. I was born in 1960 and although fitting into the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation can’t really say I feel like those boomers who are already retired or about to do so. Even my twitter name … Ima60sBoomer represents this! I am so glad someone has articulated this ‘feeling’.
Marian Salzman who has been credited with coining the term “metrosexuality,” has now invented a new sub-generation: “Cuspers” — basically people too young to be baby-boomers, and too old to be gen-Xers. The Boomers are no longer in charge…………the mantle has now passed to the so-called ‘cuspers’ with the US President Obama represents them, leading the way ahead.
The Baby Boomers are being blamed for the woes in the world at the moment. The selfish generation, the generation that pursued pleasure, proclaimed “I can have it all” and refused to grow old — “50 is the new 30,” etc.
And from under that mantle the ‘cuspers’ now have even more reasons to stake out their own separate identity and values.
Its a great read ….. for the whole article click here.
Having just posted about Baby Boomers retirement threats, I saw this the next day at Marketwatch. With a headline of;
Housing crash hits baby boomers
Home-price declines will eat into boomer retirement nest eggs
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — The collapse of the housing bubble will likely have drastic implications on the wealth and retirement of certain baby boomers, according to a report Tuesday by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
The median household headed by those between 45 and 54 in 2009 will have about 25% less wealth than the median household of that age in 2004, according to the report. That household’s wealth will decline to $113,268 in 2009, from $150,113 in 2004.
This is a reality guys ……………. to read the whole report click here.
This is not only a USA event. The Baby Boomer generations are as dominant in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Internal geo-political situations differ between all these countries, but the size, weight and influence of the Boomer generation is dominant.
So sell the house, downsize and rent a smaller-cheaper place and invest in India and the emerging markets. Does that shake a few paradigms????????
Later,
Ima Boomer
Filed under Lifestyle by admin
