Ever since they appeared after the Second World War, members of the Baby Boom generation have been transformative agents in society. Defined as those born between 1946 and 1964, the Baby Boomers were the single largest cohort of people in human history until the birth of their own children, ‘Generation X’ or ‘Millennials’, some 30 to 40 years later. As such, they’ve left an indelible mark on many areas of North American life.
As teenagers, the generational tastes of the Baby Boomers gave rise to the pop culture pre-eminence of television and rock and roll. As young people, their collective values affected everything from university campus culture to politics, governance, and foreign policy (see the Vietnam War). As adults, their entry into the workforce en masse changed the face of corporate culture forever, making it more inclusive and family-friendly. As they entered middle age, they pioneered middle-class investment in stocks and other financial securities. Now, almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century, Baby Boomers are set to transform yet another important part of society: that of retirement communities.
As a senior care professional for more than 20 years, I have watched with my own eyes as the first wave of the Baby Boom generation settled into retirement living. And because my specialization is in the arena of life enrichment, I have also seen the undeniable effect they have had on the day-to-day operations of the communities they join.
To begin with, Baby Boomers are more active in their advanced years than previous generations, and as a rule, they want a more diverse set of activities to occupy their time. While classic hobbies such as knitting, crocheting, and solving crossword puzzles are still very much a part of retirement community life, the Boomers have demanded more along the lines of fitness classes, educational seminars, arts and craft workshops, and group outings to sporting events and museums.
Members of the Baby Boom generation also place a greater premium on maintaining their physical and mental health than previous cohorts of retirees—and by that, I don’t mean that they simply want a doctor on site. Baby Boomers tend to take a more holistic approach to their health than their predecessors did, putting more stock in things such as nutrition, mindfulness, and stress reduction, in addition to traditional physical wellness. It’s not uncommon for retired Boomers to participate in yoga or tai chi classes, for example, or try acupuncture therapy or psychoanalysis.
But perhaps the single largest impact Baby Boomers have had on retirement community living is their openness to technological integration. Whereas members of the Greatest Generation (1901-1924) and the Silent Generation (1925-1945) were usually reticent to learn the ins and outs of new technologies, Baby Boomers are a computer-savvy bunch, nearly all of whom carry smartphones. This has opened the door to a bevy of positive changes in the senior care industry, especially in the realm of communications.
For example, while a retirement community may still display a bulletin board covered with fliers and announcements in its front lobby, it is also likely to have multiple social media forums and group chats—some run by the administration and some by residents themselves. This inevitably leads to increased rates of engagement within the community.
Beyond that, Baby Boomers’ high comfort level with technology enables better health care delivery, as they’re not bristling at the idea of wearing fitness trackers or using health monitoring apps or tele-health services.
One of the overarching generational traits of the Baby Boomers is precipitating and embracing change; from popularizing toys like Barbie and G.I. Joe in the 1950s, to staging sit-ins and marching for civil rights in the 1960s, to normalizing middle-class participation in the stock market in the 1980s and 1990s. Now, in the 2020s, they’re continuing to shape our society through transforming the nature of retirement community living.