Baby Boomers Reach 60, Part 1

01/12/2006 - The United States experienced an explosion of births after American soldiers returned home from World War II creating what we now call the "Baby Boom" generation. Baby Boomers, an estimated 77 million were born between 1946 and 1964, but most definitions. In 2006 they begin to reach an epic mark – they begin turning 60. That further translates into a boomer hitting the age of 60 every seven seconds for the next 19 years.

With the baby boomer about to enter their golden years, the concept of what it means to get older will never be the same. Never has there been a generation so determined to be more youthful and active than their parents. But reality will inevitably prevail as you can't fight the aging process forever. As with any major society shift many industries such as Yellow Pages will be challenged to stay ahead of the curve in recognizing new trends and opportunities with the Boomers.

In part 1 of this 2 part series we take a look at what comes next as Yellow Pages biggest supporters reach this magic age. In this issue we look at the numbers and core demographics. In part 2 which will run next month, we will apply those demographics down to the Yellow Pages product level to understand where the opportunities may be.

A New Definition of "Old"

Do you remember being a kid and thinking 60 was old? Given that my oldest sibling has now hit 60 (and I'm not that far behind her), well, it doesn't seem so old anymore does it? Take a look at some of these folks and you'll see a very different demographic that what we traditionally thought was old.

But what is the makeup of this generation? The biggest year of the boom was 1957, when 4.3 million boomers were born. Experts don't offer many opinions why it took over 10 years for so many post-World War II families to get going. The ratio of males to females has stayed relatively constant with approximately 1.05 male births for every one female birth.