NEW YORK, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- An author who has researched the baby boom generation says it will be hard to predict how these millions of Americans will handle senior-citizen status.
The first wave of the enormous post-World War II generation starts hitting 65 this year and bringing a presumably new attitude to the world of the golden years.
Steven Gillon, author of "Boomer Nation," told The New York Times the boomers will be different from the previous ranks of aging Americans. After all, he said, they were kids in a world of ample materialism and a child-rearing style that encouraged them to speak their minds to their elders.
"It created a sense of entitlement that had not existed before," Gillon said. "We became more concerned with our own emotional well-being, whereas to older generations that was considered soft and fluffy."
The fallout, the Times said, will likely be a combination of a stubborn refusal to just fade away, and a potential pall of depression over slipping health and aspirations that were never reached.
