The horizon of change and the depth of experience: what is unique about each generation of Ukrainians?

The world is used to classifying people by generations: X, Y, Z, Alpha. Some are considered the most adaptable, others are accused of dependence on technology, others are attributed with excessive sensitivity, and the last ones are still under the watchful eye of scientists. Sociologists carefully analyze how values, behavioral patterns and worldviews are formed. However, the current Ukrainian reality does not fit into the usual categories. Children grow up here, for whom the air alarm sounds more often than the teacher’s voice, and the shelter map is better known than the route to school. These children are learning to walk among the wreckage, not figuratively, but literally, through damaged streets, through a broken system, through a war that is not going away. While the world tries to coin a term for the new digital post-war childhood, we already have another name ready – the “anxiety generation”.

Different generations of Ukrainians and their characteristics

The society of the 21st century does not live in one time, but in several at the same time. In the same labor market, in the same city, in the same online network, there are several generations at once, who have fundamentally different starting experiences, adaptation tools and typical reactions to reality. It is not just a difference in style of clothing or slang, but a difference in the perception of the pace of life, sources of information, criteria of trust and even in the definition of what counts as “fatigue”, “success” or “change”.

You should not understand a generation as simply a set of people who were born in similar years. These are shared experiences, shared fears and expectations, cultural codes with which everyone enters adulthood. The world has long ceased to be linear. Humanity does not just live in different epochs, but in parallel universes divided into generations. Gaps of misunderstanding and different social norms stretch between them. Common classifications include Baby Boomers (born in the postwar period 1946–1964), Generation X (1965–1980), Y or Millennials (1981–1996), Generation Z (1997–2012), and Alpha (since 2013). Each generation reflects changes in technology, economics, culture, and politics.

Baby Boomers were born when anything seemed possible. Post-war euphoria, televisions in every home, plenty of jobs, apartments without mortgages, and if you put in a lot of effort, you can even get a dacha. They built careers, bought Khrushchevs, went to Beatles concerts and sincerely believed that the world was only getting better. At 20 they were already married, at 30 they had children, and at 40 they were telling them how to live.

Generation X grew up in contrast, they were not promised stars from the sky. They saw that careers do not guarantee well-being, diplomas do not guarantee jobs, and the state does not guarantee anything at all. As children, they themselves locked the door behind their parents, heated dinner on the stove, and learned to survive without a psychologist, the Internet, and emotional support. Generation X itself has become true realists with immunity to propaganda, a chronic distrust of authority and a habit of relying only on themselves.

People born in the 1960s and 70s live in a space that is constantly changing. Their childhood fell on the late Soviet decades with a clear hierarchy, limited access to information, regulated life. They studied in the conditions of a centralized school, where discipline, memory and the ability to adapt to a given framework were valued. Formed as adults in the 1980s and 1990s — during the period of the collapse of the old model, uncertainty, scarcity, and economic instability.

In the 1990s, they had to change their habits: work, sources of income, ideas about the future. In the 2000s — to adapt to digital technologies, new forms of communication, a market where mobility has become the main value. In the 2010s, watching old professions disappear, the line between work and private life blur, and their children’s generation thinks in terms foreign to their youth.

These people managed to catch both the analog and digital worlds. They used floppy disks, the first text editors, radio telephones — and moved on to smartphones, cloud services, and online services with a multi-functional interface. They are familiar with what a teletype looks like, how queues formed at post offices, how long-distance numbers were dialed. At the same time, most of them already habitually use banking applications, video communication, e-mail, and Internet documents.

Their practice of daily life spans several eras. They remember ballpoint pens with ink and the mark of a copier. But they also work with tablets and electronic databases. They developed the photos themselves in the darkroom — and now they get the shots through instant sync. They stood in long lines for products – and now they can order everything they need in a matter of minutes. Their experience is not nostalgia, but the accumulation of connections between what was and what has become everyday.

In a structural sense, this is one of the few generations that accepted the transition between two centuries and two different social systems as a condition of existence, and not as an exception. Many of them are still working. Some of them are in professions that did not exist when they were studying. Part — in conditions that were previously considered atypical: remotely, project-wise, in interaction with digital tools. They have a different rhythm of thinking, but the ability to change is preserved. They had no privileges, did not receive simplified routes, but retained the ability to respond to a change in the rules.

This generation was formed in transition, which is why it so accurately perceives the tension between stability and turbulence, between the analog past and the digital present. They were not accompanied by excessive faith in permanence. But that is why they were not confused when it became clear: stability is not a guarantee, but a short episode.

Those who today are called millennials were born in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. This generation was formed on the border of two systems: they managed to find school desks without gadgets, television as the only source of visual content, and the first computers with floppy disks and large monitors. They learned how to search for information in paper encyclopedias — and managed to fully transition to digital knowledge bases. This generation remembers the time before smartphones, but found itself in a situation where without a smartphone there is no support in the daily organization of life.

In their youth, they were told that success is self-realization. That it is important to find “your own”, to develop uniqueness, to refuse compromises. But at the same time, they were faced with an unstable economy, rising rent costs, loans for basic needs, unstable labor markets and the loss of linear career models. Many of them had a higher education, which did not meet the demands of employers, and faced the expectation of a “universal worker” capable of working above the norm and always being available.

By the age of 35, most millennials have developed not a balance, but a need for it. Many managed to burn out professionally – not because they worked more than previous generations, but because they worked in a mode of constant adaptation to changes that did not have clear boundaries. The ideas of development, flexibility, and upgrade have become a new form of routine for them. They do not require stability, but feel a shortage of internal resources. It was this generation that became the first large social group to speak en masse about psychotherapy not as an exception, but as a common practice of support.

Those born in the late 1990s and early 2010s have no experience of the analog world. For them, the Internet was not a discovery – it was an environment from the very beginning. YouTube, TikTok, Google, messengers are not tools, but the basic space of existence. As children, they did not wait for cartoons on TV – they could independently choose the content at any time. Their communication never depended on the schedule of calls – it was asynchronous, fast, fragmented from the beginning.

Generation Z was formed against the background of economic turbulence, climatic instability, wars, pandemics and general distrust of institutions. They do not expect loyalty, guarantees or stability from the world. On the contrary, the basic setting of this generation: don’t wait, act yourself. They are used to continuous updates, used to the ephemerality of decisions, to the need for constant adjustment.

While millennials sought to “find themselves,” Generation Z is more likely to seek a way to maintain themselves in the flux of change. Their attention is fragmented, but the ability to quickly analyze in conditions of information overload is high. They focus on small communities, choose selective trust, prefer horizontal relationships. Traditional hierarchy, authority by position or age are almost uninteresting to them. Their respect is tied to transparency, consistency and an open format of communication.

Children born after 2010 do not yet have their own story of growing up, but already have a complete digital biography. They begin to perceive text with pictures before they master the skill of writing. They learn to count by reading from a tablet, they learn to search for information even before they formulate questions. In many cases, they start using voice commands even before they acquire written literacy. This generation already communicates with artificial intelligence systems – not as a wonder, but as an interface of the environment.

The Alpha generation does not yet set the agenda, but is already present in all digital services. Their development takes place in an environment where constant multitasking, switching, instant feedback is the norm. And although they have not yet faced the labor market or the choice of identity, it is already obvious that they will live in a world that requires not just adaptation, but proactive intervention. Changes that previous generations saw as a challenge can become entry level for Alpha.

“Generation of Anxiety”

During the war, the “angry generation” grows. The psychological impact of war on a child cannot be overestimated, constant stress changes the structure of the brain, increases the level of anxiety and forms post-traumatic disorders. By data research Future Index 44% of children in Ukraine have signs of potential PTSD. Every 4 out of 10 children are in a state of constant anxiety. More than 75% of Ukrainian children experienced psychological trauma due to the war. Stress negatively affects their learning and overall development. Currently, every fifth child in Ukraine has a sleep disorder, and every tenth child has memory impairment. 41% of students are irritable and apathetic, and 39% have stopped showing interest in learning altogether. They do not just experience danger, but begin to adapt to it as a norm. This means that their basic attitudes of security, trust, perception of the world as predictable are changing.

Education is also suffering. Online classes from the basement or shelter, interruptions with the Internet, breaks in social ties inevitably affect the development of children. The low performance of Ukrainian schoolchildren according to the results of the PISA 2022 and NMT study indicates that schoolchildren suffer from excessive overload and unstable learning conditions. Add to that constant stress. It is clear that it is difficult to achieve proper results in such conditions. Lack of regular training and support from teachers deprives children of important skills needed for the future.

For many, the war actually stole the chance for a decent education, and with it, a better perspective. At the same time, war teaches them incredible resilience, speed of decision-making, flexibility and the ability to adapt to instability. It is likely that this generation will have no illusions about peace, security or permanence. They grow up with the understanding that the world can be fragile and changeable, and that survival has long since become a daily task.

Today’s teenagers often seem more aggressive, and this is not just a whim or a bad mood. In their reactions lies a much deeper story, based on the combination of the challenges of war and the boundless world of the Internet, which shapes their worldview and emotions. War teaches them to be alert, prepared for surprises, and even to defend themselves at any cost. This builds up tension, which sometimes explodes in the form of anger or aggression. But this is only part of the puzzle. The Internet blurs the boundaries between reality and virtuality. Here, teenagers are faced with an insane amount of information, conflicting ideas, toxic comments and even cyberbullying.

They learn to stand up for themselves in the online space, often harshly and harshly, so as not to get lost in the noise. Virtual battles for favors and influence create additional stress and emotional instability. The combination of the real and digital worlds forms a new generation that is not afraid to express their feelings openly, although not always in the softest form. Their aggression is a kind of defense and a signal that they need support, understanding and a space where they can be themselves without fear.

There are interesting data research According to The Economist, 31% of Gen Xers consider themselves unhappy, which is the highest among all age groups in 30 developed countries. Researchers explain this by the fact that this particular generation came of age in the 90s: recessions, the collapse of old political systems, unemployment, the first financial crises, defaults. Youth without hope with deficits not only in stores, but also in prospects. Most of them still haven’t paid off their mortgages. Their children are still not independent, and their parents already need care. As a result, they suffer from the so-called “sandwich syndrome”, when pressure from both sides literally squeezes out life. Unlike the Baby Boomers who still rule the cultural discourse and the Zoomers who dominate the media space, Generation X does not have its own mythologized image. They are not romanticized in movies or quoted in trending podcasts. They are simply forgotten, and this forgetting is painful, because they are not yet old, but they are no longer young. They are not promised a happy retirement and are not given startups.

The Economist noticed that Generation X does not just feel unhappy, but actually suffers, silently without protests or tantrums. However, it was they who became a reliable backbone of society, often a support for future generations. Their experience forms an important contrast to what is happening to the generation of anxiety, children born or growing up under the constant threat of gunfire, air raid sirens, loss of loved ones and evacuations. Generation X was taught not to give up, to work and to seek stability in a world of chaos. They saw how the old systems were collapsing and tried to build something of their own on the ruins. Their worldview is often filled with skepticism, but also endurance.

Instead, the values ​​of the “anxious generation” focus on security, solidarity, and rapid response to danger. The worldview of this generation is formed under the influence of constant tension, as well as a deep understanding of the fragility of life. “Generation of anxiety” are children who have not yet had time to live their childhood, but have already known war. Their pain and fear is much deeper and more acute, because this is not a fictional story, but their living reality. They learn to survive in a world with no guarantees and constant threat. Their experience is unique, and how society supports them today will determine what they will become tomorrow. Therefore, it is already necessary to implement new approaches in education, psychological assistance and social adaptation for them. They need not only protection from explosions, but also protection for the soul – trust, support and the opportunity to hope for the future. If Generation X lost hope because of circumstances, Generation Anxiety has a chance to gain strength from their experience, but only if we don’t stop halfway, because their future is the responsibility of each of us.