Generation Jones, according to American social scientist Jonathan Pontell (born 1958), includes those Americans born from 1954 through 1965, all inclusive. The word "Jones" is apparently used in this context because in the 1970s it was a popular slang term used to refer to a "yearning" or "desire" (in this case, a yearning or desire to be recognized as an integral demographic entity).
After conducting extensive research on the subject, Pontell went public with his findings in 1997, coining the name "Generation Jones" in addition to citing evidence of its existence. His ideas caught on, and his generally well-received articles on the subject have been frequently published in newspapers and magazines since that time. Pontell has also been featured on many radio and television talk shows, and has done much public speaking on the topic, often in corporate settings.
The first birth year of 1954 for the generation would appear to be based upon the fact that American males born in that year could not possibly have been drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, this being the first birth cohort since that of 1939 of which this was true. The last birth year, 1965, was arrived at by analyzing polling data of various origins.
In Pontell's generational schematic, members of Generation Jones — popularly referred to as "Jonesers" — hold a basic worldview that is intermediate between those held by the older Baby Boomers and the younger Generation Xers. This may be due to the fact that the vast majority of Jonesers had the Silent Generation as parents, whereas the Baby Boomers were predominantly the offspring of the "World War II" or G.I. Generation, and the Baby Boomers themselves are the primary parents of Generation Xers.
Many professional demographers, however, do not consider Generation Jones to be a stand-alone generation, preferring instead to classify those born during its years as a younger subset of the Baby Boomers, sometimes using the label "Late Boomers".
Exit polls taken at the 2004 U.S. Presidential election suggest that Generation Jones-aged voters were more likely to support the incumbent, and winning, candidate — George W. Bush — than any other age group, older or younger. Bush's support among female Generation Jones voters was seen as particularly noteworthy.
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