People tend to be like their peers. But is that an age thing, or a generation thing?

Question

Example: Senior citizens tend to be (tend to be doesn't mean "always") very financially conservative. Is that because of the generation they grew up in? Or is it because they are old?

Answer 1

People tend to be like their peers "in experience". A 21 year old may behave like a 41 year old if they've lived similarly related experiences. Think about a typical commercial plane full of people from a variety of backgrounds and age groups. If they experience together a catastrophic accident that ends with many survivors, those survivors will have something among themselves that have them react similarly in the future as peers "in experience". This happens in life at every conceivable level, but is most obvious when the experience is shared by many.

Answer 2

In that instance, I would suspect that it is an experience thing. Those who must make do with little money tend to be conservative in it's spending, that is if they have a brain in their head.
I think your question would be best answered by saying niether of the above. Most behaviors are a result of experience, whether you get it young in life or older in life, it is the experiences we have that shape our behaviors.

Answer 3

I think people that belong to a specific generation (baby-boomers, gen-x, gen-y, etc) are generally in the same age group. But i would say its because of the generation that they grew up in

Answer 4

yeah tell me bout it, i think it is to do with the generation they grew up in. u ever herd the saying "back in my day we didnt have....." It's getting a bit old and so r they. lol