Boomer versus Millennial ideology (and potential spirituality)

Because of the development of human consciousness, there is necessarily a generational effect in terms of the nature and possibilities when it comes to ideology - and also to spirituality. 

Biological generations used to be 25 years, but are now more like 30 years; since reproduction became increasingly delayed - and the popular usage of "cultural" generations actually references (more or less) biological half-generations. 

On that basis; I would like to compare (my) post-WWII Baby Boom ("Boomer") generation, with that of their children - who are mostly Generation Y ("Millennials"). 

Also, in order to confirm apparent trends, we would need to go back to the Boomer's parents' and their grandparents' generations; in order to get four approximate time-points.  

What can be seen across this span, is that the size-of-group with which people effectively identify has become smaller with each generation. 

And, as a consequence - the group identification has gone from being (at least somewhat) a positive aim (i.e. "we favour such-and-such a state of affairs" - i.e. a utopian ideology for my-group) to increasingly a double-negative value system (i.e. "we are against such-and-such evils" - i.e. an anti-my-group-dystopian ideology). 

That is, there was an incremental trend from propositional towards oppositional morality and values. 

The shrinking of group size went from the nation grouping (and or race) which may number tens of million; down by stages to a minority subculture - a grouping which may be tiny in proportion and/or numbers. 

And this shrinkage brings with it the de facto impossibility of a utopia - because a plausible utopia cannot be much smaller than a (not too large) nation. 

By contrast, the modern "identity groups" are tiny minorities, who cannot realistically aspire to a society organized around their desires; and who consequently are organized around fear and resentment of the majority who in various ways restrict (or potentially might restrict) this minority. 

Group size shrinkage is also confirmed by the nature of dominant mass media that define, sustain, and amplify group identity. 

In my childhood, for example, there were just two television channels, later rising to three then (in 1984) four. This meant that every TV programme had a viewership of many millions, and a high proportion of the relevant population shared (and was shaped by) this experience. 

The relevant categories with which people identified for Boomers and earlier were large: race or nation; social class or sex, and from Boomers a large age-category such as "teenager". And the media-mediated virtual "peer groups" for (e.g.) women or teenagers were also very large both proportionately and in actual numbers. 

For Boomers; to be an English woman or teenager, was to be one among many millions - with whom one identified.  

By the time of the Millennials (i.e. the Boomer's children) children there were first videos, then DVDs, then tens or hundreds of TV channels; then "broad band" access to uncountable sources of entertainment, information, ideology... 

The attitude changed from being one among millions; to (increasingly) selecting an ever-smaller (and self-selected) niche group - with whom one identified. 

A century ago there was a time when both the religious churches, and anti-religious atheist-communist parties, were selective, exerted sometimes-extreme discipline and control - i.e. the group-entity regulated inclusion and membership. 

But these organizations (whether churches or anti-religious) have progressively shrunk or collapsed - or else assimilated to the (always changing) profile of the mass mainstream. Millennials do not "identify" with the mass mainstream - they are instead induced to compliance by PSYOPS, threats, sanctions - and bribes. 

Because ideology among Millennials and those younger, is extremely "niche"; the groups must pander in order to recruit and retain members; this is required as there is so little and such feeble psychological (or spiritual) spontaneous group affiliation.

But Boomer ideology still retains a much greater element of self-influence by the past larger social groupings, than does the ideology of Millennials onwards. 

This may somewhat explain why large/ wealthy/ powerful/ influential organizations have been so reluctant to retire the Boomers - so that the biggest institutions/ nations seem to prefer semi- (or more than semi-) demented Boomers as "leaders"; rather than recruiting from the younger generations. 

Boomers have usually retained the expectations and values of their childhood and youth - from a time and consciousness when the world was segmented into relatively few categories. 

Consequently Boomers think of the world and the future in terms of few and large functional societal units - whether these units are multi-national/ global institutions, nations, mega-corporations, or whatever. 

But the Boomers are becoming incapacitated and dying; and later generations Will Not - first because they do not want to, but also because they indeed cannot - perform the same function as did Boomers. Later generations have changed, and the world has changed... 

If such generational change is (as I believe) indeed a consequence of the development of human consciousness, then it is irresistible; and the largest social categories will break down. 

Human society will then, presumably, "fragment" - and into ever smaller and less-positively-cooperative units - and the process may (indeed I think it shall) continue down to the level of individual persons. 

In other words; human consciousness has been on a trend towards individual autonomy, including personal choice - but this trend has not yet been fully manifested in societal organization. 

What we fundamentally believe is becoming more and more a matter of our personal choice. 

Choice includes choice of "friends" and allies; and choice among mass-social media for support; but also and more significantly: the fundamental choice either to believe-in what we know to be reality... 

Or instead to live-by what we know to be false in fundamental ways (which is what most people are currently doing).

Once this process has reached its completion; individual-level autonomy of consciousness and the primacy of choice will then become just A Fact Of Life; an aspect of reality around-which we would need-to choose-to operate.