Ever since Karl Mannheim published his study The Problem of Generations in the late 1920s, the topic of generationalism has taken a significant place in sociological research on social generations; their similarities and differences, mutual (mis)understanding, wider social position, etc. Mannheim’s (1952) work showed the complexity of understanding a generation from a sociological perspective and the importance of location for its description and positioning in space and time.

In contemporary times, we have witnessed the proliferation and popularization of new, so-called generations—Generation X, Generation Y (Millennials), Generation Z (Zoomers), Generation Alpha, and Generation Beta. These terms entered into daily usage primarily from popular journalism and media, from which they spread in political and educational spheres; not due to its scientific validity but established social usage. Many social scientists have called for the discontinuation of the usage of the mentioned terms as they have no proper scientific basis, and on the contrary, they lead toward crude stereotyping and self-made social antagonism (Elliott, 2021).

Following Mannheim’s introduction to understanding what generations are and how modern generationalism is a deviation from a social scientific understanding of it, the presentation uses the theoretical work of Theodor W. Adorno (2002a,b) to provide a critique of the concept and discourse of contemporary popular generationalism. It aims to show that popular generationalism is more fit to be understood through pseudoscientific practices similar to astrology than through scientific sociological practices. Popular generationalism is more of a product of (Western) capitalist structures, media, and marketing than a proper scientific construct used in social sciences to describe existing social realities.