Monday, August 6, 2012

The Colors of a Generation Z Childhood



For a Gen Xer born in the 1960s, they may remember a childhood full of earth tone colors that had been popular in the 70s and up into the early 80s.  A Gen Xer born in the 70s may remember these earth tones from early childhood giving way to the fluorescent colors in their teenage years which became popular as the 80s went on.  I remember the early 80s of my childhood being full of nature-inspired Holly-Hobby images, patchwork pieces and fresh-picked meadow flowers.  This is followed by memories of the sweatsuit I wore for P.E. in middle school that was black with a sonic-boom-kind-of-pink around the edges.  This gave way to the flannel I wore during the grunge era at the end of high school,which was, of course, the antithesis of anything fluorescent or pink, and any kind of sonic boom gave way to Sonic Youth.  






For the most part, Generation Z are the children of Generation X.  I sometimes wonder what colors will become part of my Gen Z daughter's childhood memories. One popular color combination for girls in the 2000s have been a mixture of brown and pink - a revision of an early 80s motif.  My little one's summertime backyard toys that have been left in the sun too many times often end up becoming a paler version of their original self and remind me of the photos we can filter to make them look 70s-ish, making them look like they have faded with time.  Other toys I see that belong to kids in my life seem purposely radiant and happy - and I hope, as the present gives way to the future, that is exactly the kind of childhood that Generation Z will be able to say they had.



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(c) 2012 photography and writing by Chloe - all rights reserved



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