The “Imperceptibly Narrowing Diamond” Generation—Adaptation Strategies of the Generation X Representatives Toward Their Old Age

Emilia Kramkowska; Alicja Korzeniecka-Bondar

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.20.4.02

Authors

Emilia Kramkowska University of Bialystok, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6420-7014
Alicja Korzeniecka-Bondar University of Bialystok, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1145-2996

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.20.4.02

Keywords:

Generation X, Old Age, Adaptation Strategies, Proactivity, Reactivity

Abstract

Population aging is becoming one of society’s priority issues. An assumption is that it is beneficial (the benefits for the individual and society are shown in the text) for people currently of working age (representatives of Generation X) to anticipate their old age. In this article, the results of a qualitative study are presented. The aim is to identify the adaptation strategies of representatives of Generation X toward their old age. The theoretical basis was set by reflections on generations, enriched by the metaphor of the “imperceptibly narrowing diamond.” The data collection method was an unstructured interview with a standardized list of information sought, conducted with ten people (with higher education) from Generation X. As a result of the thematic analysis, two adaptation strategies toward old age emerged for the representatives of Generation X: proactive and reactive.

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Author Biographies

Emilia Kramkowska, University of Bialystok, Poland

Emilia Kramkowska is a sociologist and an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology of Knowledge and Education of the Faculty of Sociology at the University of Bialystok. She has published extensively on sociological and gerontological issues. Her research focuses on several areas within the sociology of old age and older people, the sociology of the body, and the sociology of generation. The subject of her current research and analysis is the perception of old age and older people by representatives of different generations. Her most recent publications include: “Mi się kojarzy, że starsi ludzie mieszkają na wsi. A ta starość miejska kojarzy mi się z zamknięciem” – o przeżywaniu starości w środowisku wiejskim i miejskim perspektywy przedstawicieli różnych pokoleń [“I Associate Old People with Living in the Countryside. And This Urban Old Age Makes me Think of Being Closed In”—About Experiencing Old Age in the Rural and Urban Environment from the Perspective of Representatives of Different Generations] (2023 in Małe miasta. Blaski i cienie [Small Towns: Lights and Shadows], edited by M. Zemło) and “‘Old Age? Definition? It Is Complicated…’: Around the Understanding of the Concept of Old Age by Representatives of Different Generations” (2022 Zeszyty Naukowe KUL).

Alicja Korzeniecka-Bondar, University of Bialystok, Poland

Alicja Korzeniecka-Bondar works at the Department of General Education and Research Methods in Education of the Faculty of Education of the University of Bialystok. She is a Dean of the Faculty of Education. She served as an Editor-in-Chief of the journal Parezja. Czasopismo Forum Młodych Pedagogów przy Komitecie Nauk Pedagogicznych PAN [Parrhesia. Journal of the Forum of Young Scholars at the Committee of Education Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences (http://www.parezja.uwb.edu.pl/)]. Her interests concern the following issues: Everyday life worlds of education subjects, Creative combination of pedagogical theory and practice, Temporal dimensions of the functioning of school and education subjects, and Building a scientific community of learners. She is the author and co-author of numerous scientific articles concerning the problem of teacher’s daily work and the temporal dimension of everyday school practices. Her last publications include: Korzeniecka-Bondar et al. “Creating Opportunities from the Online Teaching and Learning Challenges of the Pandemic: Improving Teacher Education in a Post-Pandemic World” (2024 in Pedagogika), Korzeniecka-Bondar, Kowalczuk-Walędziak, and Kędzierska “Teacher Education in Poland: Contested Terrains between Policy and Practice” (2023 in The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by M. Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al.), Kowalczuk-Walędziak, Kędzierska, and Korzeniecka-Bondar “School-to-School Collaboration in Poland: Mapping (Untapped) Potential” (2022 in School-to-School Collaboration: Learning across International Contexts, edited by C. Brown and P. W. Armstrong), Korzeniecka-Bondar and Gajdzica Czasoprzestrzeń szkoły: co warto wiedzieć o czasie i przestrzeni szkoły [School Space-Time: What Is Worth Knowing about School Time and Space] (2021).

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