The making of ‘Boomergeddon’: the construction of the Baby Boomer generation as a social problem in Britain

High‐profile claims about the problem of the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation, made in media and policy circles in recent years, have contributed to an awakened interest in the sociology of generations. While many claims focus on resource issues arising from the existence of a relatively large cohort (for example, pensions and healthcare), they contain an implicit moral critique of the generation associated with the postwar ‘boom’ of the Sixties. This article examines the development of the cultural script of the Baby Boomer problem in British newspapers over a 26‐year period, to examine how shifts in the discourse about the Boomer generation relate to wider social, economic, cultural and political trends.