The Unofficial Beloit ZEITGIST LIST for the Class of 2029

by Tom McBride • August 17, 2025

The Unofficial Beloit Zeitgeist List–for the Class of 2029

Tom McBride

(solely responsible for contents)

(Original Concept by Ron Nief)

Zeitgeist = The prevailing cultural climate 

Class of 2029 = born 2007; entering college this year 

This is The Zeitgeist speaking The Class of 2029 missed the Cold War, only to be thrust into a new, domestic one based on divided cultures. Some of them will turn to their old pal, Chat GPT, when it comes to having to write a term paper. Their parents were born when Jimmy Carter was president, and they themselves were born just as Jerry Ford was dying. They have no memory of any president before Obama. Conceived before that downer we call the Great Recession, they are plentiful in number—a bumper crop. With clear career paths and home ownership dicey, and with negative memes going viral on their phones, they distrust institutions. They don’t spend all their time on their phones—after all, they have to sleep.

1 Boris Yeltsin, Merv Griffin, Deborah Kerr, Benazir Bhutto, and the very Reverend Jerry Falwell have always been dead; while Shrek the Third has always been alive.

2 As post-Covid high school grads, for them phones have never been just a tool—but the very social air they breathe.  

3 “Attention” has never been a synonym for concentration but an adjective modifying “economy.”

4 No text in the car has ever been worth dying for.    

5 A woman has always been a Speaker of the US House. 

6 Phones have never been dumb; tablets have always been far too big (and rectangular) to swallow.

7 Kindle has always been a noun.

8 There is a non-trivial chance that their children and grandchildren will be taught Shakespeare and sociology by cyborgs. 

9 In case they’d like to move elsewhere in their old age, the planet Gliese 38c has always been potentially habitable for life. 

10 Madeleine McCann has always been missing and would now be a college senior.

11 The price has always been no longer right for Bob Barker.  

12 “Hashtag” has always been a word–and a thing. 

13 The United Nations has always declared that indigenous people have rights. 

14 It is highly unlikely that they will ever couple with someone outside their political tribe.

15 Since they’ve been in high school, dating apps have declined in popularity—will they reverse the trend?

16 Heavy metal bands formed during their squalling birth year include Acid Witch, Black Anvil, Burnt Halo, and Skin. 

17 From the Air, bed-and-breakfast has always been spelled bnb.    

18 Iron Man Cal Ripken, Jr. has always resided in the MLB Hall of Fame.

19 While they were in diapers and preparing for future great things, Senator Hillary Clinton was the overwhelming favorite to be the Democratic nominee for president. 

20 Barry Bonds has always been baseball’s leading home run hitter, though his long drives have always been shrouded by a steroid cloud. 

21 Some carnivores have always been “locavores,” also the word of the year when they were born. 

22 In a preview of the coming crisis, the people of Ukraine have always resented prime ministers sympathetic to Russia. 

23 A man has always auctioned off his entire life on ebay.   

24 A “gravitational slingshot” around Jupiter has always permitted a space probe to get closer to former planet Pluto. 

25 Genetically engineered chickens have always been laying cancer-unfriendly eggs. 

26 While their parents sought a surge of energy for added childcare, George W. Bush was surging troops to save Iraq. 

27 Android has never been just a sci-fi type but also a mobile phone operating system. 

28 Family History: When their parents were infants, Luke Skywalker was shocked to learn that his own father was Darth Vader.  

29 Earth has always had not just a day but also an HOUR. 

30 Homer, Marge, Bart, Mr. Burns, and Lisa have always been movie stars. 

31 Stream has always needed an “ing” at the end.   

32 They were likely awakened from their naps by the Nokia Tune on their parents’ flip-top phones.  

33 Harry Potter has always at long last eliminated Lord Voldemart. 

34 Senator Barack Obama has always had the audacity of hope. 

35 Don Draper has always liked “toasted” tobacco but had something personal to hide. 

36 There is a non-trivial chance that while their parents were between baby feedings they were following Jordin Sparks on AMERICAN IDOL. 

38 The Big Bang Theory has never been just an account of cosmic beginnings but also a romantic comedy about socially awkward science types. 

39 While 60-inch TV screens were available, their parents probably couldn’t afford one. quite yet. 

40 Courtesy of Netflix, you’ve always been able to “Wach (Movies) Now” on a computer screen, thus eschewing snail mail the next time you wanted to watch TITANIC just one more time.

41 They were far too innocent to know that vibrant economic growth was being fueled by precarious debt. 

42 They were among the very first baby pics on Facebook. 

43 Beijing has always had McDonalds drive-throughs. 

44. An African American coach has always won a Super Bowl. 

45 Despite the best efforts of Rupert Murdoch and NBC, YouTube has always remained unrivaled. 

46 Radio hosts have always needed to watch their language when describing college women basketball players.  

47 We’ve never really known if Tony Soprano and family were shot dead in that diner in Jersey. 

48 Animal Rights: The Bald Eagle has never been on the list of endangered species, but pit bull terriers were not so lucky with Michael Vick.

49 The New England Patriots have never quite been able to live down the label New England Spygates. 

50 A Convenient Truth: Al Gore has always been a Nobel laureate.  

AND: Decline in the number of new American births in the two years after they were born: over 5%.

contact mcbridet@beloit.edu