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Planet Earth. Year 1800. Population 1 Billion
1930. 2 Billion
1960. 3 Billion
2011. 7 Billion
So from 1800, it took a hundred and thirty years to increase to 2 billion. Then another
thirty years to get to 3 billion. 51 years later to current date 2011, we’ve increased
from three to four, to five, to six, to seven billion. But let’s have a closer look at
home.
Since 1965, Australia’s population has doubled. The original baby boom that created Australia’s
largest generation, the baby boomers, peaked at a hundred and eighty-two thousand babies
in a single year. Now new births exceed three hundred thousand each year. Our biggest baby
boom ever. That’s larger than the entire population of the Northern territory. Each
year, we grew by almost two percent.
One in five Australians are Sydneysiders and almost one in five live in Melbourne. More
people live in Sydney than live in the whole state of Queensland and there are almost as
many people in Melbourne than in the whole country of New Zealand.
We are more culturally diverse than ever before. One in four of us weren’t born here. When
you add those with a parent born overseas, we are up to 40 percent of our population.
And even though Australia is experiencing record annual birth numbers, as a nation,
we are aging.
Australians are defined generationally. The builders, those aged in their mid 60’s to
80’s, grew up on Jazz, Swing, Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra. They were into flare jeans,
roller skates and Mickey Mouse. Baby boomers grew up on Elvis, Beatles, Rolling Stones
and Johnny O’Keefe. Roller blades, mini-skirts, Barbie and Frisbees were their thing.
Gen X, those aged in their mid-30’s to early 40’s, grew up listening to INXS, Nirvana,
Madonna, and Midnight Oil. Body piercings, hyper colors, and torn jeans marked their
years.
Gen Y, currently in their teens and twenties, grew up wearing baseball caps and men’s
cosmetics. They listen to Eminem, J.Lo, Britney Spears and Puff Daddy.
Gen Z are toddlers and teens. Marked by V-necks and skinny jeans. They’re growing up to
be like Kanye West, Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.
Every organisation, every brand, every product is just one generation away from extinction
and the times are changing faster than ever.
1923, first radio broadcast in Australia. Radio takes 38 years to reach a global audience
of 50 million. 1956, first Australian television broadcast. TV takes 13 years to reach a global
audience of 50 million. 1991, world wide web, takes 4 years to get 50 million people online.
2006, Facebook opens to the public. Takes 12 months to get 50 million users. 2011, Rebecca
Black’s “Friday” video was published. It takes 12 days to get 50 million views.
Like Ferris says: “Life moves pretty fast.
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while,
You could miss it”.