Many in the 35-46 Age Bracket Identify with 'Generation Jones'.

Byline: Louis Aguilar

Dec. 10--If you thought baby boomers were responsible for yuppie lofts, this hopelessly ironic media age and the New Economy, think again. It was "Generation Jones," the massive segment of the population between the ages of 35 and 46.

Generation Jones is a phrase coined by author Jonathan Pontell, 41, whose book of the same name hits bookstores later this month. Jonesin' is '70s slang for yearning, longing, dreams unfulfilled.

Whether the phrase will catch on is too soon to tell. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Pontell joins a growing debate among demographers, sociologists, marketers and media on how to define a generation.

Generation Jonesers have a collective sense of yearning or Jonesin', according to Pontell. Watergate and the 1970s energy crisis are among their first political and cultural memories. Many entered the workforce during the early 1980s economic slump and when inner cities were being ravaged by crack.

"We had tremendously high expectations that went sour. We witnessed the hypocrisy of the boomers first hand," says Pontell, who is a self-described pop-culture expert. The Los Angeles-based …