Secondgeneration

Second generation is a term used across many disciplines to denote the next stage after an original or first generation. It typically signals an evolution or refinement, but the exact criteria for what counts as "second generation" vary by field.

In sociology and migration studies, second-generation commonly refers to individuals born in a country to at least one immigrant parent. They may navigate bilingualism and bicultural expectations differently from first-generation immigrants and can serve as a bridge between cultures.

In technology and consumer products, second generation marks the first major revision after an initial model. Second-generation versions aim to improve performance, reliability, energy efficiency, or user experience compared with their predecessors. This label is used for devices, vehicles, software, and other engineered systems.

In computing, "second generation" has historical use as well; 2GLs, or second-generation programming languages, refer to assembly languages that map more directly to machine code, in contrast with first-generation machine code and higher-level languages introduced later.

The term's meaning is not standardized; different industries have different thresholds for what constitutes a generation. As a result, "second generation" can be more descriptive marketing shorthand than a rigorous specification.