They are known as cynical, anti-establishment kids, selfish and caring only for themselves, the slacker generation. No, they are not today’s youth, those horrible Millennials. They are me, they are Gen X. I am Gen X. Yeah, that’s right, we are the original losers, the lazy ones who will never amount to anything, selfish and distrustful of authority. Does this all sound familiar? Of course it does. Every generation says that about the next generation to follow. The question we must ask though – is there any truth to these accusations?
If you were born between 1965 and 1981 you are Gen X. There are roughly 66 million of us roaming the Earth right now. That seems like a lot and it certainly is but there are more Millennials out there and even though they are getting really old, more Boomers (Gen X parents). We are in the middle. We have also been called the sandwich generation, the forgotten middle child. I have even read a quote where the cultural interest shift from Boomers to Millennials has left us X’ers like a flyover state. This is unfortunate because we spend 1/3 more annually than Millennials, currently account for over 50% of leadership roles globally and in the next few years will overtake Boomers as the wealthiest generation. As well, almost half of X’ers are supporting both a child and a parent at the same time, giving us huge influence over multiple generations. Looks to me like the slackers are kicking some ass. And yet, we are ignored. Why?
Boomers – those bastards just won’t go away, will they? They have been blocking us X’ers since we got out of school, keeping all the best jobs with the highest pay, all the while calling us kids names and making us feel bad about ourselves, and some of them are still in those positions. Here’s an idea – retire already! And while you Boomers were out saving the World, we were hanging with our grandparents – the greatest generation, the ones who actually did save us, the brave men and women who lived through a world war. You Boomers rejected their values and in turn we rejected your rejection and that didn’t sit well with you. Too bad, so sad, we don’t care. Oh, and your music sucks, except for the Stones – I’ll give you that one.
Us X’ers didn’t do ourselves any favours either. Later X’ers, those in high school in the 90’s, really fucked things up for us. Come on, you losers listen to grunge. This particular genre of music was known as alternative because the only ones who listened to it were teenaged boys who couldn’t get a date, sitting around in a dorm crying about how life sucked. Well, the only thing that sucked was your music. There is a reason nobody listens to grunge anymore – because it’s shit. And showering would be nice; you stink because bathing became optional during that period. How about fashion? What fashion? You wore your pants so loose that your asses hung out (not an attractive look). What the fuck happened? Why did you do this to us? How are we to be taken seriously when you look and act this way?
Let’s also not forget about Millennials – there’s roughly 70 million of them and they are the up and comers. It makes sense that the world focuses on this group. I actually don’t have a beef with Millennials. I hear lots of talk and it’s the same crap that I heard about us. They are not us, they are not X’ers. Their world is completely different than the one I grew up in. it’s insane. I quite honestly am glad that I am not growing up now. I believe Gen Y and Gen Z deal with pressures unheard of in previous generations. Technology is good and I love my phone as much as the next person (I am still amazed that I now have more music on my phone than all my cassettes and CD’s combined, and if I want more I just download it). Unlimited access to data and information is incredible but it comes with a hidden price – in some ways we have lost the skill of personal interaction and honestly, do we need to be plugged in 24 hours a day? Do we not miss other things going on around us while we check to see the latest score or like or breaking news item? I think we do but for many of the younger adults, this is the only reality they know. Let’s cut this group some slack, it’s not easy for them and besides, they are the ones who will be taking care of us in the near future when we throw out our hip slam dancing!