The Real Reason Generation X Is The Forgotten Generation

Apparently we're more Quiet than Riot

I didn’t learn that one of our nicknames is The Forgotten Generation until a year ago. I was online, probably perusing Threads, when I came across posts and memes poking fun at all the times we were made invisible. It’s a truly stunning feat of repeated obliviousness.

The 35 to 54 year-olds were abducted by aliens in this Gen X Files episode

Scully and Mulder still haven’t found us, obvs

Hey I had to “jet 3 jobs”, too, dammit

If you google “why is Gen X the forgotten generation”, most sites will chalk it up to simply being a matter of demographics. The baby boom after WW2 ended gave the Boomers their name, when 76 million babies were born between 1946-64. Then Generation X came along to the tune of 55 million births from 1965-80. Gen Y had 62 million births from 1981-96. So we’re sandwiched between 2 larger populations who’ve been squabbling with each other over avocado toast, the job market, and student loan debt.

We have more important things to do than get involved in their shenanigans

Contrary to being slackers, we’ve achieved a lot as a generation. It’s just that we didn’t toot our own horns. According to market research firms, we’ve been changing the world for 3 decades without expecting applause. Kadence International, in their piece “Generation X: The Silent Disruptors Shaping The Future”, wrote Generation X quietly bridged the gap between the pre-digital and post-digital worlds and we “bring a practical, no-nonsense approach to the digital revolution”.

Why are we “quiet”? I suspect we didn’t shout our achievements from the rooftops because GenXers were constantly warned against being conceited braggarts.

“Nobody likes Brian; he’s always bragging about his new Atari 6500.”

“Stephanie is a stuck-up bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone.”

It was even a major plot point in one of my fave Judy Blume books, Otherwise Known As Sheila the Great. The protagonist was a girl who wouldn’t shut up about being the best at everything, including being a yo-yo champion, of all things. The alternative title could’ve been “Everyone Hates Sheila”.

Obviously, humility and modesty in character are good things. The problem is that we weren’t allowed to express ourselves much at all. GenXers were generally raised by authoritarian parents who didn’t consult us first about any decisions that involved us, treated our needs as secondary to theirs, and punished us for having the gall to disagree with them or stand up for ourselves.

I mean, we’re the Latchkey Generation, for crying out loud. We spent untold numbers of hours alone as young children playing outside and while stuck at home. We babysat younger kids and siblings, cooked meals, rarely (or never) had parental help with homework, and received very little of the life guidance necessary in order to successfully transition to adulthood. We’re the first generation to have fewer assets and less money than the previous generation, which is why we were dubbed The Boomerang Generation in the ‘90s for how often we had to move back in with our parents.

In other words, our invisibility today is just a continuation of our childhood neglect.

That said, it wasn’t always this way. When Gen X was dominating the ‘90s with innovative filmmaking, trailblazing music, and unconventional fashion, media was focused on the artists and geniuses behind these trends. What’s different, though, is that few people were mentioning they were Gen X in the articles they wrote. There’s even been a discussion in recent years about why the TV show Friends was never called a Gen X show when it was clearly about 4 GenXers traversing adulthood.

It’s been more in the last 20 years that reporters, journalists, and authors began highlighting which generation their subject belonged in. As just 1 example, I remember when The Social Network was released, articles repeatedly referred to Zuckerberg as a Millennial.

I have more to say about this topic, but it will have to wait since I’d rather keep my posts from being ridiculously long. Pretend your favorite show just ended with the words “To Be Continued…”, so now you’re excited for next week’s episode!