I may have shared my generations joke with you before, but for good measure, and to not be ignored, here it is:
A Boomer, an X-er, a Millennial, and a Z-er are in a sandwich shop to order a sandwich. The Boomer says, "In my day, we made the best sandwiches and had the best ingredients, and knew what a sandwich was supposed to be. No one made better sandwiches. You should make it the way we did." The Millennial says, "I have been through a lot, and I need you to understand how much I deserve a sandwich made the way I want it made." The Z-er says, "I protest that you do not have a sandwich on your menu that reflects my identity. I will stand here until you change that menu to include my sandwich the way I want it to be included." The X-er says, "F-it, I'll go make my own sandwich." They leave the shop and no one notices.
Micro-generations are generally excluded. You don’t see Generation Jones mentioned much either in these things, cuspers are usually absorbed by one of the dominant cohorts.
We are analog souls with digital PTSD fluent in sarcasm, mixtapes, and emotional repression. We invented grunge, knew life before WiFi, and still remember phone numbers by heart.
We’re the feral middle children of history, and honestly? …The world should be thanking us. We were the last generation to truly know boredom, and somehow we made it weirdly amazing.
I loved being bored as a kid. And taping the Top 40 off the radio on a Sunday night, fingers poised to stop the recording as soon as the DJ spoke. Analogue heaven.
You know, I gotta admit it’s nice not to care about a bunch of people who I don’t know, who don’t know me, who think everything they say is a mic drop, and believes their opinion on everything is the only one. I just love being a grain of sand on a beach of Gen Xers, enjoying the surf and the sun!
I’m not a huge fan of dividing the population by birth year and then generalizing about the members of each group. It’s just another way of sowing division in society.
The overriding factor, as one moves from the older to younger generations, is the relentless decline of living standards. From the boomerang generation having to move back in with parents (no longer a novelty for millennials and gen z) to the increase in the average age of first time homebuyers (now about 40), the vice is tightening on us all.
I honestly can’t overstate how grateful I am to be part of Gen X. (Born 1973) We had all the greatness of modernity without the toxicity of the Internet and specifically social media. And every Gen Xer I know feels this way as strongly as I do.
Excellent post...and accurate. I can't remember if I've seen this in your work, but have you read The Fourth Turning? We have quite the role to play in what is next.
I'm a leading edge Gen Xer, born in 1965, and when all that slacker talk hit the news in 1990-91, I was working two or three jobs at a time and did not appreciate being so drubbed. I will be 60 in a couple of weeks, and if I have totally embraced any characteristic attributed to my generation, it is complete cynicism and snark. I get the feeling I will need them in a few years when I'm trying to live on cat food. 😂
You can thank Gen X for the artistic brilliance of the 90s but also for PayPal, space X, all social media, the biggest indie video game producers right now (riot games, naughty dog, etc), Spotify, and perhaps Amazon, though Bezoz is technically not Gen x, born in 1964. Still, we analog ruffians took the digital world and made it applicable in life. We are builders. Makers. Crafters.
As an elder Gen-X with Depression baby parents who grew up in the country, I'm doubly displaced. Drinking out of the garden hose ... while cutting wood for heat ... having walked home from school a bit earlier. I thought every male began operating a chainsaw at age thirteen ...
I may have shared my generations joke with you before, but for good measure, and to not be ignored, here it is:
A Boomer, an X-er, a Millennial, and a Z-er are in a sandwich shop to order a sandwich. The Boomer says, "In my day, we made the best sandwiches and had the best ingredients, and knew what a sandwich was supposed to be. No one made better sandwiches. You should make it the way we did." The Millennial says, "I have been through a lot, and I need you to understand how much I deserve a sandwich made the way I want it made." The Z-er says, "I protest that you do not have a sandwich on your menu that reflects my identity. I will stand here until you change that menu to include my sandwich the way I want it to be included." The X-er says, "F-it, I'll go make my own sandwich." They leave the shop and no one notices.
I feel seen 😆
And we enjoyed our delicious fucking sandwich in peace.
AYE. MENN.
Ha! Love it! So true!!
I feel like this about politics
You forgot the Xennials.
Micro-generations are generally excluded. You don’t see Generation Jones mentioned much either in these things, cuspers are usually absorbed by one of the dominant cohorts.
We are analog souls with digital PTSD fluent in sarcasm, mixtapes, and emotional repression. We invented grunge, knew life before WiFi, and still remember phone numbers by heart.
We’re the feral middle children of history, and honestly? …The world should be thanking us. We were the last generation to truly know boredom, and somehow we made it weirdly amazing.
Well said! 🔥
Not just grunge.... Hip hop and rave music is on our watch as well
We came of age inheriting HiFi, and led the transition to WiFi…
I loved being bored as a kid. And taping the Top 40 off the radio on a Sunday night, fingers poised to stop the recording as soon as the DJ spoke. Analogue heaven.
TOTALLY!! We were wizard of the mixed tape like the kids are now with laptops turntables
You know, I gotta admit it’s nice not to care about a bunch of people who I don’t know, who don’t know me, who think everything they say is a mic drop, and believes their opinion on everything is the only one. I just love being a grain of sand on a beach of Gen Xers, enjoying the surf and the sun!
I’m not a huge fan of dividing the population by birth year and then generalizing about the members of each group. It’s just another way of sowing division in society.
The overriding factor, as one moves from the older to younger generations, is the relentless decline of living standards. From the boomerang generation having to move back in with parents (no longer a novelty for millennials and gen z) to the increase in the average age of first time homebuyers (now about 40), the vice is tightening on us all.
No kidding, the other generations are just jealous.
I honestly can’t overstate how grateful I am to be part of Gen X. (Born 1973) We had all the greatness of modernity without the toxicity of the Internet and specifically social media. And every Gen Xer I know feels this way as strongly as I do.
Excellent post...and accurate. I can't remember if I've seen this in your work, but have you read The Fourth Turning? We have quite the role to play in what is next.
I have not, but now I’m intrigued!
Thank you 😊
Yeah that’s a great recommendation. It shows how certain generational traits fit into a clearly defined historical pattern.
Holy crap I feel seen.
Just wait a minute, it'll pass ...
😆
I'm a leading edge Gen Xer, born in 1965, and when all that slacker talk hit the news in 1990-91, I was working two or three jobs at a time and did not appreciate being so drubbed. I will be 60 in a couple of weeks, and if I have totally embraced any characteristic attributed to my generation, it is complete cynicism and snark. I get the feeling I will need them in a few years when I'm trying to live on cat food. 😂
We made the internet, hip hop, grunge and techno. We don’t need to brag, it is our world.
At least we got the coolest name...
You can thank Gen X for the artistic brilliance of the 90s but also for PayPal, space X, all social media, the biggest indie video game producers right now (riot games, naughty dog, etc), Spotify, and perhaps Amazon, though Bezoz is technically not Gen x, born in 1964. Still, we analog ruffians took the digital world and made it applicable in life. We are builders. Makers. Crafters.
Most of my friends in adulthood have been and are Gen X. (I'm a 1955 Boomer.) 👊
As an elder Gen-X with Depression baby parents who grew up in the country, I'm doubly displaced. Drinking out of the garden hose ... while cutting wood for heat ... having walked home from school a bit earlier. I thought every male began operating a chainsaw at age thirteen ...
The other day two different younglings call me a "boomer" to mock my ancianity. Even in insults we're forgotten.
😆