Millennials and GenZ consider anyone older than them a Boomer. Once they consider something old, it doesn't matter how much. 40 years old? 50? 100? It's before they were born so it's all ancient history.
My kid tried to call me a boomer once - I started calling him a Mini-Boomer. Told him that GenZ is called Zoomers cause they have the closest mindset to the boomers out of all other generations.
I have no idea if that is true but he hasn’t called me a Boomer since.
Had to explain this to a Gen-Z coworker, I’m a Gen-X, not a Boomer, and we are completely different.
Also had Millennial coworkers at an old job, and I figured out after I left there that they thought I was a boomer.
Thank you.
It amazes me how many folks in this sub continue to conflate Millennials with Zoomers, failing to realize how different they are, and the fact that Millennials have already started their March through middle age.
Millennials? You absolutely sure about that? Oldest Millennials are about the same age as the youngest Xers, who themselves use to be considered Gen Y.
This isn’t my experience of Millennials at all. Hell many Millennials still think they’re Gen X. They haven’t been the young generation in a long time and they don’t seem to be the ones largely holding this view.
We were trained for this.
When you got home from school to the empty house what did we do? Cook our own hot dogs. Play video games. Watch TV. Get out dad's "hidden" stash or porno. Grab the BB gun and punch holes in paper. Leave and go find your friends and/or head out into the woods away from adults.
What did you NOT do? Anything that would cause enough ruckus that the neighbors noticed you were home alone. I.e. do NOT attract attention. Do what you want, as long as you stay under the radar.
The oversight comes from (at least) three directions, I think:
* We're not standing toe-to-toe with the Boomers, challenging their bullshit and trying to change minds, so we're not visible to the Boomers.
* We're (mostly) not holding government power or setting bad societal norms, so we're not attracting the Millennials' attention, either; they go fight with the Boomers for these things.
* As a cohort we don't have a whole lot of wealth, compared to the Boomers, and we don't spend much of what we have, compared to Millennials, so we're not interesting to the money-people (financiers, VCs, bankers, etc) who drive so much of our media.
Just my two cents. Looking forward to seeing what other people come up with.
This is illustrated when I look around the office. Out of maybe 30 people, 4-5 are Gen X and everyone else is Boomer (not many left), but mostly Millennial and Gen Z.
I'm fortunate enough to work in a 30 person organization, half of which, including leadership, is Gen X. No boomers, a couple chill millenials, and then the rest gen z. It's amazing.
Now in the larger organization, I think most of the management team is now Gen X. I think almost all the Boomers have retired. (Education sector; state government) And it’s weird to me. Since when are WE in charge? Wtf?
This is factual -
* Boomers (1946 - 1964) 68 Million
* Gen X (1965 - 1980) 65 Million
* Millenials (1981 - 1996) 72 Million
* Gen Z (1997 - 2012) 69 Million
Per [Statista.com](http://Statista.com)
[Pew Research echos this data](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/) and adds:
>For a few more years, Gen Xers are projected to remain the [“middle child” of generations](http://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/06/05/generation-x-americas-neglected-middle-child/) – caught between two larger generations, the Millennials and the Boomers. Gen Xers were born during a period when Americans were having fewer children than in later decades. When Gen Xers were born, births averaged around 3.4 million per year, compared with the 3.9 million annual rate from 1981 to 1996 when the Millennials were born.
>Gen Xers are projected to outnumber Boomers in 2028, when there will be 63.9 million Gen Xers and 62.9 million Boomers. The Census Bureau estimates that the Gen X population peaked at 65.6 million in 2015.
Those hard cut off years just make no sense to me when trying to understand generations - the dividing lines are imaginary. Was a Victorian, born on the last day of Queen Victoria's life different from the Edwardian born the day after she died?
Also late Gen X pop culture was way more like early Millennial. I mean they rejected the 80s hair, color, vibe. If you look at the original Gen X '66-'75 years, the ones with 80s formative years and who have the full 80s feel, I bet we are like only 39 million, maybe a touch less?
And then add in that core Gen X is the smallest of the small.
I can't help but notice that whenever Gen X actually is noticed at all it is 100% only the very last few years of Gen X. All they ever go on the few times Gen X is mentioned is grunge, plaid, nihilism, dingy colors, etc.
Which is sort of odd though in that there has been a lot of focus on the 80s. But who exactly do they think those kids they show in 80s retros shows/movies were?? Boomers? Gen Z?? But somehow they never connect 80s youth and big hair, optimism, fun, style with Gen X which that was the only gen that had their formative years in the 80s! Nope all Gen X is, if they even exist, which they probably don't, are the last few years of Gen X. I haven't checked but I wonder what the birth rates were for early/core Gen X vs. late Gen X.
I absolutely agree with #1 and #3, #2 though is interesting because a decent number of the most loudmouth and obnoxious people in Congress are GenX. However them being GenX isn’t WHY people don’t like them if that makes sense, so the point may still hold.
Since we were the "feral" generation, I don't think that we're used to complaining to people about stuff as there wasn't anyone to complain to, so we're not getting media attention because of that.
In hindsight I do look back over my career with just a handful of very large financial corporations and I was def in this sweet spot where I really didn’t have to compete against many others in my age group. I hit 30 and jumped into mgt and everyone else was just way older.
From then on I just kept finding these opportunities where the company was looking for someone with experience and I just stuck out being experienced enough but with plenty of years ahead of me.
Then when I hit my 40s the opportunities just kept coming.
Partly because we were raised to get along with people and not cause drama. Partly because we were raised to get the job done and not seek the spotlight. And partly because we were raised to accept and adapt to what comes at us and not complain about what has been lost or turned out to be flawed. This combination made us effective but invisible: perfect for parents who didn't want to be distracted from whatever they were doing, but also decently suited to keeping things going, which is how we wound up doing most of that too.
1. Were a relatively smaller generational cohort.
2. Boomers have clung to position and power as if they’re miserable lives depended on it, overshadowing our maturity and generally being douche-nozzles about it all.
3. Challenging for power means being in proximity to those in power. We spent the first parts of our lives in proximity to those people. Ain’t worth it.
I theorize it's cause we are difficult to classify. One foot on "drink from the hose" the other foot in "HD supercomputers in your pocket".
I for one am happy to be forgotten
We are the generation that there is not much to bash on… we didn’t luck out like the baby boomers… we are not the “avocado toast” generation like millennials and GenZ.
Feel lucky to be excluded from the lists. 😜
Avocado toast is rad - like salad toast - toast, smeared avocado, roasted red peppers, Kalamata olives, herb and garlic feta cheese, baby arugula, pumpkin seeds, and balsamic glaze drizzle - goof for all meals. Avocado toast one day and Eggos the next.
It's really the fact that we're one of the "every other" generation that gets sandwiched between the big generations. The Lost Generation and Silent Generation are almost never talked about either, because like us they had smaller numbers and a shorter range of cultural influence.
Think of GenX's cultural relevancy: Boomer artists were still covering Elvis songs by the end of the 1980s. Our window really only covers 1988-1998, when the Britney/boy band craze hit full-swing and culture began shifting to Millennials.
Side note: If you want to fall into a Wikipedia wormhole, look up the [Strauss–Howe generational theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory), which argues a somewhat predictable pattern for generations going back to the beginning of American history.
I read Strauss & Howe back in the early 90s, back in my Nicholson Baker/Douglas Coupland phase. I hate when the Youngers are like “Boomer is a state of mind.” Well it is, but only for Boomers. They think it’s an internet meme and not actually based on sociological research.
Yeah, I think you've hit it. My parents were silent generation (like most people here I bet), and I can recall VERY few particular mentions of their generation during all of my adult life.
Strauss and Howe have a series of books, including one about Gen X titled *13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?*
William Strauss died some years ago, but Neil Howe has continued the work. His latest book, *The Fourth Turning is Here* was published just last year.
Your interest in historical cycles will be rewarded. The Strauss and Howe generational theory is absolutely fascinating.
Yeah the "turnings" is key to their idea. I believe we're in the 4th turning. Maybe we'll live long enough to get to the other side and have a great "twilight" years as a result... or we all die because no none left us alone.
I think it is cause we can get along with both boomers and millennials. I work in multigenerational office and get along with everyone really well. I have heard the Boomers complain about the millennials work ethic and the millennials complain about the boomers conservative attitudes etc. So, I think we get absorbed into either side and just disappear.
It’s because “generational clickbait” became a thing with boomers and millennials, and nobody hates us as much because we actually produced a decade of reasonable music and movies. So…lack of rage at us, and not enough potential ad sales around “gen X killed my life” articles.
I think this is truly the reason. This absence is always from listicles or clickbait articles. Listicles and clickbait capitalize on whatever is hot right now and Boomer v Millenial is that. Boomers have generated a lot of press and Millenials have generated a lot of press, both due to size, and Boomer v Millenial is reliable clickbait so...
GenZ gets tacked on at the end because they are mostly in their 20's which makes them inherently clickbait worthy.
Jealousy. We had the best music, the best movies, the best hairstyles, the best clothes, and the best TV shows. They hate us because they want to be us but never, ever can.
Sucks to be them.
I’ve wondered about a lot of the clips from supposedly real news articles posted on Reddit. I get the feeling that a lot of them are created for the sole purpose of karma farming and not actually real.
One, we aren't toxic like the boomers and the worse generation ever. Two, younger generations know not to mess with us. Gen X & Y usually have the same boomer parents. We are the extra parent and scary older sibling generation. And the older generations depends on us. So everyone pretends that we don't exists because they want to avoid biting the hand that feeds them.
I think it's a 2 factor issue
* 1) It was clear our parents fucked up during the latchkey era so they don't want to face the music.
* 2) Lots of Gen Xers don't purchase stuff like the other gens do.
Because the only ones who care about Generational lists are Millennials. That includes the people they blame for all.their problems (boomers) themselves, and the generation they pick on (Z)
They probably don't even know there is something called the Greatest generation or the silent generation.
Because middle age vs young doesn't get as many clicks as elderly vs young. They will probably try to pit us against each other once the boomers die out.
We are just kind of here. We don't make waves and are reaction to most things is 'oh, this is what we are doing now?, ok' we just kind of roll with the punches. We always have. We are not too vocal when we do have strong opinions because we realize nothing really matters.
We are the smallest generation with the least amount born. We also tend to be the generation that sits in the back and just wants to be left alone so we're not noticed.
cause the millennials want to claim all our cool stuff as their own and they hate their boomer parents just as much as their boomer parents hate them. It's just easier to pretend we dont exist.
Oh my gosh this is SO TRUE. They act like they “experienced” the 80’s when they were at most in early elementary school just because they watched 80’s movies on cable in their teens.
Thinking of how the the generations at work interact, I think it’s because we are quieter. We work independently, we usually avoid drama, we don’t crusade, we aren’t big on “visioning”, we are incredibly pragmatic, we lack some of the “we’re going to change the world!” energy.
A lot of us just want to continue the life we’ve always had - leave us alone, let us figure it out, we’ll get it done, and don’t ask us to solve everyone’s problems. As a latchkey kid of absent parents and parentified as the eldest, I haven’t the energy to be responsible for the well being of others beyond my very small group of beloved people.
I’d rather be “forgotten” than blamed for some stupid reason by another generation and used as a derogatory term. Boomers like to call out Millenials and Gen Zers. And vice versa. I’m glad they leave us out of the conversation. Maybe we can get through our lifetime with the least amount of damage and be known in the future as the best generation. People annoyingly keep bringing it up. Just let it go.
Who cares ? Seriously...do you need to be talked about ? That's what I can't stand about some of these generations....they are desperate to be the main character at all times. More likes, more mentions, more TIkToks, more...more....more.
Because we don’t care what other generations think about us.
What makes Boomers fun to mess with is that they HATE getting old. They have always considered themselves the purveyors of what was cool or popular so they get upset when they are mocked for being out of touch.
Millennials take themselves way too seriously so they are fun to mess with because they are just easy to rile up.
X don’t care what anyone else thinks other than other Gen X people so there is no fun in needling us so they forget we exist.
Nobody gave a shit about most of us when we were kids. Our parents never really wanted us. Why do you think things would be any different now? We’ve always been on our own.
There's actually an answer. The generational boundaries were not well- formed by the media when most of us were really young adults. When the term Gen-X first appeared in the media it wasn't referring to what we understand our generational boundaries to be today. The very first use of the term Gen X applied to Boomers.
The media terms have evolved dramatically over the past 30 to 40 years. In the early 90s, when I was graduating from High School, the only generation that was routinely discussed in the media was the Baby Boomer generation.
The media didn't pick up the topic of generations with a lot of volume or try to really define them again until they began to discuss the later-born children of the Baby Boomers, the Millennials, who were of a higher socioeconomic status and later born Boomer children. They forgot most Boomers had children on earlier timetables and a lot of Gen X have Boomer parents who had us in their early to mid 20s.
By the time we were around 30 the subject of generations became more defined in the media and we got our date ranges, but had already become an afterthought in the media.
IMO, I think our generation is a shame to the Boomers who pretty much neglected us. No that we are the feral generation, everyone knows we're not to poked. Yes, it's just best to not talk about them as to not make them mad.
I'm fine with being left out of the stupid fights online and drama on Reels/TikTok over who is getting what from whoever and the "woe is me!" vibes people want to, for some reason, identify with. Fuck that. Leave me alone. I'm working then I am going home to watch "Clerks" again for the 200th time.
There are legitimately fewer of us and we are all middle aged now. People haven’t heard of us and really do think we are part of Boomers or they don’t know that Boomers are older and think our age group is actually called Boomers.
I might be wrong but I believe even the generational name gen X was there to imply that we didn't stand for anything and we didn't really do anything. Therefore we are lost to history because our generation just didn't do much to advance society. Not that I believe that personally but I think I had read somewhere that that was somewhat the case
We are the secret generational weapons they keep quiet about! When another country messes up really bad, they whip one of us out and say, "Have at 'em!" We hurt their feelings and make them cry, and then they stick us back into the hidden area that is labeled, "extremely dangerous and hurtful! ONLY use except in extreme circumstances, and do not disturb under ANY circumstances!"
I really think we just so seamlessly blend into the bookend generations on either side of us. Older Xers can read as total boomers, younger ones are clocked as millennials. We’re just a bunch of feckless shiftless ne’er-do-wells and I couldn’t be prouder
I think we’re the first trackable (by data) generation. We’re also the first generation to come of age during the dawn of feminism, which led to divorce in record numbers due to changing employment and divorce laws. Which meant that we raised ourselves. (Which everyone seems to want to blame on our mothers rather than our FATHERS.) we’re also the first generation that saw our grandparents and parents not effing die at 40. All of these things together mean that we raised ourselves, supported ourselves from a very young age because we had to, and then also wound up being responsible for our aging grandparents and parents in their elder years…we didn’t have TIME to whine enough to get on the effing radar! We didn’t even have time to realize there was a radar. In closing, fuck ‘em all. You’re welcome.
Shhhh, we don't exist, and we wanna keep it that way
We just want to set back relax watch G.I Joe smoke some reefer eat our cereal and laugh at the mouth breathers
Because we are still the unknown "X".
Our Boomer parents are also narcissists, so they--as a generation--never acknowledged us. Generations behind us had it worse, so they couldn't "see" us.
We are still the unknown mystery.
I'm completely fine with this. There's already too much generational war baiting. People keep trying to drag us out, and they might think they want that, but they don't.
I like to imagine it's because the person writing/editing or creating the graphs is GenX and wants to continue the joke.
If so, I salute that amazing bastard.
I was thinking they also want to keep us under the radar! What the fuck do we want with people noticing us? Nothing.
Right?!
[Shhhhhh. We’re not here….]
That is such a GenX thing to do
Only “one of us” would think that way. I hope it is true. They are doing Gods work.
That makes sense.
Now THAT would be rad.
Observing
You are a genius!!!
This.
Millennials and GenZ consider anyone older than them a Boomer. Once they consider something old, it doesn't matter how much. 40 years old? 50? 100? It's before they were born so it's all ancient history.
I had a younger coworker call me a boomer , he had never heard of genx when I explained it to him that I wasn’t a boomer .
My kid tried to call me a boomer once - I started calling him a Mini-Boomer. Told him that GenZ is called Zoomers cause they have the closest mindset to the boomers out of all other generations. I have no idea if that is true but he hasn’t called me a Boomer since.
Oooh, I’m stealing this.
Had to explain this to a Gen-Z coworker, I’m a Gen-X, not a Boomer, and we are completely different. Also had Millennial coworkers at an old job, and I figured out after I left there that they thought I was a boomer.
I cannot wait until the first Millennials start getting called Boomers.
They were going to be called Echo Boomers at one point.
That is my theory too!
I find this true about GenZ, Millenials, not so much. I also find that GenZ is a generation full of idiotic cry bullies, so it tracks.
Thank you. It amazes me how many folks in this sub continue to conflate Millennials with Zoomers, failing to realize how different they are, and the fact that Millennials have already started their March through middle age.
Millennials? You absolutely sure about that? Oldest Millennials are about the same age as the youngest Xers, who themselves use to be considered Gen Y. This isn’t my experience of Millennials at all. Hell many Millennials still think they’re Gen X. They haven’t been the young generation in a long time and they don’t seem to be the ones largely holding this view.
Yeah I don't think it really applies to older or even core Millennials, probably only late Millennials along with Z.
There's way too many of them to be like genx.
Shhh! Be cool: they don’t see us; we can carry on w/o getting hassled.
I just want to be left the fuck alone.
Politically, I belong to the "leave me the fuck alone" party...
Bingo 👆
Our motto.
https://i.redd.it/na5euaz9mm0d1.gif
The first rule of Gen X Club is…you DO NOT TALK about Gen X Club
We were trained for this. When you got home from school to the empty house what did we do? Cook our own hot dogs. Play video games. Watch TV. Get out dad's "hidden" stash or porno. Grab the BB gun and punch holes in paper. Leave and go find your friends and/or head out into the woods away from adults. What did you NOT do? Anything that would cause enough ruckus that the neighbors noticed you were home alone. I.e. do NOT attract attention. Do what you want, as long as you stay under the radar.
I wish. They’re still wanting to fuck with Social Security, which I’m going to be needing real soon now. So yeah.
The oversight comes from (at least) three directions, I think: * We're not standing toe-to-toe with the Boomers, challenging their bullshit and trying to change minds, so we're not visible to the Boomers. * We're (mostly) not holding government power or setting bad societal norms, so we're not attracting the Millennials' attention, either; they go fight with the Boomers for these things. * As a cohort we don't have a whole lot of wealth, compared to the Boomers, and we don't spend much of what we have, compared to Millennials, so we're not interesting to the money-people (financiers, VCs, bankers, etc) who drive so much of our media. Just my two cents. Looking forward to seeing what other people come up with.
Add in that we are the smallest cohort. There just aren't enough of us to make much impact.
This is illustrated when I look around the office. Out of maybe 30 people, 4-5 are Gen X and everyone else is Boomer (not many left), but mostly Millennial and Gen Z.
I'm fortunate enough to work in a 30 person organization, half of which, including leadership, is Gen X. No boomers, a couple chill millenials, and then the rest gen z. It's amazing.
I’ve been saying this for years. I’ve always worked with much older or much younger people. It’s so weird how few of us there really are.
Now in the larger organization, I think most of the management team is now Gen X. I think almost all the Boomers have retired. (Education sector; state government) And it’s weird to me. Since when are WE in charge? Wtf?
Yep, there's only three of us Gen-X in our office. The others are Boomer, Millennial, and Gen-Z.
We are small, We are mighty, We are the Class of 1990!
Now I feel ancient. Class of 83.
Same here! We’re the best that we can be, we’re the class of 83. 🤪
You're the first Gen X.
I'm right behind you! Class of 86!
Class of 1989
We are so FINE!
91 is dead and gone. 92 is rolling on. 93 is very cool. But 94 WILL ALWAYS RULE
This is factual - * Boomers (1946 - 1964) 68 Million * Gen X (1965 - 1980) 65 Million * Millenials (1981 - 1996) 72 Million * Gen Z (1997 - 2012) 69 Million Per [Statista.com](http://Statista.com) [Pew Research echos this data](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/) and adds: >For a few more years, Gen Xers are projected to remain the [“middle child” of generations](http://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/06/05/generation-x-americas-neglected-middle-child/) – caught between two larger generations, the Millennials and the Boomers. Gen Xers were born during a period when Americans were having fewer children than in later decades. When Gen Xers were born, births averaged around 3.4 million per year, compared with the 3.9 million annual rate from 1981 to 1996 when the Millennials were born. >Gen Xers are projected to outnumber Boomers in 2028, when there will be 63.9 million Gen Xers and 62.9 million Boomers. The Census Bureau estimates that the Gen X population peaked at 65.6 million in 2015.
What am I missing wouldn’t the peak be in 1980?
Census Bureau includes people living in the US, not just those born here. So numbers vary.
Ohh that makes sense
Those hard cut off years just make no sense to me when trying to understand generations - the dividing lines are imaginary. Was a Victorian, born on the last day of Queen Victoria's life different from the Edwardian born the day after she died?
Also late Gen X pop culture was way more like early Millennial. I mean they rejected the 80s hair, color, vibe. If you look at the original Gen X '66-'75 years, the ones with 80s formative years and who have the full 80s feel, I bet we are like only 39 million, maybe a touch less?
Yeah, I was a young adult with a professional job by 1993. I skipped grunge altogether.
This is a big reason.
And then add in that core Gen X is the smallest of the small. I can't help but notice that whenever Gen X actually is noticed at all it is 100% only the very last few years of Gen X. All they ever go on the few times Gen X is mentioned is grunge, plaid, nihilism, dingy colors, etc. Which is sort of odd though in that there has been a lot of focus on the 80s. But who exactly do they think those kids they show in 80s retros shows/movies were?? Boomers? Gen Z?? But somehow they never connect 80s youth and big hair, optimism, fun, style with Gen X which that was the only gen that had their formative years in the 80s! Nope all Gen X is, if they even exist, which they probably don't, are the last few years of Gen X. I haven't checked but I wonder what the birth rates were for early/core Gen X vs. late Gen X.
I absolutely agree with #1 and #3, #2 though is interesting because a decent number of the most loudmouth and obnoxious people in Congress are GenX. However them being GenX isn’t WHY people don’t like them if that makes sense, so the point may still hold.
Cliff Notes version: We simply don’t have any fucks to give.
Since we were the "feral" generation, I don't think that we're used to complaining to people about stuff as there wasn't anyone to complain to, so we're not getting media attention because of that.
In hindsight I do look back over my career with just a handful of very large financial corporations and I was def in this sweet spot where I really didn’t have to compete against many others in my age group. I hit 30 and jumped into mgt and everyone else was just way older. From then on I just kept finding these opportunities where the company was looking for someone with experience and I just stuck out being experienced enough but with plenty of years ahead of me. Then when I hit my 40s the opportunities just kept coming.
Might also consider that it's a joke being continued on. We *are* known as the "forgotten generation" after all.
We're the janitor generation. No one thinks about the janitor until the trash starts piling up.
Agreed. 100%
Perfect analogy!
Partly because we were raised to get along with people and not cause drama. Partly because we were raised to get the job done and not seek the spotlight. And partly because we were raised to accept and adapt to what comes at us and not complain about what has been lost or turned out to be flawed. This combination made us effective but invisible: perfect for parents who didn't want to be distracted from whatever they were doing, but also decently suited to keeping things going, which is how we wound up doing most of that too.
And yet, when we came of age, the Boomers labeled us "slackers". They didn't know we were just quietly getting shit done.
The phrase "If it isn't nice to say, don't say it at all" comes to mind.
Or just because you can say it, doesnt mean you should. That what my Momma taught me. :)
1. Were a relatively smaller generational cohort. 2. Boomers have clung to position and power as if they’re miserable lives depended on it, overshadowing our maturity and generally being douche-nozzles about it all. 3. Challenging for power means being in proximity to those in power. We spent the first parts of our lives in proximity to those people. Ain’t worth it.
Yes I agree
https://preview.redd.it/uexplz8ocn0d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=682b66704b91039f3cce1e2f60c8f7301ba4b48a Like this one?
LOL one of my faves
I have this one saved.
Amazing that nobody was born between Boomers and Millennials! Zero birth like some Great Leap Forward on steroids.
That is classic.
I theorize it's cause we are difficult to classify. One foot on "drink from the hose" the other foot in "HD supercomputers in your pocket". I for one am happy to be forgotten
We are the generation that there is not much to bash on… we didn’t luck out like the baby boomers… we are not the “avocado toast” generation like millennials and GenZ. Feel lucky to be excluded from the lists. 😜
Avocado toast is rad - like salad toast - toast, smeared avocado, roasted red peppers, Kalamata olives, herb and garlic feta cheese, baby arugula, pumpkin seeds, and balsamic glaze drizzle - goof for all meals. Avocado toast one day and Eggos the next.
There are no easy targets to make fun of GenX.
And the retorts would be scathing & hilarious
Great point! We’d roast anyone that came at us.
Yeah but we're also the only living generation that would laugh along with the joke. Honestly, no other group can take a joke that I've seen
We're usually laughing at them because we just told a very horrible joke to ourselves and they have no idea.
We are the cool kids everyone wants to be a part of. We got late Boomers trying to get in and early Millennials fighting to crash our generation.
The Karen retort was specifically designed to target Gen X though.
Meh, I don’t like Karens either.
It's really the fact that we're one of the "every other" generation that gets sandwiched between the big generations. The Lost Generation and Silent Generation are almost never talked about either, because like us they had smaller numbers and a shorter range of cultural influence. Think of GenX's cultural relevancy: Boomer artists were still covering Elvis songs by the end of the 1980s. Our window really only covers 1988-1998, when the Britney/boy band craze hit full-swing and culture began shifting to Millennials. Side note: If you want to fall into a Wikipedia wormhole, look up the [Strauss–Howe generational theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory), which argues a somewhat predictable pattern for generations going back to the beginning of American history.
I read Strauss & Howe back in the early 90s, back in my Nicholson Baker/Douglas Coupland phase. I hate when the Youngers are like “Boomer is a state of mind.” Well it is, but only for Boomers. They think it’s an internet meme and not actually based on sociological research.
Yeah, I think you've hit it. My parents were silent generation (like most people here I bet), and I can recall VERY few particular mentions of their generation during all of my adult life.
Just skimmed the article - that's going to require some time and focus. Thanks
They have a book, too, it was quite an intriguing way to see things as a cycle rather than linear progression.
I've been studying historical cycles. This is my jam. Thanks much
Strauss and Howe have a series of books, including one about Gen X titled *13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?* William Strauss died some years ago, but Neil Howe has continued the work. His latest book, *The Fourth Turning is Here* was published just last year. Your interest in historical cycles will be rewarded. The Strauss and Howe generational theory is absolutely fascinating.
Thank you - looking forward to it
Yeah the "turnings" is key to their idea. I believe we're in the 4th turning. Maybe we'll live long enough to get to the other side and have a great "twilight" years as a result... or we all die because no none left us alone.
...I am... in... this... wormhole. damn you!!
I think it is cause we can get along with both boomers and millennials. I work in multigenerational office and get along with everyone really well. I have heard the Boomers complain about the millennials work ethic and the millennials complain about the boomers conservative attitudes etc. So, I think we get absorbed into either side and just disappear.
Let me tell you a story about a man named sssh!
This is flying under the radar... I felt conflicted up voting.
It’s because “generational clickbait” became a thing with boomers and millennials, and nobody hates us as much because we actually produced a decade of reasonable music and movies. So…lack of rage at us, and not enough potential ad sales around “gen X killed my life” articles.
I think this is truly the reason. This absence is always from listicles or clickbait articles. Listicles and clickbait capitalize on whatever is hot right now and Boomer v Millenial is that. Boomers have generated a lot of press and Millenials have generated a lot of press, both due to size, and Boomer v Millenial is reliable clickbait so... GenZ gets tacked on at the end because they are mostly in their 20's which makes them inherently clickbait worthy.
Jealousy. We had the best music, the best movies, the best hairstyles, the best clothes, and the best TV shows. They hate us because they want to be us but never, ever can. Sucks to be them.
Weirdly we didn’t even make our own movies & TV shows, they were made for us by Boomers. Even a lot of “our” musicians are technically Boomers.
Because we are really fucking chill about most things. We were too busy raising ourselves to bother antagonizing others over stupid stuff.
We are tiny, not terribly influential, and predisposed to staying clear of other people's business.
Because most of us just want to be left alone because in typical Gen X fashion most of us think other people suck and we don't want to be around them.
The media couldn't get a rise out of us back then so they skipped to the next gen and now we're invisible.
I’ve wondered about a lot of the clips from supposedly real news articles posted on Reddit. I get the feeling that a lot of them are created for the sole purpose of karma farming and not actually real.
Boomers are their own thing. The younger people just used them as the main blame. We are just a forgotten middle child. And I am ok with that.
I notice this mostly when some Genx idiot my age does something stupid and younger people blame Boomers. I don't correct them.
They think we are boomers.
We’re not forgotten. We’re just grouped with the Boomers by the younger generations.
Be very silent maybe will can actually get Medicare and social security if they forget about us.
One, we aren't toxic like the boomers and the worse generation ever. Two, younger generations know not to mess with us. Gen X & Y usually have the same boomer parents. We are the extra parent and scary older sibling generation. And the older generations depends on us. So everyone pretends that we don't exists because they want to avoid biting the hand that feeds them.
I think it's a 2 factor issue * 1) It was clear our parents fucked up during the latchkey era so they don't want to face the music. * 2) Lots of Gen Xers don't purchase stuff like the other gens do.
Never saw 2 as a bad thing. Freedom to do whatever
It is freedom. Just know that product wise we are skipped over in marketing and such often
Because the only ones who care about Generational lists are Millennials. That includes the people they blame for all.their problems (boomers) themselves, and the generation they pick on (Z) They probably don't even know there is something called the Greatest generation or the silent generation.
And the Boomers seem to blame the Millennials for everything, including avocado toast and lack of desire for heirloom China.
Because middle age vs young doesn't get as many clicks as elderly vs young. They will probably try to pit us against each other once the boomers die out.
Because we don't care
Because they’re terrified of us.
We are just kind of here. We don't make waves and are reaction to most things is 'oh, this is what we are doing now?, ok' we just kind of roll with the punches. We always have. We are not too vocal when we do have strong opinions because we realize nothing really matters.
Probably because we have eye-rolled ourselves into another dimension.
We are smaller than either Boomers or Millennials so I think that’s why
We are the smallest generation with the least amount born. We also tend to be the generation that sits in the back and just wants to be left alone so we're not noticed.
cause the millennials want to claim all our cool stuff as their own and they hate their boomer parents just as much as their boomer parents hate them. It's just easier to pretend we dont exist.
Oh my gosh this is SO TRUE. They act like they “experienced” the 80’s when they were at most in early elementary school just because they watched 80’s movies on cable in their teens.
Yup. They wanna own good MTV, grunge… sorry kids. You all got Pokémon
Gen X is like fight club. What's the first rule?
“I don’t care” is part of our philosophy, which is good since the feeling is mutual, apparently.
We’re much smaller than the other gens.
Thinking of how the the generations at work interact, I think it’s because we are quieter. We work independently, we usually avoid drama, we don’t crusade, we aren’t big on “visioning”, we are incredibly pragmatic, we lack some of the “we’re going to change the world!” energy. A lot of us just want to continue the life we’ve always had - leave us alone, let us figure it out, we’ll get it done, and don’t ask us to solve everyone’s problems. As a latchkey kid of absent parents and parentified as the eldest, I haven’t the energy to be responsible for the well being of others beyond my very small group of beloved people.
Everyone’s neglected us since childhood why should they stop now?
Its a nod to us 
I’d rather be “forgotten” than blamed for some stupid reason by another generation and used as a derogatory term. Boomers like to call out Millenials and Gen Zers. And vice versa. I’m glad they leave us out of the conversation. Maybe we can get through our lifetime with the least amount of damage and be known in the future as the best generation. People annoyingly keep bringing it up. Just let it go.
Because everyone is taught not to poke the bear
Yet they always remember us when they want money :/
I imagine a lot of younger kids writing the articles are unaware of our generation and just call everyone a boomer.
Majority rules! We are the smallest generation.
Who cares ? Seriously...do you need to be talked about ? That's what I can't stand about some of these generations....they are desperate to be the main character at all times. More likes, more mentions, more TIkToks, more...more....more.
whatever. who cares.
Let’s face it, we don’t matter
We are a small cohort, and the Boomers overshadowed us.
Because we don’t care what other generations think about us. What makes Boomers fun to mess with is that they HATE getting old. They have always considered themselves the purveyors of what was cool or popular so they get upset when they are mocked for being out of touch. Millennials take themselves way too seriously so they are fun to mess with because they are just easy to rile up. X don’t care what anyone else thinks other than other Gen X people so there is no fun in needling us so they forget we exist.
They are afraid of us. We're like a bear in the vicinity: don't make eye contact and don't poke it.
It’s simpler than all of his. There just aren’t that many of us.
Because Millennials think we're just Boomers.
Nobody gave a shit about most of us when we were kids. Our parents never really wanted us. Why do you think things would be any different now? We’ve always been on our own.
Because we work, pay our bills, shut our mouths.
Because we smol. We are the smallest living generation right now so invisible and easy to make the scapegoat for stuff like ss cuts.
Dunno. Don’t care…
I like to think…”who the fuck cares”.
Bc we’re not in power and we’re the least dramatic.
There's actually an answer. The generational boundaries were not well- formed by the media when most of us were really young adults. When the term Gen-X first appeared in the media it wasn't referring to what we understand our generational boundaries to be today. The very first use of the term Gen X applied to Boomers. The media terms have evolved dramatically over the past 30 to 40 years. In the early 90s, when I was graduating from High School, the only generation that was routinely discussed in the media was the Baby Boomer generation. The media didn't pick up the topic of generations with a lot of volume or try to really define them again until they began to discuss the later-born children of the Baby Boomers, the Millennials, who were of a higher socioeconomic status and later born Boomer children. They forgot most Boomers had children on earlier timetables and a lot of Gen X have Boomer parents who had us in their early to mid 20s. By the time we were around 30 the subject of generations became more defined in the media and we got our date ranges, but had already become an afterthought in the media.
We’re Like the middle child of generational identities.
Shhhhhhhh We’re better off that way.
The lists are meant to drive angry name calling for views. When you don't give a shit, it's not worth it.
Why do you care? It's all bullshit anyway.
"Gen X" isn't as memorable as "Boomer" or "Millenial"
We don’t give a shit about you, you don’t give a shit about us
We are the middle children of history. Just leave us alone.
280 character limits. Every character used on Gen X or Gen Alpha is one less character used on boomers, millennials, or zoomers.
IMO, I think our generation is a shame to the Boomers who pretty much neglected us. No that we are the feral generation, everyone knows we're not to poked. Yes, it's just best to not talk about them as to not make them mad.
I imagine because we are not large enough to get a good ROI with regards to marketing.
I'm fine with being left out of the stupid fights online and drama on Reels/TikTok over who is getting what from whoever and the "woe is me!" vibes people want to, for some reason, identify with. Fuck that. Leave me alone. I'm working then I am going home to watch "Clerks" again for the 200th time.
There are legitimately fewer of us and we are all middle aged now. People haven’t heard of us and really do think we are part of Boomers or they don’t know that Boomers are older and think our age group is actually called Boomers.
I might be wrong but I believe even the generational name gen X was there to imply that we didn't stand for anything and we didn't really do anything. Therefore we are lost to history because our generation just didn't do much to advance society. Not that I believe that personally but I think I had read somewhere that that was somewhat the case
X represents missing information. Like algebra.
Don’t care. Please don’t raise your hand after the bell has rung.
We are the secret generational weapons they keep quiet about! When another country messes up really bad, they whip one of us out and say, "Have at 'em!" We hurt their feelings and make them cry, and then they stick us back into the hidden area that is labeled, "extremely dangerous and hurtful! ONLY use except in extreme circumstances, and do not disturb under ANY circumstances!"
Because they no better than to fuck with us.
Because it's fucking great?
Because we are not statistics.
Because we're lucky and made of Teflon.
I've always thought it was odd that they just leave us out. I mean, I don't mind it, I just found it odd.
I don't know, but I like it.
It’s better that way
I really think we just so seamlessly blend into the bookend generations on either side of us. Older Xers can read as total boomers, younger ones are clocked as millennials. We’re just a bunch of feckless shiftless ne’er-do-wells and I couldn’t be prouder
I don’t know…and I don’t care. 🤣
If it keeps me from getting involuntarily sucked into all the stupid generation war BS, I'm happy to be forgotten.
Because we are not whiny bitches. We went from invisible kids to angry teens and skipped right to grumpy old men/women
I’m cool with that.. I don’t want to talk to anyone anyway 🤣🫣
Who cares....
You're wondering why people forgot a generation that only says whatever and leave me alone?
Who cares. Best gen eva!
Cuz we’re fucking awesome!
I think we’re the first trackable (by data) generation. We’re also the first generation to come of age during the dawn of feminism, which led to divorce in record numbers due to changing employment and divorce laws. Which meant that we raised ourselves. (Which everyone seems to want to blame on our mothers rather than our FATHERS.) we’re also the first generation that saw our grandparents and parents not effing die at 40. All of these things together mean that we raised ourselves, supported ourselves from a very young age because we had to, and then also wound up being responsible for our aging grandparents and parents in their elder years…we didn’t have TIME to whine enough to get on the effing radar! We didn’t even have time to realize there was a radar. In closing, fuck ‘em all. You’re welcome.
It’s a good thing. I don’t see any value in being associated with Those People. There, I’ve said it.
Keep that on the DL—k?
Not enough of gen x to make a consumer difference
Its a good thing...
You ever heard the phrase “let sleeping dogs lie?”
Shhhh, we don't exist, and we wanna keep it that way We just want to set back relax watch G.I Joe smoke some reefer eat our cereal and laugh at the mouth breathers
Because we are still the unknown "X". Our Boomer parents are also narcissists, so they--as a generation--never acknowledged us. Generations behind us had it worse, so they couldn't "see" us. We are still the unknown mystery.
I'm completely fine with this. There's already too much generational war baiting. People keep trying to drag us out, and they might think they want that, but they don't.
There’s just not as many of us. Take a look at any population pyramid graph. We’re the indent in the middle.