The Truth About Generation X

Everyone loves to talk about the battle between Baby Boomers and Millennials ... but what about Generation X stuck in the middle?
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[@ARTSIEBECCA]

Im Gen X and I'm happy to be left alone. We were 30 at 10 and still 30 at 50.

[@grumpydroo]

Been telling people all my life that I was born 30, and at the age of 47 I'm still 30.

[@midwest1389]

Yes we are...so true

[@jmjones7897]

Facts

[@cski4048]

❤well said

[@lauriejordan2716]

Bingo 🎯

[@davidguthrie5941]

We were left alone as kids. We want to be left alone and not bothered as adults.

[@Gozyization]

Truth.

[@DeltaEchoGolf]

Being in a Hispanic household. Maybe if my parents left me alone to do other things instead of having a paint brush in one hand and a hammer in the other. I would have done better in high school.

[@jenniferfrances8793]

Taught self reliance at a young age. We all started working around age 15 so we could buy our own things etc then Move right out after high school graduation or go straight to college. VHS, Sony walkmans, Sony discmans, CD, laser discs, Atari, Sega Genesis, a lot of outdoor activities ;) I liked growing up as a kid in the 80’s.

[@Truthseeker1515]

This is so true.

[@greatriffishere]

Damn right!!

[@mhermit]

The living memory of the world before the Internet dies with Gen X. I'm grateful to be a part of it. Life made us all old souls early on.

[@jonathanchastain610]

This statement is so true that it's almost scary.

[@briancolw]

We get to watch it all go to hell, haunted by wistful memories of our first 25 to 40 years. We wont be able to relate to anyone in another 30 years. Younger generations born after 2000 will think we are aliens.

[@buckoxt]

Not true older millennials like my self remember climbing trees and playing manhunt (hide and seek). I remember only 4 TV channels (UK), dial up internet used to take hours to load a website, mobile fones as big as a house brick with pull out aerials so long if you're stood next to someone and turn around you'll have their eye out 😂 best years of my life.

[@joeme]

A lot of you were born after the net got going. As a boomer I remember the world as ABC, CBS & NBC. Pure heaven when PBS came to our neck of the woods.

[@pinoyheartbeat7245]

As if we are the last of the members of the tribe before the fall. 52 year old GenExer here from the Philippines.

[@user-un7pk7jm8o]

I see Gen X as a badge of honor. we were the children of divorced families, grew up, hard knocks, had to grow up really fast, got jobs early to be self-reliant, learned knowledge from a lot of peers and friends, as opposed to parents, the first to use the Internet without butchering it. Now we’re at a point where we just want to live our lives somewhat incognito and watch everyone around us just going insane.

[@em6259]

Well said. This is why we take umbrage at the millenials who like to pretend they went through what we went through. Back in our day we called someone who did that a POSER!

[@vsee2207]

You hold grudges and are apathetic. Seem to be smart but do cruel things unconsciously.

[@chaoznorder6207]

Couldn't have said it better myself...just gonna sit on the porch with a drink and watch it all burn with an "I told you so" ready on my lips.

[@matthewdanko4064]

I wouldn't. Your generation kept quiet and allowed mega corporations to take over the world. You're generation was useless and accomplished nothing

[@kborak]

AMEN!!!

[@x108a1]

As a gen x person I don’t really mind being overlooked. The drama of today’s world is so tiring.

[@suzybearheart530]

As a Gen X can confirm, we just want to be left alone and not sucked into all the drama 😂

[@legionarybooks13]

@@suzybearheart530 exactly. Some make it sound like we feel left out, when honestly it's giving us what we want.

[@lalalevej2478]

Say it louder for the wazzbags in the back!! Our superpower was (and still kinda is) Apathy. It's how we survived, man. We were the Feral Generation. I love this sh...tuff.

[@kimmyb33]

Amen!

[@wandawells5596]

👍

[@radioboyintj]

Generation X is both The first generation to go online as well as the last generation to remember life before the internet

[@DizzyedUpGirl]

I'm a millenial, and definitely remember before the internet. It was barely coming out when I was late into high school.

[@radioboyintj]

@@DizzyedUpGirl It came out when I was in high school. And I'm generation x

[@ryanfuller7834]

Yeah I was playing Doom on PC when I was like 12 but we didn't get Internet till I was 14 like 1995 somewhere in there

[@Lunatic4Bizcas]

@@DizzyedUpGirl : ¿¿ ??

[@Antarctide]

No, that's the millennial generation... The Gen X didn't grow up with Internet and still is fairly technologically illiterate. Gen Y is the "hybrid generation".

[@donnaalbrit4125]

I was born in 1970. Im damn proud of being GEN X. I was a latchkey kid, played outside, was gone all day exploring the woods, building forts, riding my bike miles away from home. My friends lived in my neighborhood, their parents were basically my parents and could discipline me if needed. I learned to take care of myself, bandage my own wounds and not complain. It rocked being a teen in the 80’s, the music was great, punk rock was great…hell EVERYTHING was great. If possible, I’d go back & live it all again..even the hard lessons.

[@michellee2990]

I was born in 1970 as well . I didn't have the best childhood , but I also have a lot of good memories . Growing up in the 70s and 80s was a fun time to be a kid ; I have a lot of nostalgia for this time period and wouldn't trade it for anything . I'm also a proud Gen-Xer .

[@item6931]

Your experience sounds close to mine. I don't think that this vid creator understood what a huge difference growing up without social media made. If you wanted a social life, you had to actually go and visit friends (or they visited you) and interact with them face-to-face and it's a massively different (and positive) experience compared to texting, posting or calling. It's the single biggest thing I'm thankful for as a GenXer. Plus just about everyone was super-fit because we had to amuse ourselves by playing sports, exploring the outdoors and the like because yeah there was Atari etc. but for sure the majority couldn't afford them. Ditto on the music - my Spotify playlists are almost all 80s and 90s music lol.

[@RandomWandrer]

I was born in the 80's and that sounds like my childhood too. 😂 Only saw my parents at mealtimes. Every house in the street was open, and every adult in the street would parent us.

[@rachelcrossen8136]

80s had the best music ever!

[@edp3202]

​@@item6931I'm '72 and miss my childhood.

[@serawasnever2902]

No cell phones, Instagram, or Facebook. We held up lit Bic Lighters at a concert, not IPhones. We danced without anyone filming us and preferred it that way.

[@heraldomedrano1417]

I bought cigarettes at 17.

[@kimberlyhood4095]

​@@heraldomedrano1417I bought cigarettes at 14, we thought it made us look cool. Now I know we were cool without them.

[@WyldStallion-bs9oo]

I liked 2000's when single guys had yahoo personals and myspace to meet ladies. That worked for me. I'll take any recent decade pre smartphone.

[@VCRider]

We had no choice, those Sony cams belonged to our parents 😂

[@williamf.buckleyjr3227]

We were "overlooked" because it's easy to overlook a generation that isn't constantly pissing and moaning.

[@Deborahtunes]

Exactly. We Xers just did what needed to be done without needing permission from everyone else to do the simplest of things. That's why we were able to be so inventive. Millennials and Z's have to be told how to do everything...

[@rockymntain]

@@Deborahtunes Many of the later generations don't think it is important to learn anything. They have it all on their phone. Critical thinking skills are now left to the internet.

[@Deborahtunes]

@@rockymntain ~ True. With Millennials and the Z generation, everything is about their FEELINGS. They don't know how, or even want to think for themselves...

[@heatherhillman1]

YES!

[@bradnadeau6553]

The boomers cry more than the millennials about what they think they are owed.

[@jonathanemig4504]

I LOVE being a Gen-Xer. I always say we were the last "go outside and play" generation. Wouldn't trade my childhood in the 1980's for anything!

[@BobDeGuerre]

born in '65 & raised my kids ['92/'96] the same way I was raised... "You have a dog, a creek, and bicycles. I'll holler when dinner's ready."

[@johnw8578]

Bicycle everywhere, spend the entire day at the mall, listen to good music, do my homework while watching MTV, scare myself by watching scary movies late at night while alone, cooking tv dinners, walking home from school because I missed the bus, staying outside until the street lights came on, staying up late during school days, going to arcades, building tree forts, skateboarding, and so much more.

[@lexannaamnell6593]

Ironically we all seem to love our childhood yet we robbed our own children of that... We were the last generation to play outside, to ride our bikes across town to our friend's house, Walk to school... But yet it seems most Gen xers raised their children completely opposite.

[@jyrrin]

i always thought that was awkward - I'm a millennial born in 1990 and i remember going outside and playing baseball outside my house with my friends and yelling "car!!" whenever one came through (and also getting grounded from going outside and hating being in the house). also, if you're born in the 80s, doesn't that make you a millennial? i thought gen x was between 1965 to 1979...

[@wealthweb1]

Agreed!!

[@agriffin5308]

Don't forget that the generation X children had the greatest generation as their grandparents. There's always an influence of grandma and grandpa. ❤😊

[@gregsmith5695]

Some of us had them as our parents. The boomers were our siblings.

[@darthtinkerbell3736]

Yeah but Gen X had Zoomers. So... lol

[@HawaiianBoyz-ql2qw]

Excellent point

[@kborak]

My grandma was born in 1926. I would have loved to have seen the world the way she got to.

[@FionaAdoreRose]

@darthtinkerbell3736 Yeah but the internet was invented. So... Nobody knew the long-term effects of a cell phone or iPad. When a child has instant gratification ongoing that leads to permanent heightened emotions. Everybody goes through a slightly bratty phase during childhood. The heightened emotions appeared very normal until they never faded away. I can tell the difference online with some of the more recent generations. Whose parents did not give them an electronic device early on. They are patient and respectful with a gentle nature. Yet they can hold their own not requiring somebody. They slightly resemble Generation X in a certain way.

[@hothead2306]

Born in 1965, so the first of the Gen Xers. We prefer to be overlooked, we don't have the patience for everyone's drama.

[@heraldomedrano1417]

👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@davidpar2]

A hallmark of Gen X is that other generations like to talk about us a lot more than we like to talk about ourselves.

[@ninedragons6400]

OMG that's so true. Everyday I meet a kid digging thru our old toy box of games, music and movies. In a way it felt like my childhood was extended a little longer because of them.

[@factchecker6674]

Yes and we don’t give a fuck about stupid agist media tropes.

[@factchecker6674]

@rustytr Generalizations about age groups that span many years is a joke. Free Navalny.

[@katie7748]

​@rustytrEvery generation since the beginning of time.

[@stevenhenry5267]

We're often forgotten

[@phantomlimb8093]

Gen X the only generation to be cooler than their kids...

[@dr.strangelove5708]

That is the strange thing about this time period, the only thing that is really new is the powerful digital technology

[@commandercaptain4664]

@@dr.strangelove5708 Agreed, everything else is still the same. It just got smaller, streamlined, and stupider. Rap was the last original music genre to be created. EDM = 80s techno.

[@whipstitchwebwork1383]

I get it, but most of us have gen Z children. They are pretty cool not as cool as us , but certainly not those whining millennials.

[@whipstitchwebwork1383]

@J B good point. Never thought about that. It's funny because my lily sis was an associate proff for 20years at Yale.

[@keithtaylor9845]

🤣

[@TonyregoRego-dy5vc]

Generation X lives in reality not in delusion We appreciate Life and aren't coddled entitled spoiled children. Thank you 💟💟💟

[@sana-cm7oc]

...and really just want to be left the F alone.

[@John-nx9hx]

Yep!

[@edwardbaker192]

I sure don’t. The only thing you’re entitled to as an entitled little brat is my foot in your ass.

[@alicejohnson8751]

I'm at the end of Gen X (born 1979). My mum worked from when I was 5 - I used to walk myself to my ballet class after school and get changed by myself for the class at 5 years old. From about the age of 9 me and my brothers would be home alone after school for an hour until Mum got home. I remember being left home alone for the weekend the first time when I was 12 and my oldest sibling was 13 and my younger brother 10 (that would be illegal now). When I fought with my brothers and went to tell my mother she would say sort it out amongst yourselves. We mostly used to walk or bike a half mile to catch the school bus. All of this stuff would be considered bad parenting now but it made us self sufficient and self reliant and taught us how to handle issues ourselves from a young age

[@iblockpuncheswithmyface1490]

Me, and my sisters would go home after school, and my oldest sister would make supper for when my mom, and dad came home from work.

[@edp3202]

Sadly now CPS would be called. But I grew up just like you.

[@anttimaki8188]

born 1980 here, i remember summers, going out with friends into woods (Finland, we have forests), and going home eating when hungry, or we had something with us, or foraged something. Unless we had somewhere to be (like we are going to visit granma this weekend), none cared where we were. This was when we were mature age of a 9-13.

[@rikk319]

All that lack of parenting wasn't all good, either. Some Gen Xers ended up pretty crappy parents themselves because their own parents sucked. It just snowballs from their every generation. And I'm saying that as a Gen Xer who remembers some of my friends having absentee parents who were selfish Boomers, and those friends grew up to be crappy parents themselves.

[@celestebivin1659]

I was eleven when I first spent the night in my house by myself, Because dad had to go out of town on a business meeting and it was a school night and I had to be in school the next day. I actually liked having that time to myself.

[@smallsailboatbigwater3959]

We were the free range kids. "Be home by dark" the only rule we had.

[@gregsmith5695]

"Don't miss school tomorrow" was pretty much it. Spent a lot of time doing the "sleeping over at blank's house" dodge.

[@mariekitty]

Free range and positively feral. Yes, we really were raised by wolves

[@theslayer8071]

"Stay within sight of the house" in forests of PNW. I'd be a ridge over, but could see the house. Broke "Be home by dark" only once. Never did it again because one simple fact. My 9 year old @$s literally took a beating.

[@edp3202]

Stranger danger.b

[@CyclingM1867]

As long as we were home for supper or called that we weren't going to be home for supper.

[@annwethenorth]

We were also one of the best generation for music. We listened to everything. We seen the birth of rap, hip hop, grunge, heavy metal, punk. We all respected the Beatles and Motown.

[@TheMooCowReturns]

Not all, I hated the Beatles and am very meh towards Motown.

[@rh1507]

I agree. I still remember when I bought the greatest hits of the Beatles. They and there songs are still awesome today.

[@sgt_slobber.7628]

80s was The Absolute BEST Decade for music EVER!!!!!!🤗🤗🤗

[@SnarkyRC]

Gen X here. I never really cared for the Beatles. I was more into Black Sabbath.

[@stevenhenry5267]

You left out edm and industrial.

[@lifeneverends7068]

Gen x was the most bad ass generation over there. Thriving for good things and comfort in life while dealing with the all hardship possible out there alone.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

I still have half-a-dozen mixtapes I made back in the 80s and 90s.

[@andreamonceaux2747]

Same❤❤😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉

[@williamsdou]

Have fond memories of mastering the stop and record button for my favorite songs before the radio host started/stopped talking.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

@@williamsdou What I couldn't stand were DJs who kept talking at the beginning of the song and/or the end of the song, it's almost like they were trying to deliberately spoil mix-tapes being made.

[@adm6785]

I remember waiting all day for a certain song to play so I could tape it with my boombox. 🤣

[@nicholasmaude6906]

@@adm6785 I know what you mean.

[@OneYulaw]

*Boomers:* _"Millennial's are a nuisance!"_ *Millennials:* _"Boomers are a nuisance!"_ *GenX:* _"Shout, shout, let it all out! These are the things I can do without, come on! I'm talking to you, come on!"

[@moreodat479]

tears for fears boomers

[@OneYulaw]

@@margaretanderson7993 You guys haven't been around long enough to hate, walking around with your breaths still smelling like similac.

[@debanydoombringer1385]

@@margaretanderson7993 Good! Come to the dark side. We have cookies! People suck and I don't care.

[@kellykrueger6639]

LOL! That is my all time favorite song!!! And as many others have said us Gen X grew up on our own and we just want to be left alone!!

[@joeyboedeker7205]

😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

[@Saxxin1]

First year Gen X. Born in 65. We are overlooked because we didn't whine and cry about everything. We were raised to be tough and soldier on when things were bad. Terms like "walk it off" and "I'll give you something to cry about" were common for us.

[@BeerHeart]

Born in '70. We learned quick that attention is a double-edged sword. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but the nail that stands up will be pounded flat. Cries for help can make you a target. So we chose stealth and self-sufficiency, and became Generation Unknown, Generation X.

[@morenofranco9235]

I remember being told by my father to do something, and me saying "what for?". His response: "come here. I'll show you what for".

[@robertjansen2409]

Sure thing. That's when libs started teaching socialism just hasn't been done right. Birney bros took the bait. You work give me the money. FJB

[@lulub1433]

It's like in the Never Ending story where the boy is told his destination is to walk 10,000 miles, so he trudges in the mud, almost drowns, gets up and keeps going until he can't anymore... It's a good and bad thing. 😅

[@coolworx]

_You don't know how good you got it_ _No one likes a crybaby_ _Stand up for yourself_ These are the things I heard from my Dad, Granddad, and coaches. It built emotional fortitude.

[@MsDragonlady6]

Gen X here and we learned how to do things on our own. We don’t whine about things, we find a solution. And we are okay with being left alone.

[@xtxt9135]

As a gen xer, i used to think we were short changed compared to our parents generation, but now i'm nothing,but grateful to grow up when i did when i see how the world has panned out for the young. They really drew the short straw.

[@stephb3321]

Totally agree.

[@gruv2nz]

👍

[@johnlibonati7807]

I was born in 1973 in Philadelphia. I was just telling my sister I would be fine with going back to the way things were in the 80s, when we hung out in real life, went to malls, played video games in the arcades, played sports in the street, weren’t tied to phones and appliances lasted decades instead of a couple months past the warranty.

[@bigdaddypiggy]

No doubt….I was born in DC in 1971 so we’re pretty close both in age & in geography…..these days making a kid go outside IS the punishment 🤨🤷🏼‍♂️I vividly remember the excitement & anticipation of another school year ending & spending pretty much the entire summer at the neighborhood swimming pool ….I know every generation says this but life seemed so much simpler than…..the world has changed A LOT in the last 20-25 years…..probably more so than any other time in history & it can be hard to keep up at times but it sure is entertaining to watch…to watch humanity drive the last few nails into its own coffin all because of uncontrollable & unchecked greed,as long as $$ continues to trump everything else including etchics,morals,reasoning & decency it’s only gonna get worse as you have more people fighting over less & less while a small number of people reap all the benefits & have more than they can use in 10 lifetimes yet entire families starve in the street….I hope I’m at least 100 miles away when/if karma comes to collect that debt 🤨

[@marlaalbrecht5516]

Also born in '73 in Minneapolis. And I can relate to everything you said. Now, at 50, I can say that I wish I were 80 and on my way out b/c of the direction this bat$hit insane First World is headed.

[@polywog9591]

I so agree entirely. Was a great way to grow up. I feel so terribly sorry for kids today.

[@SGTSLACKASS]

Get off your phone and go bitch and complain to someone in real life.

[@Seekyourtruth777]

@@marlaalbrecht5516100 totally agree born in 73 in California and I dont recognize my clown 🤡 world any longer . I loathe this timeline

[@sgt_slobber.7628]

As a Gen Xer myself, growing up in the 70s 80s and 90s was the BEST time to be alive!!!!!🤗🤗🤗

[@bradrider5137]

Amen

[@samsmom1491]

Oh, how I miss the 70s. It seemed like we had the entire world at our feet and all things were possible. Then, reality hit in the 80s & 90s. Things have never been quite the same since.

[@sgt_slobber.7628]

@@samsmom1491 unfortunately, at the turn of the Millennium 2000s, things were going downhill!!!!!:/

[@zuckthebetacuck2789]

@@sgt_slobber.7628 From 2000 onwards the magic faded away.

[@aynosille5436]

I agree 👍

[@lisabaughn]

We've been booted out of every conversation on Earth and I am so over it!!!

[@spongebob7296]

Amen Sister!!

[@michaelbankston7430]

I feel blessed to be part of Generation X(born in 1978). I remember watching cartoons right before and after school. I also remember getting up early on weekends - often before the rest of the family - because I was eager to catch the morning cartoons. We truly had it made.

[@pamharris7596]

Yep, I was born in 78 and that's a very strong cherished memory of mine, watching Saturday morning cartoons, Smurfs, Land Before Time. I remember having the Three Stooges on in the background as I was getting ready for school. I'm glad I had at least 40 good years in a sane America.

[@concernedparty1148]

Funny... the worst insult you could call someone when I was in high school (1984-1988) was “POSER” now everyone’s a literal poser.

[@divergence_tiffanyramos4337]

LMAO. Yes!! I was actually referred to as an "Elitist Poser" on a metal music thread the other day, and my high School memories all came to mind. Little punk! Who you calling an "Elitist Poser"? My reply went something like this: Awe man why ya gotta be like that? I'm just a cool little jive turkey chillin and enjoying some tunes. I'm far from "Elitist Poser." You and I need to sit down over a few beers and have metal summit. Metal Head's accept all the societal unwanted and misfits of the world without question or judgement. How does "Elitist Poser" even become a realistic notion in your mind where my comment is concerned? I also followed with.... You know what? Nevermind! I'm not spending my hard earned beer money and metal music time with you. Us "Elitist Posers" have upper caste reputations to protect. I wouldn't want to give the wrong impression that I was breaking bread with the help where my peers are concerned. Society and other's points of view influence all aspects of my life. I simply cannot be seen with you in public or otherwise. It could have detrimental effects in my life and influential connections. Redacting my invitation is the best course of action at this time. Do take care! Yeah, stick that up your "Elitist Poser" commenting butt! Lol. God do I miss the days where if you had an issue or problem, you talked it out or you fought it out. You won some and you lost some. No anonymous chicken shite comments where the responder can hide behind a keyboard and accept no accountability for their actions or words. Alrighty." Elitist Poser" out! I have dinner staff to emotionally bankrupt. Do take care!😉

[@phantomvampyressshadowkiss4690]

Yes i ended the century for graduation. From all i read 81 is edge so we are xiennal because of where i was year wide which im 1981 born

[@jimnorrison8481]

Don't forget, "wannabe". We, Gen X, are the "keep it real" generation. Millennials, not so much. The entire hipster culture is based social memes of the past, pretending to be sailors, lumber jacks, etc. Not only are they unoriginal, the seem to be proud of it.

[@phantomvampyressshadowkiss4690]

@@jimnorrison8481 yes i know what your saying . Im a keep it real . People don't like real though

[@comfeefort]

That's Good Dagmar! I So remember that term "POSER" I never wanted to be called a "SOSH" that was the designer Jeans and polo shirt People....LOL! I have My Own look that is not mainstream and People are still Assholes the with the looks I get

[@_Diggler]

Gen X can not only use a computer, but also write in cursive and teach others how to be patient.

[@ThatsaTechnicalFoul]

I feel like the reason we’re not all fighting for outward change in our world is because we’ve had adult responsibilities all our lives. We still look young, still got a chip on our shoulder, but we are TIRED. Like old man tired. We’ve had the most to grieve, as it was us who were most effected by the changes the internet brought. We are adaptable people. But we also want little to do with the world as it is. I’m pretty sure we’re all content with being left alone. We always were the forgotten ones. That’s home to us. We don’t understand the self-serving, ego-based nonsense that IS our country now. We didn’t have much growing up so if we’ve achieved any peace in our lives, THAT is what we fight to protect. No one else ever gave a shit about us.

[@PK4Real]

That is some really deep insight. I've felt that way for so long but could not articulate it. Thank you for putting it so succinctly.

[@hieptruong5222]

as a Gen X i grew up in school fist fighting a lot came home with bruises and black eyes and we never had to worry about a gun

[@heraldomedrano1417]

In the 90'S there's was a lot fist fighting in middle school and high school.

[@perfectsplit5515]

Generation X - where the bullies all had to do their bullying - face to face.

[@FelonyMelanie420]

And still do!

[@taylorbee4010]

Hahaha

[@hahdhsjsjrkfn]

@Edgar Foerster cringe

[@mastermindmico1224]

@@FelonyMelanie420 Yea, right. You wish. We're making everyone else wanna kill themselves online bc we're the only generation of ppl who don't get 'triggered'

[@TheRealRealOK]

perfectsplit Bullies and victims often became friends, too.

[@richhenry8004]

They are overlooked because they dont spend all their time complaining.

[@phoenix5054]

Rich Henry Okay Karen.

[@richhenry8004]

@@phoenix5054 Were you crying when you wrote this? Nevermind, we all the know the answer.

[@lenoraGrayce]

Amen!

[@Teobi1]

no one listened to them anyway.

[@mowgli27]

@@phoenix5054 You must be of the Ritalin generation. Your thought process is of no consequence to others, as you are "special". Note; an attempt to use the simplest and direct wording here may have resulted in the use of words above the two syllable mark. Please have someone interpret for you. A participation award will be issued, along with free entry passes to your nominated safe space.

[@wernervanderwalt8541]

I'm a 1978 Gen X. A lot of this video I can relate to. Mom and Dad both working, constant fighting, getting divorced. That's the negative side. The positive side... I grew up with MTV when it actually played music videos. I saw the rise and fall of hair metal, new wave, and grunge. Kurt Cobain killed himself when I was 16. Disco officially died in 1982. Me and my brother and all our friends would be outside the whole day. We would ride our BMX bikes for hours and go everywhere. Without helmets and knee pads. Or we would build these wobbly ramps with a old drum and a plank and we would become Evel Knievel with heavy metal music blasting from a ghetto blaster. How we didn't get maimed or killed is still a miracle to me. We blew up stuff with fire crackers and bottle rocket. Insane but fun times!😂😂

[@engmed4400]

I was born in 1977, and grew up in Central Texas. My friends and I had the complete run of our neighborhood, especially during the summer. I can remember leaving home first thing in the morning, and coming home late into the evening, IF I came home at all. Those were some crazy times, and I oftentimes wonder how I managed to survive so many of the really bad decisions I made. My kids are constantly amazed when my wife (a millennial raised like Gen X) and I tell them about life before the internet was everywhere and we all had computers in our pockets. I've never really thought of us as "influential", but solid point about some of the key players on the world stage today. I keep thinking of ten years ago being the early 90s, and not the Teens. Go figure.

[@item6931]

Lmao I totally get it. We got away with (or maybe we were allowed) to do things that today they would call a SWAT team on you.

[@jeffharris8166]

I was also born in Texas in 1977. Houston. 🇺🇲🤙

[@engmed4400]

@@jeffharris8166 same here, oddly enough. I was born at the Methodist Hospital.

[@thanto575]

With every comic, game, book, movie, tv show being a bad remake we silently laugh knowing the original was far better.

[@commandercaptain4664]

Gen X becomes ignored while 80s culture is stripmined within an inch of its life.

[@onehothand68]

Turned 10 in 80, graduated in 87. There was no better time.

[@donnaknudson7296]

@@onehothand68 I was depressed as heck in high school, but what I wouldn't give to live back in time for a while. Things were so simple and every new discovery, experience, book, piece of music *was* something. Now things just fly by, and there is no more magic. Back then we were forced to make our own magic out of almost nothing.

[@onehothand68]

@@donnaknudson7296 good times

[@victorglaviano]

Ain't that the truth... At least they haven't gotten to Gilligan's Island, Fat Albert or Fantasy Island... Yet, I better shut up!

[@Plan9-3127]

As a Gen X... I can honestly say I'm so proud of being from the last generation to grow up without tech as we know it today. We watched it all. I also feel we are the last generation to grow up with a good sense of humor, and common sense. None of us saw what was coming... It just wasn't conceivable to us. All the political correctness and sensitivity... Honestly... We never saw it coming.

[@johnd5398]

Someone raised these little motherfuckers that all we "Gen X'ers" are complaining about.. and it wasn't me.

[@Kate-qf4iv]

So true! A sense of humor... The next generations lack that.

[@christopherwellman2364]

We wanted the political correctness to go away, but internet trolls ruined all that.

[@JohnFourtyTwo]

The greedy Boomers saw it coming, especially those in politics and they played everybody like a well-tuned violin.

[@Vates104]

Me, too. As a Gen X dude I agree

[@thadiggitty]

Our parents were dippy hippies and more often than not, we had to be the adult in the room. We made our own money doing whatever it took. We fed ourselves, walked to school, sometimes walked two towns away without cell phones, and fought our battles alone. We also buried a lot of friends. We are used to being overlooked because it's as it has always been.

[@mimerci76]

100%

[@JamesBond-sr7fw]

No one ever talks about all the issues we dealt with the USSR and fear of nuclear obliteration. Movies like the day after always stayed on my mind, also remember not having much help with homework from my parents but now my Alpha kid needs all kinds of help. Mr.Spock was my hero as was Roger Moore who was saving us from nuclear annihilation without taking credit because he was a spy and had to keep it quiet.

[@anndavis5979]

Not to mention we were the post-Nixon generation. We're cynical because we're the first real generation with the distrust in government.

[@bills5009]

The threat of nuclear annihilation was always in the background growing up. But we didn't let it get to us. Now kids are terrified of the weather...

[@Jack_The_Ladd]

My Parents are both Gen Xers and I think my Dad put it best they were old enough to remember life and the world before the internet, social media and smartphones but still young enough to catch on to those things when they came out.

[@donnietobasco9791]

PRECISELY!! Which means that our evaluations of living life in "both worlds" are likely the most pertinent and truthful evaluations to be had. We actually witnessed the societal evolution of all the above "tech" and many of us were responsible for actually designing it and pushing it through. As a cross-over generation...generation X straddles one of the most significant societal periods in modern, cultural history and we are akin to people who have actually lived TWO lives...rather than just one. Pre and post social media....provide two VERY different life experiences on this planet and it's only generation X that can claim to have experienced the overlapping zeitgeist in real time.

[@robertcronin6603]

Exactly.

[@robertcronin6603]

@@donnietobasco9791 well said

[@dinarachel7]

Correcto! Gen X gets the crown 🔑 👑 😉 📺 🎶 💻 🏃🏻‍♂️ 😘👏🏼👍🏼…

[@ooflord702]

I remember the internet just starting to come out, the America online discs that were packaged with everything. "You got mail!" And last but not least, 10 minutes of waiting to get on the internet with dial up. I didn't have a cell phone in highschool they wouldn't be out until a few years later, I had a beeper.

[@toddreyes2487]

Gen x parents have gen z kids

[@FutureNow]

Some have Millennial kids.

[@toddreyes2487]

@@FutureNow You forgot to mention Gen X made rebellious music in the 90s and early 2000s besides Nirvana like Eminem, Slipknot, Green Day, System of a Down, Drowning Pool, Blink 182, My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park, Disturbed and so on.

[@FutureNow]

Todd Reyes True.

[@greedo2660]

"Gen x parents have gen z kids" This is true. A lot of gen Xers like myself waited until much later in life to have kids than their boomer parents did. My kids are actually on the young side of gen Z. I almost feel bad for them, because they will have much less access to the internet than most of their peers. Lol

[@conr281]

I'm a Boomer with a Gen Z kid

[@sarahnorris872]

We can not forget how our Moms left us in the cars to go grocery shopping. We were told to lock the doors and roll the windows up, and do not open the door for anyone or we would get a spanking😂

[@michaelyounger4497]

As an old X'er, with old parents, my parents were in WW2 and the depression..they knew what hard times were..they raised their boomer kids then we were the unplanned middle age suprises.So they didn't sugar coat life for us. They taught us to be prepared for disasters, to be resourceful and we grew up early, with survival skills and a work ethic. Our X'er friends with boomer parents had it rough in a different way. Their parents were simply missing so they figured life out on their own or in small groups. It gave them those "special survival skills" too. Does a job loss or recession or WW3 phase us...nope..DieHard was a Christmas Movie...Yippy-Ki-Yea... We later wanted to smooth over the rough spots in our memories for our kids..went too far and made it too soft for them..Sorry Millennials and young Z'ers.. Our job now is to help our "too soft" kids and grandkids harden up for the troubles they are facing..social, economic, political, war, environmental..they are going to need the wisdom our Depression/WW2 parents/grandparents gave us. Our job now is to be that generational bridge for them...but with a kick-bass soundtrack.

[@lifenotbills]

Generational bridge. I like that. I never would have handed my kids everything. They’d have to work for it. That is the parenting job; to prepare for the real world with self sufficiency… not expecting to be taken care of by government subsidizing.

[@AnikRichard]

Same as you...eh, I had a grandpa born in 1895 ! Both grand-parents and parents, although caring in their own way (though love) were not sugar coating anything. Hard work, no fuss, no sense of entitlement, working for our allowance, not complaining about small injuries... as far as I know, best preparation to face an adult life. !

[@anthonytony8328]

Gen X'ers would look at the 3 or 4 missing kids on the milk carton as we ate our cereal in the morning. Then our Mother would kick us out of the house and we would be gone all day.

[@SYDAirlineEnthusiast]

Millennials would do that too. We used to have those magazines where we look for the ten things that are different from the other photo.

[@karamlevi]

FUCK... that shit is true... try not to get kid napped today okay?

[@Drownedinblood]

@@SYDAirlineEnthusiast we just get amber alerts we ignore now.

[@Drownedinblood]

@@karamlevi Stick em with the pointy end ok?

[@davidmarshall1160]

That's a fact...Proud latch key kid here...Mom had to work 2 jobs since she was raising 2 kids by herself after dad left. Mom would say be back by dark and she doesn't want to get a call from the police or hospital about me.

[@atix50]

The last generation to think friends who took pictures of themselves constantly and INSISTED on showing them to you was a weird personality flaw and suspected their parents would probably have to intervene and fork out for some expensive therapy. 😂

[@Ellieempress]

😂😂exactly. I’m so glad I am Gen x.

[@salvajegata2222]

yes, being narcistic was shame for us

[@bills5009]

Agree with everything except the expensive therapy. I can't remember a single person in therapy in the 70's 80's...

[@ChadeGB]

It was the same here in the UK, when I got home from school my parents were at work, so I'd fight with my brothers, eat whatever had been left in the fridge for for us, then go out with my friends. I'd see my parents for 30 seconds when I got in as they tried to wring information out of me about where I'd been and what I'd done. Then I'd go upstairs, listen to some music, watch some TV or play some video games and hit the sack. In the long long summers, we'd go on bike rides for hours at a time, leaving early morning and not returning until the sun was down. Climb trees, shake down conkers, discover weird and places to hang out, go swimming, get into fights, taught ourselves to do tricks on the BMX and so much more. Golden years. Wouldn't change a thing.

[@constantlimbo-vb6iy]

remember standing at the high school bus stop waving to my mother as she drove past on her way to work,as soon as she was out of sight my friends and i ran back to mine broke into the house and stayed off school

[@DevonRexLady]

😂

[@DevonRexLady]

I remember the time in the mid 80s when I would get off my train stop to walk to high school and my friends would be waiting around the corner, telling me we're not going to school today, lol.

[@danielprivate7442]

GenX: The worst thing you could be, the worst insult you could hurl was "sellout".

[@highjenks3d]

Baby boomer the worst generation ever their opulance and greed that will never be equaled

[@Yamaha_slut]

Ironically gen x sold out the hardest

[@1destinySS]

@@Yamaha_slut Agree! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when my son said I was a sellout because I work for a major corporations most of his life. More sad because he is right, but glad he recognizes it so young and hopefully won't drink the kool-aid too. And no, he's not living in my basement saddled with student loans and depression. He's making his own way. He will be able to do what I could not.

[@Yamaha_slut]

@@1destinySS selling out isn't the worst thing in the world, it secures one's future fainancially. Which really opens up opportunities for them, but much like everything else in the world, every action has a reaction be it good or bad!

[@OldHeathen1963]

@@highjenks3d The Silent did a better job, well actually they just got freaking lucky. ( then they spent their grandchildren's inheritance.) Boomers gobbled everything that was left.

[@Elephant_Juice74]

I love the term "latch key kid". I remember forgetting my house key more than once and literally had to break into my house after school because my single mom was at work. Good times! 👍

[@igloo2158]

I had a window that I knew how to work open from the outside of my parent's garage. Once in, I used the attic ladder that led to a door that entered my upstairs bedroom. LOL.

[@elderhollowfarm7043]

Our key was hidden under a rock by the gutter downspout and it froze. My twin brother and I couldn’t get in the windows so we sat on the front porch in the warm sun. The neighbors had us come in when it got dark and fed us soup at the family table. Dad showed up about 10 or so. Good times! lol I am very good and breaking in windows now but don’t lol

[@TheLAGopher]

My mom put my house key on a ribbon I wore around my neck.

[@LampWaters]

So funny my grandma forgot her keys and I caught her trying to crawl through the window, I started yelling tuck and roll, tuck and roll grandma. Lolol. I got her out the window lolol and crawled in for her lolol.

[@oldboy4271]

Had to do this multiple times....

[@burningdaylights]

GenXer here. I'm only 28 seconds in, and already thinking "I just wanna be left alone."

[@LisaG442]

We didn’t have hover parents. I think that’s a huge factor. Independent problem solving leads to innovation.

[@bthompson8467]

As a Gen X'r, I am proud to say that us teenage latch key kids knew how to throw a "House Party."

[@timothyowens4547]

No doubt. Every time our parents left town for anything. House party

[@meowmeowmeowser6349]

Truth

[@WyldStallion-bs9oo]

Yes 1990s college parties in particular were fantastic

[@Jefff72]

COPS!

[@cb5501]

And leave no evidence

[@order9066]

I'm Gen-X and I'm not gonna finish this video because I don't really care.

[@smitaaay]

😂🤣 Perfect.

[@BPRbuster]

Classic!

[@DefianceGal]

haha same here!

[@LadeeHornet93]

Spot on

[@MissJade805]

order9066 If you honestly didn’t really care then you wouldn’t of taken the time to post your comment on this video, it seems to bother you enough to comment on it so at some degree you do care. Lol

[@nimblehuman]

I'm 51, was a latchkey kid in Los Angeles before my parents divorced and my dad took me and my sis overseas. We were both the last generation to use mimeographed school paper and the first to use the PC. We saw the world go from what once was to what it has become. Both of my Gen Z sons are gamers like I was amd still am, and we've stayed in touch via technology in spite of me being across the country from them. In terms of today's generation wars, glad to be invisible.

[@williambass5933]

The 70's and 80's EVERYONE got along and just lived life! Sounds kinda silly but, it was a magical time where a handshake and respect was common with real meaning.. the music was amazing and so were the car's!

[@bybodidotcom]

I'm a 73 baby and I recall the 70s and 80s being incredibly bigoted and right wing. Pop culture was awesome but society was messed up. Our teachers would beat us and throw things at us, I had one who made kids pit their hand in a bear trap. The streets were full of paedos and flashers. The police were infinitely worse than they are now. Women were forced to go to work fulltime AND do everything they always did as mums and wives. Without mobile phones, lost stayed lost and the 6 weeks summer holidays were spent on a curb watching ants, because there was nothing to do. We were the last generation to have reflection time forced upon us. It was essential thinking time. It is the constant digital media stream that ruined society. In our day we got maybe an hour of Kid's programmes a day and EVERYTHING STOPPED BY 10:30 OR 11PM. The street lights would even turn off. Mostly life was very boring but that made us creative. Mods, rockers, goths, punks, skins, new wave, these were all created by kids in the street. Kids haven't invented anything for 30 years, they accept the rubbish they are spoon fed and content creators really don't CREATE anything. So sad.

[@ElusiveMasquerade]

I couldn’t help nodding when you said what a latch-key kid was. That was my childhood. I would walk home 2 miles from my school and let myself in at 2pm every day. Both my parents worked swing shift and would not be home until midnight. There was never a problem and I always kept the house clean. I essentially grew up unsupervised and only the television and Nintendo to keep me company. To this day I feel completely fine being alone 24 hours a day and and simply going about my business.

[@windywillow6071]

Yes! Gen x also seem to be raising gen z similarly to how they grew up (at least from my experience and that of my friends) because they (as other comments pointed out) are the workhorse generation and having to work all the time to accommodate boomers' excessive lifespan and gen z's difficulties entering a job market laying off more people than they hire or earning enough to not be dependant on their parents since wages have been stagnating compared to inflation pretty much all our lives. Even when, on the odd occasion both parents are home, gen x parents seem more than happy in front on the telly and leaving their kids alone like they're still at work. No doubt because, as the workhorse generation, they're exhausted and just need to switch off after being worked to death all day. Does make me angry when some gen x parents opt to give their kids an ipad instead of actually spending time with them though. Maybe us gen zers are just too insufferable to want to spend time with, lol

[@d.sepulveda7669]

YES!! I still need to have my ALONE time so that I can rejuvenate and be able to deal with my own family! It work’s so beautifully!! I was “re-setting” before we were able to re-set! Lol 🤯👍

[@5Gburn]

I could totally survive solitary confinement.

[@Ellieempress]

Me too . Loved coming home with my parents gone .

[@d.sepulveda7669]

@@5Gburn 🤣😂🤣 LMAO, I secretly think I could do it too! Lol 🙊 Only a Gen Xer would say that!

[@syngen462]

We are the adults in the room. I am proud of Gen X, we were integrated, didn't play victims and we really were making strides with non-racism. I am sad to see identity politics dividing us.

[@WyldStallion-bs9oo]

100% see. We can see right through the media and government racial politics. Gen X more than any other age demographic stood up to the nonsense jab and mask mandates. Millennials and Gen Z conformed to that like sheep. Boomers of course made the mandates.

[@MrKingalow]

YES! I keep telling people this kind of thing, too! Only Gen-Xers get it, unfortunately. We had great things happening - no one gave too many fucks about anything - but I mean this in the best way - for example, we had friends of all colors and no one even talked about racism. It was increasingly on life-support. This progress was quickly bulldozed by righteous, overly idealistic, tech-smug, hive-minded, impatient, instantly gratified (or else!), arrogantly wiki-educated millennials who had no idea about true individuality. Back in the day - for MANY people - things like skin color / gender etc. were actually irrelevant to who you were as a person & we naturally found things in common without identity labels. But these narcissistic babies with bad habits show up - all tattooed but fragile, glued to social media groupthink - they're just a lump of virtue signalling idiots, accountable for nothing - this is how they position themselves and they're everywhere. I actually want to get on an island where only Gen-Xers are allowed. No cell phones or fucking email. Maybe some boomers can come - they at least say hi to strangers and can carry a conversation skillfully with a sense of humour or sarcasm. haha

[@lepjagman]

​@@MrKingalowthe only people who believe that racism wasn't an issue or there wasn't way more work to be done were very naive white people. Talk to a black person for a few minutes in the mid 2000s and they'd tell you something different.

[@aldunlop4622]

Right now, GenX is just sitting back eating popcorn and watching the fight between the Boomers & Zoomers.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

I was born in 1972 and when I grew up we only had two TV channels, then three, before it all exploded in the 90s, the Internet didn't exist when I was born and going up (I learned years later there was something called ARPANET but you needed to be tech-savvy to access it). I didn't get access to the internet till 1996 and I can remember what it was like before things such as Google, KZbin, FB and other such stuff existed (No smartphones either).

[@Battle5star]

The thing with GenX is that we grew up self reliant and understanding the need to be responsible for our own selves. Yes, we played video games after school but eventually most of us knew when to turn it off to eat and do homework. The idea that GenZ needs someone to tell them to get off their phones, use social media wisely so their brains don't rot kind of makes some of us roll our eyes a bit.

[@nunodasilva5449]

come on, the video games were kinda boring. We would play like half an hour then go outside. Pestering the boomers was way more fun.

[@Dablkwid0w2008]

Too self reliant

[@Battle5star]

@@nunodasilva5449Personally. I rode my bike everywhere or my older brother would take me on the bus downtown to search for baseball cards and Garbage Pail Kid cards.

[@the.parks.of.no.return]

The power of one

[@CarterWills1]

You wouldn’t need to roll your eyes if you did your job as parents properly.

[@Someone7761]

The average GenXers don’t care. We just go about living our lives.

[@breathlesshaste]

Too busy taking care of my Boomer parents and putting my Gen Z kids through college while working full time so I don't have time to care about much else, frankly.

[@doziert9511]

Yea cynical

[@ajax1137]

That's part of our problem. We're so wrapped up in our own lives that we don't realize we're about to be run over.

[@soccerwizard975]

You don't care as long as you can live life as you want to. Y'all don't want to be forced to contemplate the well-being of others because that might make you uncomfortable. Secretly weak trying to wear a facade of apathetic independence.

[@Someone7761]

@@soccerwizard975 *hits buzzer* WRONG!!! GenXers do care about people. We largely just don't care about what people think about us. We're used to people not giving us recognition or credit for the things we contribute, so we just go ahead and do them without making a show of it.

[@jaydubya6345]

😂I got the Nirvana joke, that was a good one actually. "Tried to come up with a Nirvana joke but, nevermind" Album title.

[@SharonElizabethWhitfield]

With Generation X, our parents bought us basic necessities. If we wanted something more, we had to find a way to earn the money ourselves. Whether it be by babysitting, mowing lawns, or working at a fast food restaurant. We visited our friends regularly. If we didn’t have a toy or game, one of our friends did. We rode our bicycles without helmets. We rode in the back of pickup trucks down highways and didn’t fall out. Nobody wore seatbelts. There were no cellphones or answering machines. Only land line phones. Going out to eat was reserved for special occasions. From the time we got out of school, until our parents came home, we were completely unsupervised. If we wanted something to eat, we just cooked it ourselves. We watched, sang and danced along to MTV. Generation X had one of the best childhoods ever!

[@ericv7720]

We Gen Xers have taken a lot of heat because of our lack of idealism and ironic approach to pop culture. Yet we are the ones working to support both our retired boomer/silent parents and Gen Z kids (not me personally, since I have no kids and my parents are fine, but generally). We are the workhorse generation, if anything, the first to have been hit with the realization that we'll have it worse than our parents.

[@davidmitchell6873]

So true. I'm experiencing this with my kids and wife's father right now.

[@arcticgoddess]

Perfectly stated 👌

[@deathbysnusnu1970]

So true, having it worse than our parents and working harder.!

[@mandlerparr1]

A lot of our parents like to ignore that they used a lot of us gen x eldest or eldest female children as part-time SAHP to our siblings and as housekeeping. Now they tell us that they can't help us because they are done raising a family. Dude, you didn't raise a family, you worked. The kids raised themselves.

[@joanyow7952]

Boomer grandparents have raised many of genXes children

[@tgeh448]

I was born in '74. What makes our generation a little unique is that we had to manage things with a high cost to failing. For example if I missed an episode of a cartoon or TV show, I would have to wait months maybe to see it again. There were lost of little things like. Another exmaple: I remember listening to the radio on my boom box for an hour hoping for "EAT It" by weird al to come on so I could record it on blank tape for my friend. Now is say "Hey Google, play eat it by weird al". I'm not saying we were better for it; just explaining how it was

[@gryphon9507]

I know this reply is 8 months old but when you talked about recording song off the radio it put a smile on my face. I made a ton of mix tapes like that as I rarely had the money to go to Tower Records or any other music store and buy singles or records.

[@mikemcgown6362]

​@@gryphon9507 going out to buy 45s was the big thing back then too. Or getting the last of the 8 tracks in stores. I'm talking about pre CD era.

[@gryphon9507]

@@mikemcgown6362 oh I was there born in 72.

[@mikemcgown6362]

@@gryphon9507 Right on! 😁

[@kat4chez]

I didn’t have cable so MTV came through in snow and I’d sit there for hours waiting for ‘that new tune’ like, The Eurythmics or something, to pipe through and I’d grab my portable tape cassette player and hold it speaker to recorder and press record and hold my breath that no little sister would come storming down the stairs and screw it all up. mix tapes of newly discovered music were everything! And I’d spend days on end decorating the paper that listed the songs. And don’t even get me started on the frustration/thrill of going to the local video store to see what was left in the new releases! I understand why kids are nuts now- they never wait for anything; there is never a thrill just over the horizon.

[@lilamiranda33]

Angelina Jolie, Leonardo Dicaprio, Kate Winslet, Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon, Molly Ringwald, Kurt Cobain.... The list goes on....I mean, for real TONS of famous and noteworthy people were born in the late 60's and into the early 80's, which are the actual years of Gen X. Most of the Gen X contributions seem to be in the music and the arts, not necessarily business/corporate/economic driven types...except for Elon Musk. Mark Zuckerburg is probably the in the "elder" millennial category...along with Beyonce, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, all boy bands. The Spice Girls...ALL GEN X. There are so many Gen x influences that the Millenials and Gen z'ers are picking up now....and Gen X isn't even old. We're still thriving and making shit happen. We're the forgotten generation because we're not that attention seeking and quite a bit more rebellious and independent than most other generations. We just don't care...we do our thing.

[@Dr_Bombay]

as an Xer, i especially appreciate the mention that we were the first videogamers, and we helped invent a lot of the tech that boomers get the credit for, and that we were the first computer generation.

[@jeremymenning56]

GenX: Witnessed the birth of MTv and the death of Music Television.

Painful isn't it?

[@leroylowe5921]

But now we have KZbin!

[@josephatnip2398]

I blame reality TV like road rules and TRL and yo MTV raps being play non-stop episode after episode they stop playing good music music that people liked then started force-feeding people stuff like Britney Spears and boy bands.....and Kids stop watching

@@leroylowe5921 Yeah but its way more work and you have to know what you are looking for. The cool thing about MTV was you never knew what was next and they gave a variety. Algorithms can't seem to do variety.

[@leroylowe5921]

@ Yeah, the algorithms (that sounds like a band) are made to show you more of what you seem to like. It's like a self sustaining positive feedback loop (okay, phrases like that are above my pay grade).

[@melenico4512]

Gen X here and I work in I.T Systems. We went through all of the massive technology jumps and appreciate this more. We will be the last generation that can still appreciate the simple life we once had.

[@mattghostly5261]

Mele Nico yeah I also work in I.T and it’s wild how quickly it feels it went from floppy disks, cassette tapes and VHS to where we are now.

[@SANDYMILLER23]

I missed the simple life of the 80s and early 90s.

[@SANDYMILLER23]

I meant to say I miss.

[@gauloise6442]

I miss the excitement of discovery from a time when the entire world wasnt just a click away. Import bins at the record shop or doing reports where you would call the subject you were researching and they would send you some free stuff in the mail.

[@vanillaexplosion99]

@@gauloise6442 I miss seeing pretty girls which are rare these days. Almost everybody is fat and with tattoos everywhere I go. A lot of the people I see out these days could have worked at fairs in the freakshow exhibits in days of old.

[@DonTrump-sv1si]

I like how human beings can rationalize blaming or praising whole generations of people for societies woes or successes.

[@traviskinchen2265]

I feel very grateful to have grown up when I did, to witness huge changes in the way we live our lives, and to have spent a career creating some of those changes. I wandered freely for miles on my bicycle. I remember Watergate, the fall of Saigon, hostages in Iran, Reaganomics, had friends serving in the Gulf War, crossed back and forth over the Rio Grande without any hassles or papers, had my mind blown by Nevermind. I have worked on internet technologies through ALL of the booms and busts. Someone reading this comment used code I wrote, today. I raised two millennial kids and one Z. What an amazing time to be alive, and I've got a long way to go still.

[@ChristysChannelYall]

I’m Gen X, born in 1972. I wasn’t a latchkey kid. We were poor and I grew up out in the sticks of Mississippi. My mom was a stay at home mom. I remember fondly the times before the internet and cell phones. I miss that time. It was more peaceful when you could go somewhere without a constant text or phone call or notification. People couldn’t easily bother you. We truly had the BEST music too!

[@erindanielle3675]

Gen Xer here- I’m a native Mississippian. 🖤

[@heraldomedrano1417]

I the summer I did manual labor.

[@heraldomedrano1417]

We had two chanles.

[@WillNelson73]

Generation X is the new "silent generation". Just quietly living their lives

[@jasonlefler3456]

Well said.

[@dawn_on1447]

@Ken Meyer-Landrut Never heard of a Gen Xer requiring safe spaces -- EVER -- let alone in our college years. Nor did we get participation ribbons. We won or we lost. We competed. Nor were we coddled . Our parents most certainly did NOT make excuses and defend us when we were wrong. We got our asses whipped. We experienced the consequences of OUR actions. We didn't have attitudes of entitlement nor believe what we wanted should be handed to us with no blood, sweat and tears. Never did we consider we were entitled to other people's money and the fruits of their labor -- the millennial mantra is everything free, free, free for me, me, me. We most definitely were NOT offended and whining every single minute of every day. We weren't dictating what was and was not acceptable speech, and no rioting, violence, and destruction of property to shut down the speech of people with whom we disagreed. We weren't triggered by opposing points of view. We listened, debated and conversed. We weren't MY FEELINGS OVER FACTS. We didn't harass and assault people dining in restaurants or who wore red hats -- taking it even further to their homes and family -- UNTHINKABLE. We enjoyed and lived OUR lives and left others to their own. We weren't dictating to others how to live. But most of all, WE LOVED OUR COUNTRY IN OUR YOUTH AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED. WE WEREN'T I HATE AMERICA SOCIALIST MARXIST COMMIES IN TRAINING. Baby boomers are our parents, dumb ass. There's bound to be friction. Millennials deserve every verbal beating and beat-down they get. It's called cause and effect.

[@dawn_on1447]

@Ken Meyer-Landrut Radical feminists started in the late 60s/early 70s. I was born in 1965, and I am telling you, that was not mainstream popular youth culture. Period.

[@dawn_on1447]

@Ken Meyer-Landrut I lived and came up in the 80s/90s. That shit was NOT across the nation mainstream day in and day out in your face like it is with the millennials today. You can spout as much as you like. It doesn't change the reality of the time in which I came of age.

[@dawn_on1447]

@Ken Meyer-Landrut In fact, I personally know four millennials. Two young women and two young men. They call me Aunt Dawn. Thankfully, they are sane, rational, intelligent, hard-working, and dare I say normal. My niece has shared with me the multitude of times she was harassed for wrong think on her college campus. So, you'll excuse me if I take her personal experiences as nearer the truth than your claims.

[@truthismycause2800]

You kids will never experience a time as cool and as crazy as the 80s. It was amazing how much fun and freedom we had. I was clubbing at 14 y-o! Clubs had afternoon sessions for teens lol

[@davida138]

I was born in 1965. I was exoected to find my way home from kindergarten at 5 years old. I walked. In a city. Over a mile. To say my parents were hands off is an understatement.

[@user-rk7it2dw8t]

I walked to and from school as well from kindergarten on.

[@Fenriswolf77]

Proud to be generation X!!!!! I remember just walking through all my friends doors because NO ONE had a door locked 😂 the 80’s were actually really chill.

[@dandavidson424]

Gen X is the generation that started with vinyl records--LPs and 45s, raided our parents' 8-track tapes, made mix tapes with our casettes, then bought our entire teen music library over again in CD format, before jumping on MP3s in the mid to late 90s. We saw all the teething problems of the first internet and its bulletin boards, the early days of the World Wide Web with dial ups, digital subscriber lines, then broadband. We had an old rotary phone in the house before being replaced by a cordless phone, then bought pagers before eventually leaping onto analog and later digital cell phones, then smart phones, and where we are now. I was three years old when my father brought home our first home computer. Yet, I was 19 years old before I even bothered with Windows and the more famous operating systems. I watched tech grow from 8-bit to 16-bit and on to 64 bit and beyond, all during my school years (though the last leaps were when I was in college). I grew up in the Cold War. I remember the Berlin Wall coming down. I remember the First Gulf War, the Balkan Wars, and of course, 9/11 and all that came after. I was a kid during the D&D scare--the terrifying thought that your child may be using their imagination to play in a make believe world using strange-shaped dice. Believe it or not, some parents--inspired by a bunch of greedy televangelists--considered Dungeons and Dragons a greater threat to children than drugs and unprotected sex, even during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

[@charlesbratt2504]

I remember that. Man,the bizarre hysteria just never stops. It just moves on to something else to fear.

[@cxqcxq5176]

Some of my earliest fears were getting nuked in world war 3.

[@TheBetsyBoop]

You are so right. I remember on Dec 31, 1999, when millennials were dancing to Prince’s song “1999” I wanted to shout out “do you hear what that song is talking about?”! We didn’t even know if we were going to make it to the year 2000!

[@ericaz1494]

​@@TheBetsyBoopLmao! I set my alarm to go off whenever the 1st place on earth experienced the New Year (somewhere in China), just so I could see if everything went to shit; & get a head start, if it did. When it didn't, I went back to bed!

[@TheBetsyBoop]

@@ericaz1494 that’s funny!

[@rogerwoodard4720]

Born 1966 took cre of 4 siblings, started working for my own 10 speed bike clothes, then my own car. Left home at 16 and never looked backed loved the 70s and 80s the only thing to worry about was nuclear war and we really gave that any mind. We were a generation that worked, played ,enjoyed life and the world, found our own answers to questions fixed our own things and didn't give a damn. We were a generation that was not a victim selfish self centered , self absorbed brat. I truly miss those days.

[@SimonLacey-MySleekDesigns]

I was born in 1975. I spent my entire childhood outside playing and exploring with friends. I wouldnt trade it for anything. Im still friends with my childhood friends. They are an amazing group.

[@victoriad8515]

Born in 78..I'm glad I'm in this generation...we were raised to be held accountable for our actions...we were in a society that wasn't soft...we were dependent on ourselves....to date hands down have the best music ppl today rock t shirts of bands during our time...the first cell phone I remember was huge and plugged in the car....just a great generation

[@danieldaniels7571]

I miss my first Nokia bag cell phone.

[@kevinstimelsky673]

You belong too The Greatest Generation Girl! 1969'r here!!!

[@victoriad8515]

@@JoePedo turn into stone

[@victoriad8515]

@@kevinstimelsky673 of all times...

[@victoriad8515]

@Daniel Daniels yes.. and there wasn't that unlimited deal it was per call and later when text or was per text.. calls free after 8

[@DevylsAdvocut]

As a gen Xer, what I feel defines us is our independence.. we didn’t need mommy and daddy hover around and protect us from everything; Our older boomer parents sided with teachers, etc when we acted up; It was acceptable to actually discipline your kids; School shootings didn’t happen; People actually talked to each other.. in person and on (gasp) landlines; The music was great, and it was the last real time of innocence. People were very local, we mostly didn’t have any clue what was going on in other towns around the country. We just lived the dream

[@BishopWalters12]

You know middle aged people said the same thing 30 or 40 years ago?

[@Hard-R-Energy]

The last generation before the rise of the Internet forum, where hive minds started taking over the world, and really weird niche groups started feeling "normal."

[@katie7748]

​@@BishopWalters12Tale as old as time.

[@hostileactual7655]

Well... who's the parents of the later generations that was helicoptered and told they deserve a trophy for participating? Who's the parents millennials? I'm a GEN Y (between Gen X and millennials) my kids are Gen Alpha and I'm 39....my mom was Gen X and so was my Dad and they had me very young. So Gen Z and millennials are both the product of Gen X.

[@BishopWalters12]

@@hostileactual7655 My man, Gen Y and millennials are the same generation, 81-96.

[@jt6563]

we were the feral generations. We don't have time for the drama, we have been busy raising ourselves, staying BUSY....

[@fleendarthemagnificent7372]

I am Gen X and don't regret it. Clackers, no helmets, slime, drinking from a hose, getting up early, riding my bike to the lake to fish and coming home at dark, playing Jarts, no cellphones, video games were very new, and yet, we spent most of our waking hours outside and *totally* disconnected from the world. Life was beautiful and I'd give just about anything to go back. I was not meant to exist in this era. About 1867 seems accurate for my skills and abilities since I was raised living off of what the earth provides. We had huge gardens and we hunted. I still do today.

[@WomanNextDoor]

Being Gen Xer I think we had freedoms that seems to be slowly eroded over successive generations. From films to comedy, music and socializing there was hardly any restrictions, for example many films made in the 80s would never be made today. Helicopter parenting was unheard of, if we got caught doing something we shouldn't then we'd face the consequences because we knew we were in the wrong. As teenagers we'd get Saturday jobs, summer jobs, more money for records and clothes. It was if we grew up fast but still maintained a sense of youthful curiosity and the only people we wanted to impress were either our friends or latest crush. The world wasn't our judge, our mistakes weren't fodder for countless strangers to pick over. I crave for those days now, not because I'm getting older but because of how full life seemed despite not having much. I love my generation of Xers, and I'm so grateful to have experienced one of the unique moments in time.

[@vespista1971]

I was born in 1971, and my mom was the biggest helicopter parent you could imagine. I often say, I lived through all the history and pop culture of Gen X, but was raised more like a Millennial somehow lol

[@eliv.7062]

Speaking words of wisdom. 💯

[@auntypc4791]

Perfectly said.

[@DevonRexLady]

Well said! 👏

[@milesblue638]

GenX is stuck raising kids and caring for older parents.

[@bnferguson9827]

Amen to that!

[@dystopian2153]

So true....

[@gauloise6442]

Thats not GenX but all middle age people past, present and future

[@thetrollspuppeteer5121]

My mom is gen x and my dad born in 1950s shithead and they suck and aren't helpful at all

[@ratface1208]

Well without your parents you probably would have never been born

[@julievanhouten7816]

We are the last generation that will remember life before and after the internet. When life and mankind changed forever.

[@Avievan91]

I’m a Gen X , we paved the way for so many things , and go unrecognised, the good thing about us is , we don’t need recognition or shout about it . Respect to my peers who made this world a much more exciting place ❤

[@saramcgaha1406]

I appreciate the lack of cell phone cameras in the 80s and 90’s 😂

[@karmaalstad5588]

No one will ever know the hour to week long wait to get film developed, like us older folk (Gen X here).

[@FluxNomad678]

​​@@karmaalstad5588 Yeah take that stuff to the Fotomat lol

[@rtyria]

It certainly made it easier for me to go through family photos and remove every one of me with that hideous hair cut my mother insisted I get. Oh yes, I won't miss those 80's hair styles.

[@karmaalstad5588]

@VR Wanderings You mean One Hour Western Photo Center, right lil'shooter. It shut down way back when insta downloading to computers to print off and Wal-Mart.

[@DMK48906]

Amen!

[@Oggystein]

As a Gen Xer I remember back in elementary school, my teacher taught us about the generations. Went into the "greatest generation" and how they beat Hitler in WWII, about the Boomers and how many believed they rode coattails of their parents. So we asked what our generation was. She told us Generation X was considered the "lost" generation or that we were simply forgotten. Even back then it was prophetic. She went on to say most people view our generation as lazy and apathetic. Not sure if it means anything but half my class was asleep and the other half didn't care

[@rtyria]

LOL!!! That's accurate.

[@fatboitino2]

Then, the Millenials- taking it to the next level. The younger sibling of the ordeal! The more guided and less independent! Hopefully, we stop the downward trend and the upcoming generation gets frustrated with needed so much physical and emotional support

[@jasonm1827]

I would stop caring too if my teacher told me my generation was the lost generation and just lazy and forgotten.

[@fatboitino2]

@@jasonm1827 They probably didn't know it at the time- hahah, but- imagine the immense pressure of the immediate generations prior.

[@margaretgarlando7911]

sounds about right

[@michaelgrammatopoulosmurphy]

The insight gen x has into technology is unmatched by previous and following generations. Having lived through the evolution of personal computers, we always know how to think of out-of-the-box ways of using it, while maintaining a healthy distance when necessary.

[@michaelmartz8426]

Others have claimed Gen-X was a feral generation. Agreed. We tend to keep to ourselves and avoid the drama created by others.

[@orestmakar8562]

Gen X ware born before the computer revolution but grew up with computers and witnessed how they changed society for better and for worse. In a way gen x understands bouth the boomers and millenials who lack this common perspective.

[@DKC_Returns]

Millenial here. I can agree with that. I find that Gen Xers are easy to relate to, far more than baby boomers. You guys were our older brothers and our pop culture heroes. In fact, I feel more connected to Gen X than Gen Z. Millenials definitely remember prank calling on 3-way phone lines, hanging out at the mall, and going to arcades.

[@Email5507]

Generation Z will have big impact on the world, they are not idiot boomers or weak milennials. Far better than them, If we put internet along there generation Z already will reach the god level on this world. This is the generation you grew up X and Milennials, those monster generation are away from control. You will not control us but we will control you, our sons Beta Generation will be your nightmares on the path you will see.

[@DKC_Returns]

@@Email5507 Wow... mkay. Hate to say it, but Gen Z is gonna face the same problems as Gen X: low population. Gen X had a hard time being heard and making moves in the world because they were so many Boomers in control of the world their whole life, and they were overlooked. Sorry to say it, but I fear the same happening to Gen Z. Not that it's really all that big of deal though.

[@oochiewally2783]

@@DKC_Returns yup sounds true just like when my father's Silent Gen was stuck in the middle with the Greatest n Boomers those things can happen with the younger

[@orestmakar8562]

ÖLÜMLÜHAYATBUGÜNVARSINYARINYOKSUN One of the biggest threats future generations will have to face will be disinformation and foreighn propaganda aka informational warefare waged by trolls on behalf of rough foreighn states and organisations. These rough states (dictatorships, authoritarian states) will use the young people of their countries (cyber terrorists) to promote their ultra conservative, authoritarian agenda to Western liberal democracies by creating an illusion of suport of authoritarian and backwards ultra conservative ideas and spreading conflict between different age, gender, race and political groups with the goal to trigger them into rate against one another. Back in my day (lol) we told such people to „fuck off”, and just like in the songs of one of my favorite Punk rock bands from the 90’s The Offspring to all younger generations i would say „if you take home anything let it be the will to think” and not really on what random people on the internet say, no matter how many of them seam to suport agree and thumbs up the conservative agenda promoted by some backwards authoritarian state. All generations are different because they had different experiances that is why they have a problem to understand each others perspective. In no way one generation is better than the onter. If you do not understand this then you are either stupid, arrogant and/or sponsored by some rough backwards state to promote such agenda.

[@evangelion2894]

Gen X = The generation stuck with cleaning up the messes of the other generations.

[@francisdrake6622]

Aint that the truth

[@Ninja1live]

Yes....There are not enough of US to do the job. Gen X need to start popping out gen "Alpha" while there's still time! Baby making window is closing!!!! :)

[@tacitdionysus3220]

Gen X - The generation that blames all other generations other than themselves for pretty much everything..

[@francisdrake6622]

@@tacitdionysus3220 Hmmm...why do you say that?

[@drinkthekoolaidkids]

Gen X here , I'm stuck with trying to keep my ass alive , to old to start over to young to give up , parents getting old , grown kids who still dont know what they want to do , two divorces, ..... fuk this , take me back to when Billy Idol was a M.T.V mainstay...

[@johnkeane1419]

We were the first generation to truly drop religion, too.

[@basquo2]

All of us in gen x were raised feral, with little to no supervision growing up. We had to figure out our own fixes to our problems, had to deal with our own life issues and even had to figure out our own medical knowledge when something bad happened. We dealt with life on our own. We expected everybody to be self-sufficient enough to do the same. I guess we were wrong

[@erichansen7210]

I love how he wraps the video by saying what GenX has to do to prove ourselves and show we are doing the right thing. The fact that we don't care what others think, and that we couldn't care less about proving anything to anybody is what makes us GenX! LMAO!

[@MaryDunford]

Agreed.

[@WomanNextDoor]

They have no idea just how much we don't care. Bless them.

[@user-wh5ir4fo4r]

@@AM-ji5pi Your first sentence--no, that's us, but only a portion. The nutter MAGAs are GenX, not millennials. And they were raised by the unhinged portion of the Boomer gen.

[@kam2162]

He sounded like a liberal Millennial to this Gen Xer.

[@AllenLinnenJr]

Hes a millennial and millennials all expect to be handed success.

[@triciag3311]

I was born in 1971, and I'm so glad to be Gen X. I couldn't have picked a better time to be born and grow up in if I had a choice!

[@lxcameron406]

Same 71 model here too

[@MontagZoso]

Agreed. Loved being an MTV kid. 😎👍

[@MontagZoso]

@Martin Wheatley yep, you got that right!

[@jgalt5002]

we are well balanced

[@patrickancona1193]

Greatest generation hands down, they raised me & actually saved the world, they were & knew real Americans, then boomer cuz they hogged all the last of the American dream then US, tho we had the best music

[@samhain1388]

They had to make commercials to remind our parents about us. “It’s 10 o’clock, do you know where your children are?”

[@justinalexander1434]

1977, and this is very true other than the video game part. We all went to a friends house that had the new game. lol