What is Generation X? It’s Complicated.

The birth years for Generation X have changed quite a bit over the years, according to people who make these decisions. So, who really is a part of Gen X? I went down a bit of a rabbit hole. Here's what I found.

[@chatwithaninja]

All of the entertainment at the time brought our generation together. All of the entertainment now drives us apart. I was working as a chef in fine dining in Atlanta in the early 90's and we were all excited about the Mission Impossible film, so we played a "guess the movie line" game for about 3 hours. NO ONE missed a movie quote. Females, males, younger bussers, older head chef, and even foreign maitre D's were getting in on it.

[@flazada]

1980 here.......I am a Gen X/millennial cusp but i relate to a lot of Gen X nostalgia. I love a good look back. Thanks for making the channel

[@wvu05]

8:46 And if you're a late Generation Xer who went to grad school, unless you want to live in an economically depressed era or somehow manage to get something way below market price, you're not getting any house.

[@mr_black2157]

I'm 41, born in 1983. I always felt odd being called a millennial. It's putting me in the same category of people who didn't have the same experiences. That i had growing up. On the other end, Gen Z treats me like i'm a Boomer. Because of my personality. Possibly feeling like we have less in common. My point is I feel closer to Gen X than millennials. I'm so glad I found your channel. It's like I found a hidden piece of my past.

[@missladyanonymity]

Fact-a-rooney!

[@shelleyroper588]

I feel the same way! Born in '83! I don't have much in common with younger millennials. I consider myself and my upbringing to be very genX. I'm xinnial for sure. ❤

[@germannoesoto625]

'83 baby here. I identify as Gen-X, but heard we are Xenials.

[@gissellest333]

I was born in 1982 and feel the same.

[@tohafi]

Man, those old interviews are depressing...nothing is new. Every 10-20 years the same conversations...

[@TwistedLullabies]

Humans never change

[@jodywinter8171]

1971 baby here. I was born in and grew up in New Zealand but many of the cultural references in this compilation describe Kiwi Gen Xers. I highly recommend Chuck Klosterman's book The Nineties (I listened to the audio book twice). It really helped me to understand how lucky my generation was and is. We grew up in such a (relatively) quiet time in history and we benefited from growing up pre-internet yet were young enough to fully embrace it once it really took off in the early 2000s. And I think growing up with the fear of nuclear war and AIDS shaped our approach to life in many ways.

[@flazada]

Thank you for the book recommendation. I needed a new one!

[@NickyByloo]

Excellent work as usual. My childhood had both my parents working, the satanic panic era, T.V., VHS, collecting A-Team cards, He-Man figures, BMX, ATARI, coin-op machines at the local store, and drive-ins.

[@Darthhusker]

I was born the same year as yourself. My father lived in a home without running water and now my sons live in an age where the collective knowledge of the planet is in the palm of their hand. I'm proud that I'm part of the generational bridge between the old world and the new. Thanks for this retrospective.

[@cebukid70]

I am ever do grateful to have lived life in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, when life and society was relatively normal. 1970 here

[@phantomartist9425]

Normal for white people😂

[@flazada]

Generations should be EVERY DECADE we think of our lives in terms of decades. Just makes more sense to me way less confusion

[@tjcaruthers5593]

I was born in 1977. For a long time I didn't feel completely in GenX, but to mature to be a millinial. Then I read something that mentioned microgenerations. It showed something like 1977-1981 are the Mtv generation. And for some reason it felt right. So I am a member of the Mtv Generation. Seriously, I have barely anything in common with the GenXers born from 1965 to about 1974. But I share some love for some of the music and yeah. Maybe I relate to some of the Boomers from like 1957-1964. I don't know. All I know is the Boomers are limiting the amount of time Xers have to be in power before Gen Y takes over. We are a small generation.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

I was born in 77…and as I talked about in the video, there is a micro generation called xennials born between 76 and 84. those are my people. I have nothing in common with someone born in 1967. But I have a lot in common with someone born in 1982.

[@gissellest333]

@@mysocalledgenxlife Exactly.

[@tomtravis3077]

Alright, no more Herbie Hancock as background music. I had to stop the video midway, get out some cardboard, and do some break dancing.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

😂😂😂😂

[@FionaEm]

That song was huge in Australia. Now it's stuck in my head again 😅

[@torchwoodgal]

I would add that my Gen X generation is a resilient one. We had to be.

[@johncollins1884]

@mysocalledgenxlife Natalie, do you have a degree in anthropology and or sociology? If not, you should. - Your presentations are thought-provoking and fascinating.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

Thank you! My degree is in journalism and business communications. But I did take a lot of sociology and culture classes in school and have a major obsession with 20th century American history and pop culture.

[@WickedScott]

Awesome video! Love the archival footage. I myself was born in 1969, so people think my usernames are naughty, but it's my birth year! What's funny about this is seeing childhood and adolescence etc in a historical context. It's just stuff that happened but looking back makes it all look so strange and distant yet familiar and comforting.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

I completely agree. I considered putting more of an essay at the end talking about that…but I opted to just let the footage speak for itself. And lucky you with the naughty usernames 😂😂

[@WarPanda]

As someone born in the same year you speak of I hear your pain and share your occasional smirks.

[@Theospeak1]

Another great video Natalie, nailed it! A formal dress and 30 seconds in front of a news set with a professional projector behind you and you're better than Connie Chung, Leslie Stahl, or any of the current news aggregator / commentary correspondents (a la 60 Minutes). Dead serious. You're one of the few true aggregators / commentators still left in our nation. I hope you see this as a calling and never stop making these videos! You and Benny Johnson are pretty much my news and commentary now.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

Thank you so much! I will start doing some on camera work soon. But I really like the idea of curating and aggregating vintage media. I think that’s my ultimate goal with this channel.

[@brenthays6539]

Remember when we only had a 4.5 trillion dollar debt? Good times.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

The good old days!

[@kennek1976]

and only 2 sexes, sigh

[@chrisdaugherty8265]

@@kennek1976 Yep, common sense has went out the door the last few years.

[@xandercruz900]

Born in 78. I did find some of the news clips funny in how we all had the same issues that Zoomers had but we really just sucked it up and pulled it out of our arses. i mean, what good is whining going to do when you got bills to pay? My two older sisters and I were definitely those latchkey kids too. Mom worked from 6am-3pm, and dad worked from 3pm-1am, so we had from 2-4 to get home, get inside, make something to eat, and watch TV.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

That’s what really got me too…how similar Gen x issues were to Gen Z. It was a bit surprising because I don’t really remember it that way. But maybe that’s because we didn’t really whine. We made it work.

[@gator7082]

@@mysocalledgenxlife I think they did the same thing back then that they do now, base all of their interviews in places like NYC or LA and project onto the rest of the country, the exception being the Wisconsin gal.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

@@gator7082 excellent point. That could be an idea for a future video topic. Thank you!

[@jonv570]

boy I could make some really good toast back in the day

[@alistertowelie]

Not me getting emotional bc I was born in the wrong generation lol

[@gissellest333]

I was born in 1982, and TBH, I feel part of Gen X more than I do Millenials. By Gen X I mean older Gen X like those born in the mid to late 70s. I have siblings born in the early 70s and we had NOTHING in common while I was growing up. I hate the movie Reality Bites.

[@ultimateformulations]

This is awesome! I had a similar logo and thought it would be funny. Seriously is a good vid !

[@Poppaea-Sabina]

I used to call my mom at work at least 4 times when I came home after school. I was a latchkey kid from age 9, and I was totally OK with being home alone by age 12.

[@mismissy]

Same

[@1walicki]

When my class entered 1st grade (‘80/‘81) the school discovered we were trouble because we broke all the rules and didn’t care.. ‘they’ had a very difficult time controlling and keeping us inline. Many new rules were created after we young Xers schooled the adults… we were the Best but also the Worst; and we loved every minute playing with our environment!

[@TheInnerParty]

Professor of economics across three decades here. Contrast this generation with GenZ, who increasingly actually have their mothers accompany them to the first day of university. This never used to happen, now at least once or twice each semester. Sometimes it even involves confrontation. I'm sorry mom, you can't sit in the class with your 18-year-old adult son. You haven't paid tuition. And I really think little Johnny could have found his way to the classroom by himself.

[@n.d.m.515]

Both of my parents accompanied me to University in the early 90s, but they would never follow to a classroom.

[@MegaZboo]

I remember when the cell phone subject would come up when starting to become known, someone would pull out a quarter and would say, I have my cell phone.

[@dwayneeutsey8162]

I was born in 1964 and I have never felt I was part of the Boomer generation. Growing up in the shadow of The Counterculture (TM), the Boomer ethos had an influence on me, of course. However, I actually hated a lot of Boomer icons when i was growing up in the late '60s/'70s and didn't understand what the hell happened in Vietnam, Watergate, etc., until I was almost out of high school. My sensibilities were always more in line with Gen X in the late '80s/early '90s, although I wasn't in the thick of all that, either. Honestly, the older I get the less I think these generational labels really mean much of anything at all.

[@SkorLord]

I think your channel is Rad! I am really enjoying your content!

[@thomasciuffreda8783]

My oldest cousins are Gen X, born in the '70's, my brother and I are Milllenials,. My oldest cousins' kids are Gen Z My youngest cousins are now having kids. So mind-blowing that their can be so many generations in families now. The sheer size of media and tech avaiable to the new gen is insane compared to Gen X. I think they won't really have a set identity because the Internet has transformed how we consume entertainment,

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

I agree about the generational identity and the changing consumption of entertainment. I’ve been kicking around a video about it. It’s almost like movies and tv ended with Gen x. Or at least it’s cultural domination

[@missmagillicutty6721]

1980 here. I have found my people 💯😎❤️

[@gninenine]

I want to say first that this is so well done, the effort and passion you put into creating this is obvious!!! I was born in 1987 and so I have always felt kindred to those of you who identify as Gen X. When I was a kid you guys were late teens / early 20's I though you all were the coolest (especially my neighbor who had a purple under-glow kit on his mini truck lol). I distinctly remember getting the internet (we got Prism first) but I also feel it's ubiquity in my life and cant answer the question "what did you do before the internet". I don't think that it's necessarily possible to define generations based off of a date range of birth. My oldest sister was 19 when I was born and had her daughter when I was 1 years old. My sister and I were both raised by boomers and yet came to adulthood in very different times. Being an early millennial or a late Gen X'er is a really weird place to be in terms of observing and participating in the world. The same can be said for the gen Z'ers I know who where born in the mid / late 1990's. All of them identify with millennials far more that the generation that they are technically classified as a part of. Part of the unique vantage point I have, having been been old enough to be aware of the viewpoints and opinions you Gen X'ers had about the world in your 20's, is the many parallels you and Gen Z'ers now in their early 20's share in terms of those viewpoints and opinions but without the fog of nostalgia that may Gen X'ers now have.

[@gator7082]

That was quality work, it really does paint a picture.

[@JoshuaDb_The_Witness]

omg! i totally remember that "chuckle head" segment !!

[@olw4196]

Hey you guysssss!🏴‍☠️

[@XimaWarriorPrincess]

I’m looking to connect with fellow Gen. Xers because once again, we have no roadmap for where we are at now, the old ways are garbage and the new language and tools aren’t yet available to us. We have to once again pave the way forward to tear down tradition and find the new. Apathetic my ass. We just used non-compliance as a form of passive resistance. Where are my fellow “apathetic” warriors? How are we connecting? I know we are out here, stand up!!

[@danielherrin]

I remember most of the stuff in this video.

[@missmagillicutty6721]

The Monarch generation IYKYK

[@1011skarn]

Because of technology, generations have progressed faster. I think the years need to be adjusted. Born in the 70s, a kid in the 80s, teen in 1990, I do not relate at all to a GenXer born in the 1960s, and they act way more like Boomers than Genxers.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

I think you are right. I have plans to dive deeper into this topic in future videos. Thanks for your comment!

[@tonyb7615]

The more things change. The more they stay the same.

[@314159vedic]

My sister has said throughout our lives that the boomers are going to wreck everything. It's hard not to agree. The focus certainly has been on them. At least in my country. They took all the best jobs. We had to deal with them in their prime. The 1980s into the 1990s were a time of mergers and NAFTA. So many good jobs just went bye bye.

[@flazada]

It's fascinating how neil said @17:12 that attitudes towards children are changing.......my son is 21 100% Gen Z, and he doesnt want kids. None of his friends want kids........in another 20 years we are going to see a sharp population decline in thr united atates because of this alone. I dont necessarily think its a bad thing either.

[@constantlyenthused336]

Everything changes and yet nothing changes at all. Superb video.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

Thank you!

[@WickedScott]

Yup. Winona Ryder never ages

[@dhtsoaedsdhtnadi9575]

part fact and part my opinion the lucky few came of age between ww2 and the cultural revolution of the 1960s. this period, at least in the united states, was marked by no significant change in geopolitics, technology, economy, or social values. i'm not aware of any subgroups here aside from those related to art and entertainment. boomers had an early, mid, and late period. the early boomers came of age during a culture revolution that divided the entire generation between conservative establishment and progressive anti-establishment. the middle boomers continued the revolution into the 1970s with the sexual revolution, which wasn't just about adventures in the act but the state of being and equal rights amendment. the two sides of the revolution continued in opposition to each other, with one side clinging to put a ring on it and women maintaining their place (not every woman was in favor of the amendment), and the other side experimenting with polyamory and demanding equal pay for equal work. late boomers in the early 80s saw a time that was less about change and more about battling over where the line would settle. the conservative establishment made their greatest gains at restoring pre-revolution order during this time, but ultimately failed, perhaps because it presumed too much. for gen x, the subgroups tend to be in 3-year increments as geopolitics, technology, economy, social values, and pop-culture shifted rapidly. gen x is not enough context. you pretty much have to give year of birth. this is perhaps truest of the cuspers called xennials, of which i'm a part. we were the target age for things like inspector gadget but we also got in on a-team when we were trying to keep up with the older gen-x, and as we came of age we were the target audience for shows like party of 5 but still watched bobby's world because we didn't want to grow up. much of the pop-culture we consumed was escapism from bickering boomers. in the states, i feel like we're the silent political middle. like, hey, equal pay for equal work ain't a bad thing, but maybe there are some jobs women excel at because they are women, and some jobs men excel at because we're men. these jobs shouldn't be closed off, but if you enter a job that is traditionally the domain of one or the other, maybe don't come in like you're invading normandy? and suddenly the great e.r.a. debate is solved (albeit moot since the amendment died). but no, boomers are still in control in DC and gen-x is marginalized, partly our own doing too since we're perhaps the most apathetic generation when it comes to voting. i feel like hawkeye chanting WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE

[@ultrablue2]

I remember at the end of the ‘80’s/ early ‘90’s all of these news stories (read almost entirely by boomers) about “who is Gen X and what are they all about?” I remember all the movies and shows they made to try and pander to us, and it always irritated me. I remember all the 90’s (grunge) music and how the lyrics portrayed how fractured and tortured they were and thinking “this isn’t who I am, is my entire age group this broken?”, while the rest of the music seemed plastic and artificial. I also recall all the “edgy” products and marketing from the ‘90’s all aimed at what others thought I wanted, all of it trash. It seems that for much of my life the prior generations tried to define and package what I and the entirety of Gen X is, and in the process completely miss the mark.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

I am starting to realize this now as I look back on all this vintage media. I must confess, I didn’t realize it at the time. I was their ultimate consumer.

[@ultrablue2]

@@mysocalledgenxlife The boomer generation has always bugged me, because for almost the entirety to their lives they have controlled their generational image; in the 1960’s they “rebelled” against society, created their own music and image. In the 1970’s their influences crept into the rest of the culture, corrupting it. In the 1980’s, they decided to grow up and take control, going yuppie and corporate. In the 1990’s and beyond they dug into politics and settled into being the ruling class as they slowly have aged out; but from on high, they tried to define all of the later generations in their eyes. I remember boomers on television programs looking at my generation and scoffing, saying we were “slackers”; I’m sorry, but wasn’t it you and your ilk in your twenties at Woodstock, sliding around in the mud minus your clothes talking about your “free love”? That seemed the epitome of irony. Generation X has had to deal with the results and the blowback of the boomers; the only good thing is that there millennial offspring seem to carry disdain for them and their ways. It’s a case of you reap what you sow.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

@@ultrablue2 I think your comments here have inspired a future video 😊thank you so very much for sharing.

[@kieraingeaney6437]

@@ultrablue2 millennial here that last part of your comment is a generalisation that doesn’t apply to me, being born with a disability I’ve actually found more acceptance and tolerance towards me FROM the boomers and Xers I know than my own generation, however I’m the exception not the rule I realise that and I’m okay with that

[@CozyOats]

2:03 😂 I also flirt like this.

[@Idellphany]

Wow this is great! Thank you. I'm born in '81 so I've always looked up to my older Gen X cousins.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

I’m starting a movement to include the early 80s babies again. 😂😂 you’re an Xer in my book.

[@DyenamicFilms]

I call us Gen X'ers the "Korean War Veterans" of generations.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

Oh I like that!

[@gillethsandico]

@17:00 the 13th generation

[@missmagillicutty6721]

I know right?!! 😮

[@lavondabland3179]

Okay chart and info at 16:05 is uh, no just no no no no no. Anyone else see it 😨?

[@flazada]

The man @42:25 is only 28 people! 28!!!

[@grayj7441]

The children of Nam

[@centurybeta2112]

Great clips!!!!! Damn, this is it! 😆

[@kieraingeaney6437]

i'm a millennial but most of (if not all) my friends are Gen X and boomers, i use records and tapes and i've seen the Challenger disaster and most of the movies i watched as a kid were from the 80s and early 90s i may be millennial by definition but spiritually i consider myself an X

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

I consider you an honorary Xer. Did you ever drink out of a garden hose? 😊

[@kieraingeaney6437]

Probably when I was very little, I also remember a time without the internet and smart phones mobile phones (as we call them in in Australia) when I was little in the 90s were bricks that lasted you literal years my mother had a late 90s Nokia that she didn’t get replaced til around 2006

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

@@kieraingeaney6437 if you remember life before internet and cell phones, then you are definitely an honorary Xer. Or maybe a Xennial like me? They are born 77-83. I’m a 77 baby.

[@kieraingeaney6437]

@@mysocalledgenxlife no I was born in 1992 but in the 90s my family (as well as many others) didn’t have the internet, we got dial up in 2002 right as broadband was coming in lol my oldest sister was born 1984 and by a lot of the new definitions coming out it sounds like she’s a xennial (barely as I’ve seen Xennial end as late as 1985)

[@corymiller536]

​@@kieraingeaney6437you're born in the 90s??? You're straight a millennial without a doubt

[@sjeangilles1]

This is awesome!

[@clarky417]

i am 57 and definitely a latchkey kid. I love the 80s great time to be alive.

[@ferdinandcastagnera794]

The Millennial generation is born after the turn of the century, not before!! Generation Z is also born after the turn of the century & not before!!

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

No…millennials are 1981 to 1996. And Gen z began before the turn of the century.

[@ferdinandcastagnera794]

@@mysocalledgenxlife Let's keep in mind two things: #1) Your stupid!! #2) I'm always right!!

[@FionaEm]

I'm Australian, but an awful lot of these clips ring true. Gen X in Australia was the first generation since the Depression to experience job insecurity, particularly in the white collar sector where corporate takeovers and downsizing eradicated any illusions we may have had about 'jobs for life'. We learned there was no such thing as an 'entitlement' to an easy ride; the world didn't owe us a living. We had great pop culture though, which I'll always be grateful for 😊

[@tiggerthetosh]

I’m an elder millennial and I’ve always admired and envied Gen X. It’s hard not to wish I was just a few years older.

[@Sweetanabel17]

My Parents are gen x And this video reminds me what they Say about their childhood

[@nerd1858]

Wow that Coupland author didn't know anything

[@jillyfae4895]

Born at the end of 1960, I don't remember Kennedy's assassination, I do remember the moon landing, but couldn't understand the fuss. I don't remember Nixon's resignation (I was an early teen but politics weren't important) and I resent being considered a Boomer because of being in limbo at the end of a year. "Oh, she was born in 1960, she's a Boomer." Nope! I had divorced parents, was a latchkey kid etc, etc. To decide Gen X started in '65 rather than '61 is stupid. In fact, Gen X should actually start in '60. I agree with you completely! Your videos are great and totally resonate with me!

[@joanhoffmann871]

I was born in ‘65 - my older sister was born in ‘63 and she’s the very definition of Gen X. Our Boomer parents raised us with zero empathy, she rebelled by becoming a social worker. No way is she a Boomer.

[@corymiller536]

​@@joanhoffmann871you're parents weren't boomers they were part of the silent generation

[@RadioMartyT1B]

Sorry Boomer....

[@candybanks8717]

"Teach your kids to dial 911"? Isn't that just the last two words of the sentence? I'm an older X, so I remember before 911 and before all the moms went to work. Before that, if you had a horrible day at school, mom was waiting at home and had the power to make it all go away, even if you didn't tell her what happened. Most of us were prevented or killed by the Pill or abortion because we were "cramping their style". We were the first suicide generation, but our numbers were too low to make an impact nationally. I myself was profoundly blessed to have the parents and family I did. Many of my classmates weren't so lucky. For youngsters now, it's far, far worse. Social trauma doesn't end with the 3 0'clock school bell, with social media, it's just getting started. My heart breaks for them.

[@PrettyPennyTV]

Are you aware that the author of Generation X is a Canadian Boomer?

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

Did you watch the video? I made it clear he was born in 1961 and the original definition of Gen x was 1961-1971.

[@PrettyPennyTV]

@@mysocalledgenxlife Um, No. Actually that wasn't At first, it was 1965 to 1983, then it was changed to 1965 to 1980.

[@mysocalledgenxlife]

@@PrettyPennyTV this video is literally about the changing definitions of Gen X over the years from different sources. If that’s what you believe, fine. But I spent hours researching this and reading tons of books, news articles, and watching hours of news footage from the 80s and 90s. The first person to call us Gen x was Coupland. Who defined it as 1961-1971. Then Strauss and Howe changed it to 1961-1981. Then it changed many times after. You can argue with me all you want, but I stand on the work I did to make this video. You obviously didn’t watch it and are here to make critical comments. Thanks for the engagement.

[@jonv570]

​@prettypennyschannel champ you're wrong, she's done a great job creating this video and you want to play whos got the biggest dik, well done.

[@Elsewhen404]

My age group, Natalie, the last one to have ANY common sense.