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Thread: Gen X, does it matter

  1. #1
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    Gen X, does it matter

    I saw another couple articles over the last weeks that focused on millennial and boomers, as a Gen X generation I am not sure what to think. Of course there is annoyance at times, there is a whole generation that is forgotten, but does it really matter if we are considered in all the media or public policy, or anything? If the government and powers that be are taking care of boomer needs and millennial needs then I am sure we will get our basic societal needs met. Which is the question, do we have any different needs that need to be addressed? We are all affected by taxes and public policies, and we all have different circumstances even if we have a generation in common, so it probably doesn't matter.

    On a side note, I find that many in my generational age group don't really know that we are Gen X but also don't really care.

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    I feel that Gen X was the transitional generation between the landlines and cell phone cultures. They have some of their parent's values, but just started breaking away. Millennials are like a whole different animal. Their lives are much different than my life was as a Baby Boomer. ZG, you may remember when there were no cell phones, or twitter or Facebook, but the new technology is a part of the Millennial DNA. They know nothing else.

    You were an adult when the recession hit: the Millennials may have seen their families lose their McMansions.

    My kids were born between 1978 and 1985 so they bridge Gen X and Gen Y.

    So Gen X is kind of sandwiched in-between two ways of life that are vastly different. That's why you guys don't get as much attention. In terms of needs, I think you guys appreciate the responsibility of work and family, but you're more likely to take advantage of resources to get it all done. My generation was "Bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan" and my younger kids are like: We don't even want responsibility at all.

    My DIL sent me an article this weekend that 65% of Millennials typically have buyers remorse after they buy a house because they didn't realize that you have to pay for your own maintenance. Duh. But that's a good example of a generation that wants life with no strings attached.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    None of my kids are having kids or buying homes. They don’t want to be bothered and they are between ages 39-45.

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    Senior Member Simplemind's Avatar
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    My son is a millennial. Although he is very responsible to the responsibilities he has, he doesn't want very many. Never wants to own a home, never wants animals (but loves to visit the family dog he left behind, dog and house sits) and NEVER wants kids. My husbands kids are in their mid-30's and they want no animals or children but do enjoy home ownership. All are looking to make money now, play and retire early.

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    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
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    Maybe if you wait long enough you'll get blamed for everything that's wrong in the world like the Boomers are currently. Maybe by the children of the Millennials. I tell people to blame the Silents---they're the ones who had so many danged kids.
    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

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    Many women, not all certainly, had kids because that happens when you have sex. In today's world, it is within each woman's power to control whether she had kids. Maybe more will be wanted instead of resented.

    With the price of housing such a multiple of a reasonable salary and what was seen in the 2008 crash, I can certainly see why home ownership has lost its bloom. It also ties the young down to a physical location and makes moving for a job so much more difficult.

    With the costs many kids have, certainly not all, with student loans, car payments and the necessary phone and data plans, there is just less money in their pockets.

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    My two young millennials are married homeowners. They are planning to wait longer than we did to have kids. My youngest is genz.

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    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    My kids spend their money on travel versus things. They are much better traveled than us.

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    My kids are the millennials who are basically making it but not very easily. There is not a choice between homes and travel because they can't afford either of them, but they are very good responsible people. 2 of them manage others, which is not easy. I feel like some of the things we went through, and my own personality, helped them become good people for working with others.

    I don't want to blame any generation for everything! My parents are the younger silent generation and then my siblings and I are Gen X so we are all left out the media focus. I do recall being called slackers and irresponsible before the millennials. Gen X is the first generation to not do as well as their parents. We also have overall shown to be good parents, more open to changing male/female roles, and interested in a work-life balance. However even that is suspect, by what standards, over what period of time, in what countries/cultures? It all raises more questions rather than answering things.

    The one thing I have noticed, and it has come up a couple times in the last year, is that on an interpersonal level there is sometimes an assumption that we are all really boomers or that we know the culture or we at least all value the culture. When I was talking to someone about the sexual misconduct blow up in my buddhist world she mentioned that since 'we' had free love it was bound to happen. The teacher responsible for sexual misconduct and I are in the same generation so we came of age with Aids, not freedom. That is a huge difference in how we experience relationships and sex. My son also had a customer get really frustrated with him (he runs the meat/seafood counter and has regular customers) because he didn't know some classic music that every boomer would likely know. The customer was frustrated and assumed that at least his parents listened to this music. My son answered he was raised with Clash and Metalicca, not Simon and Garfunkel. It just took a lot in both cases to explain that we had different experiences. I have had that too in religious ways, I was raised Christian but honestly don't try to remember it. All the unconscious references I hear are interesting, but I don't relate to them.

    I tend to get frustrated with assumptions and want to poke holes in them, play the counter opinion. That means I don't want to make assumptions about a group as large as the boomers. I find the people in that age range are wonderfully diverse. Also the assumptions tend towards white, working or middle class, heterosexual, American born, etc.

  10. #10
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    "I don't want to make assumptions about a group as large as the boomers. I find the people in that age range are wonderfully diverse."
    I think you make a great point here, Zoe Girl. I worked in a dept of over 40 people. The managers were Gen X and almost all of the employees were millennials. I had a unique team in that environment that was made up of 2 boomers, 2 gen xers, 2 millennials and 2 gen zers (my HS interns). I found the generalizations based on generational group to be more of a fun parlor game than anything else (like what's your zodiac sign). I did of course see valid differences between older and younger workers, but that's not quite the same thing.

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