AfterBaby Boomersbut beforeMillennialsisGeneration X , the people abide between the period of 1965 and 1980 . With an age mountain range of 41 to 56 , these family were the first to get hip to the cyberspace , wearparachute pants , and worry thatY2Kwas drop dead to ruin the globe .
But there ’s more to this category of humans than’90s denotation . Check out some thing you may not have realise about the inarguably dopest generational construct .
1. The term Generation X came from a novel.
In his 1991 debutGeneration X : story for an Accelerated Culture , generator Douglas Couplandwantedto recontextualize untried members of the Baby Boomer multiplication , or people born after the end of World War II . Helabeledthe newer , more voteless chemical group Generation X after reading a 1983 book titledClassby Paul Fussell . Fussell usedXto relate to people who want to outdistance themselves from the social struggle for class status and professional halo . It was perfect for Coupland ’s mold of characters in search of their own identities .
2. Gen X generally applies to people born between 1965 and 1980.
Coupland ’s record inadvertently create a label for those bear between 1965 and 1980 . Reflecting on the moment , Coupland said that buzzword likeslackerandgrungewere hit at around the same time and had many of the same connotations . The book ’s initial printing was n’t a big success , but Richard Linklater’sSlackerand the new Seattle sound create something of a cultural movement . As Coupland wrote , “ Two ’s nothing , but three ’s a trend . ” And thus , Gen X stuck .
3. Billy Idol was an early adopter of the term.
While Coupland madeGeneration Xstick to a genesis of people , the terminal figure did pop up in other places before his book . In the 1950s , war lensman Robert Capatitleda portfolio profile vernal adultsGeneration X. And though rock musician Billy Idol is a Baby Boomer , he may have helped theGen Xterm gain ground in pop culture . When Idol was first starting out on the punk rock scenery , his London - based banding wasnamedGeneration X after a 1964 book on — what else — sociology ( though to be vindicated , that al-Qur’an wasfocusedon the teenager of 1960s England ) .
Despite some assumptions , Coupland said Idol did not enliven the title of his book , although perhaps he wishes it had been Idol getting all the quotation .
In 1995 , Coupland said he was tired of being stereotype as a Gen X - pert and had to repeatedly turn down invitations from politicians and consumer company to advise them on how to reach the demographic . Considering some of these invites come with crack of $ 10,000 just to babble and he still said no , Coupland must really have been burn off out on the issue .
4. Gen X has been called “The MTV generation.”
Before Coupland ’s full term became entrenched , soda pop culture pundits try on a variety of different names todescribepeople in their twenties who wanted to break off from the Boomer generation . Some of the idea that were floated includedtheforgotten genesis , the sister baby buster generation , thelost propagation , the doofus generation , the twentynothings , benumbed and dumb , the thirteeners — because some believe they ’re the 13th generation , count on when in American history you start counting — andthe MTV propagation .
The latter may have been a bit of self - do merchandising on MTV ’s part . Though they claimed they did n’t formulate the phrase , the music channel aired a documentary titledThe MTV Generationin 1991 that profiled vernal adults . Coupland himself was n’t a fan , saying that calling the group the MTV Generation would be like “ going through life with a big intersection placement tattoo on your head . ”
5. They have a telling nickname in Russia.
In Russia , Gen Xers arereferred toas “ the last Soviet children , ” see as they were the last kids to come of old age while the Soviet Union was still intact .
6. In Germany, they’re known as “Generation Golf.”
The name comes from author Florian Illies ’s bookGeneration Golf – An Inspection , which used the Volkswagen Golf as a symbolisation for the age group [ PDF ] . Illies felt that it was vernacular for German children of Generation Golf to define themselves through trade name . Illies weigh them to be worldly-minded and superficial , but that did n’t halt the book from becoming popular with the historic period grouping .
7. A different German name for Gen X nods to history.
Another Germannicknameis the “ child ofMauerfall ” or “ children of the rampart coming down”—the paries , of course , being theBerlin wall .
8. Chad is a common Gen X name …
Every generation plays favorites when it come in to name . Boomers werefondof Garys and Larrys , while the Silent Generation preceding them preferred Dolores and Billy . For Gen X , future meme bro Chad was a pop choice , becoming the 25th most democratic baby name in 1972 . Historically , most Lake Chad are Gen Xers .
9. … But it wasn’t the most popular Gen X name.
The most commonnamesof the generation were Jennifer for girlfriend and Michael for son .
10. Gen X is very nostalgic.
You may have point out that a pile of movies and video show are sequels , remake , reboots , continuations , or otherwise associate to something that was pop 30 to 40 age ago . ThinkCobra KaiandTop Gun : Maverick .
If you ’re tired of rehashes , you may probably blame Gen X.According toa survey of YouTube users conducted by Google in 2017 , 75 percent of Gen Xers liked watching on-line video recording that looked back on culture or humanity events from their past . They searched for medicine videos , movie scenes , and even commercial message that prompt them of a simpler time .
Glen Weldon of thePop Culture Happy Hour PodcasttoldNPR in 2017 that the nostalgia rushing could also be due to Gen Xers becoming studio heads and connection executives , looking to tap into their childhoods for fond memories that will appeal to people their age .
This tendency to look back seems to be a run base for the generation . As far back as 1991,The New York Timeswas talking about Gen X ’s “ enchantment with the past times , ” whether that mean emulating the James Dean ’ 50s or celebrating the more late pull up stakes disco era .
Of course , it would be overstating it to say this cohort has a monopoly on nostalgia . Just spend 10 minutes online and you ’ll find someone reminiscing about the year 2004 . But there are a bonnie number of recent examples that do show Gen X ethnical creators take care rearwards .
11. J.J. Abrams’s filmography embodies Gen X nostalgia.
J.J. Abrams is on the older end of the age group , and has expressed his nostalgia infilmslikeSuper 8 , and the Star Wars reboot , and the Star Trek reboot .
12. Chuck Klosterman’sThe Ninetieslooks back from a Gen X POV …
In 2023 , writerChuck Klostermanpublished a book calledThe Nineties , hardly his first foray into nostalgic cultural commentary .
13. … As does a popular podcast from Gen X’s Bill Simmons.
The Ringer is a multimillion dollar media fellowship found by Bill Simmons , a author who hail to renown partially with his openhanded use of references to Gen X cultural touchstones like the movieTeen Wolf . Simmons now host a podcast calledTheRewatchables , which often embrace films from the ‘ 80s and ‘ 90s .
14. The generation’s filmmakers also pushed the medium forward.
Kevin Smithexpanded theboundariesof succeeder for low - budget independent picture show andJohn Singletonbecame the first inglorious American film maker nominated for the Best Director Oscar . And John HughesclassicslikeThe Breakfast ClubandFerris Bueller ’s Day Offstar Gen X characters , though Hughes was not a Gen Xer himself — he was a Boomer .
15. Mental Floss was founded by two members of the generation.
And , for the record , Mental Floss wasfoundedby two members of Gen X , Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur .
16. Gen X has a lot of student debt …
Gen X has been call “ the shirker generation . ” Arguably playing against that stereotype , a large number of these supposed slackers went to college . The problem ? It fall with a raft of debt . In a2018 article , Pew Research noted that 65 percent of college students were borrow to compensate for their education in the yr 2000 , just as untested Gen X members were finishing up . That was up from one - third of multitude take up in 1977 .
And while they ’ve generally been earning more than Boomers , it has n’t had a positive effect on their debt . Pew report that nine out of 10 Gen X respondents claimed to have debt , the highest of any group .
17. … And it could affect their retirement.
In 2023 , the National Institute of Retirement Securityreportedthat Gen Xers held a bit more than $ 40,000 in student loan debt on fair with a median amount of $ 25,000 . Their research also showed that “ Gen Xers with student loanword debt have down net worths and are more probable to return inadequate of their retirement saving targets , at least in part due to scholarly person loan debt . As a resolution , student loanword debt has minus retirement implication for these workers . ”
18. Gen X isn’t ready for retirement.
While the pandemic shake up virtually everyone ’s financial status , it seems like Gen X took more of a hit than other radical . The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 41 percent of Gen Xers were afraid their retirement funds would run out before they die [ PDF ] , while a unlike surveyfoundthat only a third of Gen Xers believed they were saving enough .
According toBusiness Insider , one reason the group ’s retirement may be shaky is because they ’re a variety of mediate generation , caring not only for their children but for older adult in the family as well . That leaves less fourth dimension for work .
19. Gen X is pretty concerned about inflation.
In aCNBC surveyconducted in the summer of 2022 , dissimilar generational grouping were involve about coping with pompousness . It appears Gen X is taking it super seriously . Sixty - one pct of Gen Xers said they were cutting discretionary expenditure , like dining out , compared to 37 percent of Millennials and 54 percentage of Boomers . Forty - one percent said they ’re trying to keep on compulsory expenses , like groceries , compare to 26 percent of Millennials cutting back .
20. Gen X is a billionaire-creating outlier.
On the opposite end of thespectrum , Generation X has more self - made billionaires than any other propagation .
21. Many of those billionaires made their fortunes in tech.
About a after part of those billionaires made theirmoneyin the tech industry , as the cyberspace and computing come to overshadow the domain economic system towards the turn of the millennium .
22. Google was founded by two Gen Xers.
The founders of Google , for example — Larry Page and Sergey Brin — are both from Generation X.
23. Many Gen X billionaires aren’t U.S. citizens.
Elon Musk is also a Gen Xer — and though he ’s a naturalize American citizen , he was contain outside the United States , which is not uncommon among wealthy members of the generation . Gen X billionaires are more likely to be citizens ofcountriesother than the United States , compare to other age chemical group .
24. It’s not just Gen X billionaires who feel secure in their jobs.
Gen Xers Neil Gorsuch , Brett Kavanaugh , Amy Coney Barrett , and Ketanji Brown Jackson symbolize more than a third of the sit Supreme Court justices .
25. Gen X once had a sub-group named Xennials.
lug citizenry into pre - defined boxes never get old , and so Gen Xers have been further slice up with alternative label . Somenicknamesfor the quasi - multiplication at the cusp of Gen X and Millennials include “ The Lucky Ones , ” the “ Oregon TrailGeneration , ” and “ Xennials . ”
Xennials were born between 1977 and 1983 and were remarkable for have experience with both the clunkier engineering of that epoch as well as the cyberspace and social media while still in their prime socializing years in their twenties . This so - called micro - contemporaries failed to catch on , though you may be familiar with its homophone , Zennials , who are born near the dividing line between Millennials and Gen Z.
26. Gen X is raising Gen Z.
Many members of Gen Xgave birthto Kyd who now compriseGen Z. Somewhere , no doubt , there is a Xennial parent raising a Zennial kid .
27. Gen Xer were in no rush to have kids.
Gen X was more likely to have childrenlaterin spirit than any prior generation .
28. Gen Xers are “helicopter parents.”
That means they’rehighly involvedin their kids ’ fostering . This could be a reaction against the relatively hands - off parenting style of Gen X ’s parents . ( More on that in a bit . )
29. Gen X introduced some gnarly verbiage.
Every multiplication has its own mental lexicon . If you ’re untested and on social medium , you might find something based . Something couldslap . A vocal could be a cracker . For Gen X , their mental lexicon was often fixated on how best to draw stuff they were look on on MTV that had a punk or grease focal point . Word of God that grow popular or deal on new significance includechill oral contraceptive , gnarly , headbanger , trippin’,rock — as in careen out — andto the max .
30. A Gen X teen helped popularize an emerging archetype.
You might have hear that last phrase in Frank Zappa ’s song , “ Valley Girl . ” His girl , Moon , is a member of Gen X , and she actually record the song ’s celebrated monologue . Though it was meant as asatirical takeon the Valley Girl archetype , the song may well have popularized thelike - fill choice of words and uptalking intonation that continue to influence American culture today .
31. Gen X is outnumbered.
Sticking to thecurrent definitionof Gen X as anyone accept between 1965 and 1980 , there are roughly 65 million people in this class in the United States today . That places Generation X at a slight population disadvantage . Baby Boomers are thought to amount around 75 million while Millennials time in with about 83 million .
32. Gen X could soon overtake Baby Boomers.
According tothe Pew Research Center , though , it ’s potential Xers could last outnumber boomer by 2028 .
33. Gen X feels overlooked.
Perhaps because they ’re sandwich between two generations the media care to opine on ( Boomers and Millennials ) , thereseemsto be a sentimentamongstGen X that they ’re a bit unnoted .
34. For a time they were the largest demographic in the U.S. workforce.
But it was only for abrief clip — they were soon catch up with by Millennials .
35. Even Gen X’s own self-image is a bit hazy.
According to a Pew Research Survey from 2010 , about 50 percent of respondents in that age radical said their generation was singular , compare to around 60 percentage of Millennials and Boomers .
36. They can’t really agree on what makes their generation unique.
Among the the great unwashed who did say they finger their generation was unequalled , Xers had less arrangement on what it was , precisely , that made them unique : Technology use was the top option , but that only represent about 12 percentage of response , while 24 percent of Millennials agreed thattheiruse of technology made their age mathematical group stand up out .
37. Gen X smelled like CK One.
If there was one key signature Gen X fragrance in the ‘ 90s , it was CK One . The citrusy scent wasperceivedas an antidote to the impregnable odour of the ‘ 80s , and it had a very particular section of the universe in judgement : Generation X. In fact , Calvin Klein , which manufactured the fragrance , commission enquiry into the group to see what would be most appealing . The companionship decided that marketing it as a unisex , or grammatical gender - free , perfume would be best . A selling campaign pose it as a rebellious , anti - authority musk .
And it worked . Upon its release , CK One sold an average of 20 bottles a arcminute and wring up gross sales of $ 90 million annually .
38. Gen X is handy with analog tools … with some digital help.
A Google surveyfoundthat 75 percentage of Gen Xers poll will call up a YouTube video to hear how to do something — ready a faucet , change oil , anything that could be considered a DIY labor . This can - do attitude probably saves them money on repair bills .
39. Gen X was the first generation to grow up with computers.
Not every member of Gen X would be consider a digital native , but computing unquestionably arrive to the prow during their life-time . Personal computers did n’t make a big dent in the home food market until the 1980s , which means Gen X was thefirst generationin history to have any eccentric of widespread ability to grow up with a PC .
40. Gen X may have been exposed to large amounts of lead.
Lead is a heavy metal that used to be dominant in daily life , from paint to gasolene . It ’s a know neurotoxicant and exposure can be severely damaging for your brainiac . According toresearch carry on at Florida State University , it ’s possible Gen X had photo to a prominent amount of lead , mostly due to leaded gasoline that spewed damaging automotive exhaust system . Use of leaded gas peaked between the recent 1960s and early 1980s , the key formative yr for Xers . agree to the survey , people born between 1966 and 1975 , a radical that let in a lot of Gen Xers , lose around 5 IQ points on ordinary .
41. They were known as “latchkey kids.”
One of the defining characteristics of Gen X was having parents who were working hard , and often . That left Gen X to fend for themselves after coming home from school , doing homework by themselves and often make their own meal . That contribute toanother termfor Gen X — the latchkey generation , because small fry needed house key to get back in their homes . There ’s been debate over whether that lack of superintendence may have affected education or other outcomes , but no strong evidence has ever indicated latchkey kid were at a disadvantage .
42. Some feel this independence benefited latchkey kids.
It may be just the opposition . There is a school of thought that pronounce because latchkey kids , a.k.a . Gen Xers , wereexpectedto be more independent at an earlier years , they might be made of inflexible stuff as an adult .
“ [ Being a latchkey kid ] specify our generation as being bouncy , as being self - starters in a elbow room , ” Gen Xer and president of the National Endowment for Financial Education , Dr. Billy Hensley , told Forbes in 2019 . “ We were the minor who come home , made ourselves a grill cheese or , if we were not give up to use the kitchen range , grabbed a popsicle out of the fridge . We watchedSaved by the Bellreruns and entertained ourselves . It shaped us in being resilient and being self - reliant . ”
43. Gen X was stereotyped as “grumpy” and “lazy.”
If the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers were seen as can - do workers who helped the country thrive after World War II , Gen X was perceived as something else solely . It was n’t rare for people tocharacterizethe group as being faineant and moody , maybe owe to the grunge aesthetic of the ‘ 90s . In 1990,Timemagazinedescribedtwentysomethings , or as - yet - unnamed Gen Xers , as “ lazy ” and “ passive . ” Speaking with editorialist Bob Greene in 1998 , retail consultant Cynthia Cohen labeled Gen Xers as “ grumpy ” citizenry who “ run to be sarcastic and cynical . ”
“ They are just not hopeful people , as a grouping … they believe they have a very , very sophisticated sentience of sense of humour . And people who are not affirmative , who are not happy with their lot in biography , do not care to listen to other people ’s problems . ”
For these reasons , Cohen asseverate that Gen Xers would do poorly in client servicing jobs . Specifically , she opine they ’d make lousy flying attendants .
44. They don’t feel a sense of purpose at work.
On a potentially related billet : According toMetLife ’s one-year U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Studyfrom 2019 , Gen Xers were the least likely to say they felt a sense of purpose at work . They were also the generation least likely to definepurposeas “ doing work that contributes meaning to your life , ” “ Working on / for something that you are passionate about , ” or “ Creating value for your caller / employer . ”
45. Gen Xers may not be getting promoted as often.
Still , those perceptions of Gen X workers — and the crunch of beingsandwichedbetween Boomers holding onto senior position and Millennials pushing for career advancement — may stymie Gen X success in the workplace . While there ’s obviously a great spate of variation , there does seem to be a divergence when it come to furtherance . Accordingto a 2018 study , over a five - year flow 66 per centum of Gen X supervisor receive one promotion or no promotion at all . Millennials and Boomers were more probable to have received at least two promotions over the same time period of time .
46. Workplace stress could be contributing to Gen X divorces.
consort toa 2024 sight by Headspace , 79 percent of Gen Xers report that tenseness related to their jobs finally end their relationships — more than any other generation .
47. Coca-Cola tried marketing to Gen X.
We make love the stereotype of Gen X being listless , soft crybabies is an overgeneralization . Millions of them work hard to get through college , get down families , and give themselves fiscal stableness . But that did n’t stop Coca - Cola from buy into their emo visibility . In 1994 , Coca - ColaintroducedOK Soda , a lenient drunkenness package in sombre gray cans with morose copy . Pick up a can and you could translate a picayune not - so - inspiringmessage : “ What ’s the point of OK ? Well , what ’s the head of anything ? ” Or , “ Do n’t be fool into thinking there has to be a reason for everything . ”
Soda , or canned therapy sitting ? consumer were n’t certain , and the tonic was discontinued around a year later .
48. Gen X has a famously fraught relationship with consumerism and the concept of “selling out.”
One film thatdramatizedthat tension wasReality Bites . And though the movie is now consider an model of its geological era , at least one virtuoso was firmly against calling it a “ Gen X moving-picture show . ” In a 1993 appearance onThe Late Show with David Letterman , Janeane Garofalo enounce , “ They ’re gon na hear , probably , to commercialise it as a generation disco biscuit story , which is like the stupidest thing . It ’s not . ”
49. Part of the generation’s supposed distaste for materialism is probably a matter of simple economics …
Thanks to a recession traverse 1990 and 1991 , it ’s possible some immature people decided they were n’t interested in flashy brand figure around the same time they realise they could n’t give them .
50. … And that may have changed.
By 2012 , in fact , American Express found that now - older Generation X was spending 18 per centum more on opulence goods than their Baby Boomerpredecessors .
51. Gen X even has a favorite brand.
At least , allot to one 2021 poll they do : It’sApple .
52. Gen X is like younger generations in their attitudes towards sex.
At least in some means : Unlike Boomers and elders ( born in 1945 and before ) , less than half of Gen Xers “ state sexuality was for unify a man and a woman in marriage , ” asGlamoursummarizeda 2016 survey .
53. Gen X is more promiscuous than other generations …
Still , there ’s some meaningful difference between Gen X and their untested peer when it comes to sex . Sexual sleeping around in reality peaked withGen X , as subsequent generations describe having fewer intimate partners .
54. … And they report having better sex.
For what it ’s worth , a higher share of Gen Xers self - report having undecomposed sex lives , compared toMillennials , accord to an international survey conducted by Viacom .
55. Gen X values sex over friendship.
According to thatsame view , members of Gen X note value gender more highly than friendship — unlike their Millennial similitude . And , for the record , the commonwealth in which Gen Xers were clearest in that preference was Hungary .
56. They have fewer friends than Millennials …
Those predilection are somewhat borne out in the fact that the average member of Generation X report having an norm of 36 friends , which is 10 less than Millennials reported .
57. … But they’re less lonely.
It may be a cause of lineament over measure : Gen Xers were 20 percent less likely to say they were lone , compared to Millennials .
58. Gen X helped bring in the fitness fads of the ‘80s.
Generation X was come in of years in the ‘ LXXX . As a potential consequence of MTV , they were moreinterestedin mathematical group fittingness classes with enthusiastic and personable instructors — classes that were part exercise and part amusement . The detonation of dance , Pilates , and indoor cycling form can plausibly be traced to their zeal for colourful seaworthiness , not just machines and weights .
59. Gen X likes their elliptical machines.
As the generation age , their fitness habits may be changing . harmonize tothe Global Health and Fitness Association , 33 percent of health club member fall into the Gen X category . Their favorite activities ? The elliptic bike , innocent weights , and other opposition machines . They also lean to remain gym members for a full twelvemonth longer than the national average .
60. According to one study, Gen Xers have poorer health outcomes than Boomers.
That fitness exuberance probably helps , but it ostensibly was n’t enough to overbalance countervailing forces in the United States . In fact , a 2021 survey issue in theAmerican Journal of Epidemiologyshowed Generation X hurt unfit wellness outcomes than their Baby Boomer predecessors , with genial health and fleshiness two areas of concern .
61. Gen X may not be big on cooking.
agree toflavor manufacturer FONA , 73 percentage of Gen X shoppers are in the habit of grabbing pre - made or pre - inclined food . They ’re especially interested in rotisserie chicken . For what it ’s worth , Gen X men report doing more cooking than their founder .
62. They have particular tastes.
Gen X like meaty , cheesy flavors , with 10 percent few Xers interested in scented foods than youthful group .
63. AARP is courting Gen X.
The AARP , formerly known as the American Association for Retired Persons , proponent for quality of life for those over 50 . Since an increasing telephone number of Gen Xers are hitting that age , AARP hasturnedtheir promotional skills to enticing them with mementos from their past . A 2021 ad featured a middle - aged man skateboarding . Prior to that , they distribute a newssheet with hot ‘ 90s take like how to throw an adult sleep political party .
64. There’s never been a Gen X president.
Former president Barack Obama was assume in 1961 , so is he the first and only Gen X president ? Not really . For one thing , thetime framefor a Gen Xer in 2008 when he was elected was between 1964 and 1982 , technically making him a Boomer . Obama actuallysaidhe identify with something call “ Generation Jones . ” That ’s a term coin by Jonathan Pontell , a social observer who wanted a newfangled branch for the great unwashed who were hold tardily in the Boomer rhythm and a petty too early on in the Gen X cps . TheJonesrefers to the comparative namelessness of the group — we imagine you probably have n’t heard much about it — and the fact that the chemical group was looking , or jonesing , for success .
To date , therehasn’t beena Gen X Chief Executive . have ’s see what happens with future candidates and if any of them can believably claim to have jammed out on a Sony Walkman as an ‘ 80s teen .
65. There are 23 Gen X senators as of early 2023.
TheyincludeOklahoma ’s James Lankford and Georgia ’s Raphael Warnock .
66. Over a third of the House of Representatives is made up of Gen Xers.
Theyspanvirtually the total generation kitchen range , from Alabama ’s Terri Sewell — bear January 1 , 1965 — to Colorado ’s Yadira Caraveo , whose giving birth came in just under the generational wire on December 23 , 1980 .
67. According to one poll, many Gen Xers identify as politically independent.
In term of the politics of Gen X , as a whole , it ’s a bit knotty to pass hard - and - firm conclusion , particularly since political sentiments be given to shift with age . But according toa 2022 Gallup poll , 44 percent of Gen Xers identify as politically autonomous , representing a higher rate of nonpartisan identification than preceding generations .
68. When it comes to voting habits in the U.S., it seems like that the group moved to the right over time.
A Marist / NPR poll from May 2022 revealed that Generation X had the lowest overall approving military rating for President Joe Biden . The head of a Democratic data business firm , TargetSmart , concludedthat Gen X was really “ themostconservative generation , surpassing the Boomers in their rightward tilt . ”
69. American Gen Xers grew up during Republican presidencies.
In the DoS , many Gen Xers came of age during Republican presidentialadministrations , from Ronald Reagan to George H.W. Bush .
70. Those political winds may have given rise to fictional characters likeFamily Ties’ Alex P. Keaton.
The Federalistcalledthe reference ( played by Michael J. Fox ) “ the first Gen X conservative . ” Though Fox himself is in reality a Boomer , his character was yield in 1965 , qualify as an previous member of Generation X.
71. In the UK, a similar conservative trend played out during Gen X’s formative years.
Margaret Thatcher was the country ’s select minister throughout the entire ’ 80s , when Gen X would have been anywhere from infancy to their early twenties . That fact has given rise to the name “ Thatcher ’s shaver . ”
72. A lot of great rappers are Gen X.
Rap music may have been invented by Boomers , but early luminaries from the genre often come from Gen X : KRS - One , Lil ’ Kim , all of the original Wu - Tang Clan and the extremity of A Tribe call Quest are part of the generation . So are literary genre - crossing icons like Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige .
73. A number of famous Gen Xers died young.
As Alex Williams pointed out in a composition forThe New York Times , the coevals might have had an even bombastic ethnic footprint if cataclysm had n’t intervened . Gen Xers who give out too young include Tupac Shakur and the Notorious BIG , Jeff Buckley , Brandon Lee , Aaliyah , River Phoenix , andKurt Cobain .
74. The characters on the sitcomFriendswere all Gen Xers.
Or , at least , thatgenerallyseems to be the font . TheFriendswriters ’ room was fairly flexile with birthdays over the streak of the show . But the chemical group ’s uncanny ability to spend unnumbered hours at a coffee shop might seem like a Gen X trait . specialness burnt umber shop like Starbucks sure as shooting proliferated throughout the United States in the1990s , when many Gen Xers were young grownup .
75. Gen X seems to love their coffee.
For what it ’s deserving , though the information is n’t overwhelming ( and does n’t fit neatly into received generational divide ) , the National Coffee Association’sreportfrom Fall 2022 pegged 40 - 59 year - olds ( most of whom would be consider Gen X ) as the years group most likely to have consumed coffee in the past daytime .
76. They’re gamers …
If you ’re wondering how members of Gen X entertain themselves , it turns out , they ’re not too different from their younger opposite number . Astudyfrom 2021 shows that about 60 percent of Gen Xers are “ gamers . ” This is compare to 77 percent of Millennials and 81 per centum of Gen Z.
77. … and play video games for several hours every week.
The average amount of metre playing picture game a workweek for Gen X ? About four and a half time of day . This is most double the playtime of Baby Boomers , who clocked in about two and a half hour .
78. They like to play games on their phones.
The independent divergence in gambling tendencies seems to be the motivation behind playing . A majority of Gen X gamers play fluid games , and many of them involve play simply as a method tofill time . But there ’s still a middling number of citizenry who consider themselves real back fans , if not all out fanatics .
79. They spend lots of time on social media …
fit in toa 2023 composition by McKinsey , 49 pct of Gen Xers spend between 10 minute and an hour on social media every daylight , while 17 percent composition spend between one and two hours on social medium , and 17 percent say they spend more than two hour on societal platforms . Twelve per centum clock less than 10 minute of arc a day , while 5 percent say they do n’t use societal media at all .
80. … And post fairly frequently.
Ten percent of Gen Xers describe post on societal medium multiple times a day ; 18 percent day by day ; and 22 percent every other 24-hour interval or weekly .
81. Gen Xers watched a specific genre during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic , Gen Xers save themselves occupied by watching dramas more thanany other genreof tv set . They watched animation the least .
82. They don’t spend all their time looking at screens, of course.
Penguin Random House took the impropriety of compilinga listof quintessential Gen X rule book . Here are some highlighting : American Psychoby Bret Easton Ellis , Palm SundaybyKurt Vonnegut , Girl , Interruptedby Susanna Kaysen , The Firmby John Grisham , andTheHouse on Mango Streetby Sandra Cisneros . ( Those volume ostensibly appealed to Gen X readers , but they were n’t inevitably write by extremity of the generation . )
83. Gen X likes to be outside.
Gen X is the generation most likely to spend at least one 60 minutes outdoors per day , with39 percentreporting they did so in 2021 .
84. They don’t care about crypto …
agree toone study , the huge majority of crypto buyers are young . A walloping 94 percent of the crypto - trading Proto-Indo European is made up of people aged 18–40 . Gen X makes up less than 5 percentage of crypto buyers .
85. … But when they buy crypto, they spend more.
When a member of Gen Xdoesbuy crypto , they spend , on mediocre , more than any other genesis . Their rough norm is about nine and a one-half thousand pass over 12 months , equate to , say , the 6000 spend by Gen Z.
86. Gen X loves Josh wine.
According toDrizly , the top - deal wine among Gen X consumers was a Cabernet Sauvignon sauvignon from Josh Cellars .
87. Data from the UK suggests that Gen X engages in more extreme drinking behavior than overall trends would suggest.
As Bobby Duffy , who wroteGenerations : Does When You ’re Born figure Who You Are?said , “ In terms of high-risk drinking , there ’s a really warm Office for National Statistics chart , a bulge going through the long time range that more or less tracks Generation X. ”
88. They also seem to use tobacco products more than other generations.
According to a GlobalData consumersurveyfrom 2021 , Gen X respondents were the most likely to use tobacco products regularly and the least likely to have never try them .
89. They pray …
have ’s beg those unhealthy habits kick the bucket off as the generation enters their older old age . Or , we can depart the praying to Gen X itself — more than one-half of them pray daily , according to Pew Research .
90. … And many believe in God.
Eighty - four percent of Gen Xers say they are fair sure or utterly certain that God live — but only about a third of them hang spiritual services at least once a calendar week .
91. They tend to stick with the religion they were raised in.
While Baby Boomers often tended towards spiritual disaffiliation — that is , being raised in a religious tradition but then abandon it later in life — a 2010 discipline found that Gen Xers whowereraised with a specific religion were more likely to persist in that faith intoadulthood . Because few of those adult were raised with faith to begin with , though , their overall pietism is lower than their predecessor .
92. They’re excited about virtual reality—to a point.
When it hail to thetechnologyof the future tense , Gen X differs a bit from their young vis-a-vis . Both Gen Z and Millennials outrank virtual reality as one of the more exciting technology advance in the workplace , while Gen X were a small more grounded . They ’re face frontward to utilizing new project management tools , and in certain area like Japan and Russia , their enthusiasm spreads to cloud computing and vitamin E - learning programme as well , according to the Harvard Business Review .
93. Gen X was the first generation to have more women with bachelor’s degrees than men.
By 2001 , 31 percent of Gen X woman between the ages of 25 and 37 hadcompleteda bachelor-at-arms ’s degree program , compared to 28 percent of Gen X men . Boomers and member of the Silent Generation had the opposite inclination , with men outpace women in college Education Department .
94. In 2021, approximately 4.2 percent of Gen X adults identified as belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.
Those Gen Xers , along with Millenials and Gen Zers , are also more likely to identify as bisexual than their older counterparts .
95. Gen X is more philanthropic than other generations of adults.
At least when it comes to their time — in 2018 , approximately 30 percent report that theyvolunteeredthrough an organization . About 26 percent of Boomers reported volunteer in that same year , and only 22 percent of Millennials did .
96. Gen X got their own museum exhibit.
If you ’re a Gen Xer starting to feel the pinch of approaching old years , this last fact is n’t going to help . In 2023 , the Illinois State Museum had a impermanent exhibition titled “ Growing Up X. ” To quote the museum , it “ explores the toy , engineering and cultural touchstone smother Gen Xers in their childhood . ”
97. Generation X had amazing public service announcements.
If you were a teenager in the 1970s or 1980s , there was danger everywhere . Drug peril . Teen pregnancy risk . Stranger peril . As a effect , there was a supernumerary ofpublic serving announcements , or PSAs , that recruited everyone fromPee - weensy Hermanto Captain America to lecture — we mean , warn — about in high spirits - risk activity . “ This is drugs , ” one commercial narrator intoned as an ballock hit a sizzling electrocute pan . “ This is your Einstein on drugs . Any questions ? ”
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