Generation X

Generation X is a term used in demographics, the social sciences, and more broadly in popular culture. It is mostly related to the Western culture and demography and generally refers to persons born in the 1960s and 1970s, although the exact dates of birth defining this age demographic are highly debated. Born after baby boomers, it has also been described as a generation consisting of those people whose "teen years touched the 1980s", though many people that are considered part of the generation had their teenage years during the 1990s.

Outlook

Some have suggested that Generation Xers are proud not to be from the baby boom generation and actively rebel against the idealism the baby boomers advocated in the 1960s. Some would also argue that it is not merely the idealism of the 1960s that Generation Xers reject, but a deeper cynicism of the fact that such "idealism", inevitably doomed in its gratuitous naïveté, so quickly gave way to an era unequivocally focused on commercial and industrial progress; a period which incubated many of the problems facing their, and coming, generations. They have ushered the turning point for the gradual dissolution of a society with an oppressive and struggling dynamic, to one that was so far the most comfortable, automated, and politically correct in all of history. At the same time, society transgressed from a revolutionary, benevolent one, to one with a great deal of moral and cultural decline. Those who were born in the 1970s, growing up during the 1980s, and becoming young adults in the 1990s had little to no influence on the observed changes, and many of this generation blame their parents, the baby boomers, with scorn supplemented by self-pride and a respect for the past, specifically for the Lost Generation and Silent Generation, their grandparents, who are seen as actually ideal, as opposed to their parents who strove to be care free, thus quickly forgetting their values. Xers fantasize about how the 1960s and 1970s supposedly offered Boomers easy sex without consequence (though this was still available to the Gen-Xers who came of age in the 1970s) while resenting the lasting damage done by an era in which they now realize they were the babies adults were trying so much not to have. Hence, the rise in rates of divorce. Members of this generation who marry thus profess a desire to keep their marital vows, even though they are predicted more likely to themselves divorce (since Generation X began marrying, divorce rate is at 50%). Generation Y, the coinciding generation of this time, develops a sub-culture from common feelings of isolation and helplessnes that spring from the combination of Generation X values permeating pop culture and growing up during a high divorce rate, outwardly showing itself primarily in the popularity of the musical genre Emo.

Related Topics:
1960s - Politically correct - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - Lost Generation - Silent Generation - Divorce - Generation Y - Emo

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Interestingly, however, while Generation Xers are often considered to be non-ideological politically, the generation has given birth to some extremely persuasive and decidedly ideological political thinkers and writers of many different kinds. Nonetheless, even ideological Generation Xers still appear to clash as much with prior generations and their ideologies and institutions, as they do with each other ideologically.

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Other people born in the described time period reject the ideological labels as not particularly useful, and point to social class, geography, and other factors having far more influence than chronology.

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Generation X has survived a hurried childhood of divorce, latchkeys, space shuttle explosions (primarily in the United States), open classrooms, widespread political corruption, inflation and recession, post-Vietnam national malaise, environmental disaster, the Islamic Revolution (in Iran), devil-child movies, and a shift from "G" to "R" ratings (which had little effect outside the United States). Divorce became common place and affected families of all social and economic backgrounds. Naturally, Gen Xers were affected by the continual bombardment of images of the nuclear family and feelings of inadequacy and isolation from society resulted. They came of age curtailing the earlier rise in youth crime (particularly in South America, though crime fell in Iran) and fall in SAT test scores—yet heard themselves denounced as so wild and stupid as to put The Nation At Risk. As young adults, maneuvering through a sexual barricade of AIDS and blighted courtship rituals, they date cautiously. Divorce rates grew, however significant alternatives to traditional marriage (from remaining single to same-sex couples to merely "living together") also arose. Technology-wise the "creation" and spreading of the Internet rendered face-to-face communication secondary, books beside the point, near-infinite knowledge on hand at all times, and tech-related jobs a hot commodity. In jobs, they embrace risk and prefer free agency to loyal corporatism. Politically, they often lean towards nonaffiliation in the USA, but many express liberal or progressive views. Outside the US, many lean towards libertarianism or anarchism. Sometimes criticized as "slackers", they nevertheless were widely credited with a new growth of entrepreneurship and the resulting dot-com boom. The 1991 end of the Cold War was also very important, particularly for those within the former Soviet bloc.

Related Topics:
Space shuttle - Vietnam - Devil-child movies - Ratings - SAT test - AIDS - Internet - Liberal - Progressive - Libertarianism - Anarchism - Dot-com - 1991 - Cold War - Soviet bloc

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