OPEN Forum; Corporations Expand / Collapse. Corporate Cards; Supplier Payment Solutions; Corporate Travel Solutions; Meetings and Events; International Payments for.Who Is Generation X? Breakfast Club Watercolor ! I started my first blog in 1. I’m glad you’ve come here to learn about Generation X. Please feel free to email me if you have a question or would like to contribute a thought or two. I love to hear from readers. A Defintion. In this article you’ll learn the definition of Generation X and discover its years, size and characteristics including major, defining events like divorce, latchkey kids, the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. You’ll also learn about cultural touchstones like big hair and John Hughes films. There are nearly 3,0. If you are looking for information about Generation X you have come to the right place. Generation X by broadest definition includes those individuals born between the early 1. The collective persona of Gen Xers is frequently debated and discussed among academicians and marketing experts worldwide. It traditionally applies to North Americans (U. S and Canada); Australia, and various European countries. There are well over 5. Generation X. We are sometimes referred to as Baby Busters because our birth years follow the baby boom that began after World War II. That boom began to decline in 1. Sometimes, you’ll hear about Generation Jones, a small subculture or subset of Generation X born between 1. What Years Are Generation X? The years for Generation X vary among historians, government agencies and marketing firms. Neil Howe and the late William Strauss defined the generation in the broadest terms I have come across: 1. The United States Social Security Administration defines Generation X as “those born roughly between 1. Another federal agency, the U. S. Department of Defense, sets the parameters at 1. George Masnick of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies sets the Baby Buster years at 1. Generations stem from shared experiences. Depending on your birth order, the area of the country where you grew up and other influences, you may identify with one generation more than another. That is perfectly fine. Don't get caught out by foreign exchange rates. Generation X is generally. Do you agree that Net Generation is different that. 10 things Generation X won’t tell you. Even the term Generation X wasn’t invented for them. 5 things rich people do with money. Millennials and Boomers: Don't Forget Generation X. 05/02/2014 05:56 pm ET . Millennials and Boomers: Don't Forget Generation X. All of this is subjective. It’s worth noting the simple definition of a generation found at Dictionary. The entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time. In my opinion, people should claim the generation whose collective persona most reflects their own life experiences. Generation X Ages . In 2. 01. 1, the first Gen- Xer turned 5. We are currently the “sandwich generation” in America. We are caring for aging parents and raising more than 5. In the early 1. 96. These are two factors that are said to have contributed to the generation. According to Jeff Gordinier, in his book, How Generation X Got the Shaft, But Can Still Keep Everything From Sucking, Baby Boomers number 7. Millennials, 8. 0 million. Generation X is sandwiched between them with 4. This is expertly challenged, however, by the 2. Census, which puts the total U. S. These individuals collectively represent 2. Americas. G. I. That’s a great question with a relatively simple answer: immigration. Characteristics of Generation XWhen it comes to generations, characteristics and traits are often referred to as the collective persona. Not everyone buys into generational theory and some accuse historians, marketers and social scientists of stereotyping people. I am not one of these people. I love the book, Generations, by Neil Howe and the late William Strauss. These historians came up with a “bold and imaginative” theory that is based on recurring generational cycles in American history. That history began in 1. This theory is difficult to summarize, and I couldn’t do it justice even if I tried. A brief overview of the framework, however, may inspire you to check their book out of your local library. Basically, the historians maintain that generations fall into one of four archetypes and occur in one of four cycles that go on repeating themselves. The archetypes are prophet, nomad, hero, artist and the cycles are high, awakening, unraveling and crisis. Everything they’ve written about Generation X has been spot- on for me. Others may see it differently. With that, here are some of the stereotypical traits of Generation X. Adrift, Apathetic, Cynical. In youth and childhood, Generation X was often described as being adrift. The archetype of loner emerged. In reality, members, especially young men, were disenfranchised by a loss of familial support and later technology. We’ve discovered that our stories aren’t unique. Facebook is dominated by Generation X and through millions of status updates we’ve discovered our shared history. The following is a list of historical events that occurred during Generation X’s coming of age, which contributed to the Gen- Xer- As- Cynic stereotype. The Energy Crisis of the 1. Watergate Iran Contra (1. Nuclear Disasters including Three- Mile Island. Silkwood/Kerr Mc. Gee. Union Carbide and Chernobyl Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. Widespread Layoffs of the 1. Dot Com Boom and Bust of the 1. Corporate Greed. Clinton- Lewinsky Scandal. In more recent years, the Great Recession has underscored and validated that cynicism. It was Generation X, not Gen Y that founded Occupy Wall Street. Entrepreneurial, Reality Bites. A lot of Gen Xers struggled to find jobs after college. According to a report by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the year my husband graduated from college (1. This trend continued until 1. The situation wasn’t much better for Gen X women. Thus, many Gen Xers roamed aimlessly after college, unable to secure what they were told a degree entitled them to: A job or at least something more than a Mc. Job. To compound matters, the student loans that Generation X used to finance college, were loaned at a much higher rate than what Baby Boomers enjoyed. For example, my sisters, who are eight and 1. My loans, however, were 8 percent. The cost of a college education was higher for Generation X and the jobs were scarce. When you did find one, you couldn’t make enough money to make your loan payments. So we deferred them and deferred them, and some defaulted. It was all so very messy. These are some of the themes explored in the iconic Generation X movie Reality Bites. Janeane Garafalo plays a college graduate working as a sales associate at The Gap. The movie made Winona Ryder the darling of Generation X. This and more helped nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of Generation X. Famous Gen X entrepreneurs include the founders of Google, Twitter and Amazon. Interestingly, it also helped nurture one of the prevailing and negative stereotypes of Generation X: the slacker who lives in his parents basement until he’s in his 3. This image of Gen Xers caused many to distance themselves from identification with their generation. Today, younger Gen Xers take far more pride in the Gen X label than older Xers who endured the original stereotype. Generation X was at one time very much a pejorative. Educated, Ethnically Diverse, Individualistic. Compared to the generations that came before us, Generation X is a highly- educated generation of Americans. More than 6. 0 percent of Gen- Xers have attended college at one time or another. But, don’t get me started about how they tried to force the metric system on us or killed off our arts and music programs. Generation X grew up without segregation. They grew up loving Different Strokes and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. These cultural influences contributed to a generation that is more accepting and more inclusive of others. Generation X has long embraced diversity. Hip Hop is also widely recognized as the music of Generation X. We also pride ourselves in being individualistic. Sometimes, it was the other way around. Either way, divorce was a major factor in the developing resourcefulness, independence and self- sufficiency of Generation X. Autonomy was a consequence of unstable childhoods. Interestingly, the lack of coddling in childhood has created a generation of parents who coddle their kids’ every whim. This over compensation is frequently defined as over- parenting. In the workplace, they want freedom coupled with responsibility and they hate being micromanaged. This has created decades of conflict between Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. The American workforce is an interesting state of transition right now because every day thousands of Baby Boomers retire. Technologically Astute, Flexible. Gen- Xers have come of age during an interesting time in the world. They remember rotary dial phones and the explosion of mobile technology. They remember Liquid Paper and plunking out term papers on typewriters. They grew up in a world without social media, and yet have adapted to it – even invented it – exquisitely. My friend Shawn who works in IT explained this so well with the following quote. Or being from the future and wondering about the strangeness of the past. We saw our parents lose so many jobs, we remained committed to making changes whenever necessary in order to get ahead. This has contributed to Generation X being viewed as disloyal to employers or uncommitted to jobs. In reality, Gen- Xers are committed to their own survival. Work- Life Balance. Gen- Xers value work- life balance. How else could we coach soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball in the spring all while serving as Boy Scout Troop leader? Gen- Xers value work- life balance because they know the job you sacrifice everything for might not be there tomorrow. So, why give it all and lose your family in the process? Unprotected Childhood. Generation X was born during the greatest anti- child phase in modern American history. Our childhoods were underscored by the following: Legalized Abortion (Roe vs. Wade)Invention of Birth Control. Divorce. Absent Fathers. Working Mothers. Latchkey Kids. For more about latchkey kids, I invite you to read a 2. I wrote about Gina, a member of the Latchkey Generation. Gen- Xers in NYC, 1. A brother and his little sister, Gen- Xers, New York, 1. Generation X Historical Events. Generation X and The Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1.
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