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Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the demographic cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the late 1970s as its ending birth years, with the generation being generally defined as people born from 1965 to 1980. [1]
- Overview
- The Gen X experience
- Characteristics of Gen Xers
- Cultural impact
- Origin of the term
Generation X, or Gen X, is a term typically used to describe the generation of Americans born between 1965 and 1980, although some sources use slightly different ranges. Generation X follows the baby boomer generation and precedes the millennial generation.
What is Generation X known for?
Generation X is known as the “middle child” generation because of its small size in comparison with the baby boomer and millennial generations. Gen Xers are typically described as resourceful, independent, and good at maintaining work-life balance. They were the first generation to grow up with personal computers. Gen Xers tend to have liberal views on social issues. They are more ethnically diverse than boomers.
How did Generation X get its name?
The term Generation X was popularized by Douglas Coupland in an article for Vancouver Magazine in 1987. He later said that he had adopted the term from Paul Fussell’s book Class: A Guide Through the American Status System, published in 1983. Fussell used “X” to describe people who did not wish to concern themselves with societal pressures, money, or status.
Generation X, a term typically used to describe the generation of Americans born between 1965 and 1980, although some sources use slightly different ranges. It has sometimes been called the “middle child” generation, as it follows the well-known baby boomer generation and precedes the millennial generation (Generation Y, meaning those born between 1981–96). Generation X also has been called the “baby bust” generation, because its members were born when the high birth rates of the baby boomer decades declined (attributed in part to the introduction of the birth control pill, which first went on the market in the early 1960s). It has fewer members than the generations that precede it (Gen Y and Gen Z, meaning those born between 1997 and the early 2010s). This is one of the reasons that Generation X is considered to be forgotten or overlooked when generations are discussed.
Members of Generation X, or Gen Xers, grew up in a time when there were more dual-income families, single-parent households, and children of divorce than when boomers were growing up. Consequently, many Gen Xers were latchkey kids, returning from school to an empty home while their parents were still away at work. Gen Xers were the first generation to grow up with personal computers to some extent, thus becoming tech savvy. They were the first generation to grow up with cable television widely available. MTV, the cable television network that initially broadcast music videos 24 hours a day, was rolled out in 1981 and was embraced by so many Gen Xers that MTV Generation also has been used to describe the Generation X cohort.
Gen Xers came of age during the emergence of the deadly AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, which gave a new urgency to the notion of “safe sex” practices. They saw a changing world order, having lived through the end of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. They witnessed the technological marvel of the first successful space shuttle flight in 1981 as well as the tragic explosion of the space shuttle Challenger five years later. Gen Xers lived during the height of the U.S. government’s War on Drugs, being exhorted to “just say no” to illegal drug use. They also lived through the energy crises in the 1970s and ’80s.
Gen Xers are typically described as being resourceful and independent—traits partly stemming from their latchkey childhoods—as well as keen on maintaining work-life balance, perhaps due to witnessing the demands of their parents’ work and subsequent absence from family life. They are often described as being cynical, attributed to the economic and societal tumult they experienced as children and young adults.
As compared with previous generations, members of Generation X are more ethnically diverse, with some one-third of Gen Xers identifying as nonwhite; are somewhat less likely to be involved in organized religion; and tend to be more liberal on social issues, such as same-sex marriage. However, this open-mindedness did not necessarily translate into a more traditionally liberal political identification: a 2022 Gallup poll showed that 27 percent of Gen Xers identified as Democrats, while 30 percent identified as Republicans. More Gen Xers—44 percent—chose to identify as independent, which was a higher percentage than in previous generations.
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One of the defining characteristics of the Gen X scene in the late 1980s and ’90s was grunge music, personified by bands including Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Other genres of music on which Gen Xers left their mark were rap and hip-hop, with prominent artists such as De La Soul, Tupac Shakur, and Jay-Z. Many Gen X entertainers seamlessly moved between m...
The use of the term Generation X to describe this generational cohort was popularized by Douglas Coupland, a Canadian journalist and novelist. An article that he wrote in 1987 for Vancouver Magazine used the term. He later said that he had taken it from a book—Class: A Guide Through the American Status System (1983) by Paul Fussell—that used X to r...
Sep 2, 2022 · Learn what years are Gen X, baby boomers, millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Find out how each generation is defined and shaped by the events of their lifetime.
- Evan Hecht
- Generation X was named after a book. The Baby Boomers were the first generation to be named, and arrived after their parents returned home following World War II, which sparked a literal baby boom.
- Generation X also had something to do with Billy Idol. Even though Coupland popularized the term for a social group, he wasn’t the first to coin the phrase.
- Generation X is also known as “The Forgotten Generation.” It’s because Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z tend to get all the media attention, leaving Generation X comparatively ignored.
- Chad was a popular Generation X name. Certain demographic groups favor specific baby names. For Gen X, the names Chad, Todd, Scott, Tammy, Tracy, and Tonya appeared more often than in babies named during the Boomer or Millennial generations.
Welcome to Generation X, the “middle child” generation, made up of those born between 1965 and 1980. With fewer members than the Baby Boomer Generation that preceded it or the Millennial Generation (Gen Y) that followed, Gen X is sometimes overlooked. But its members lived through some amazing and tumultuous times, witnessing the first ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
3 days ago · Generation X, or Gen X, is the generation born between the mid-1960s and the early-1980s. Learn about their financial situation, retirement savings, and how they compare with baby boomers and millennials.
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Mar 21, 2017 · Boomers haven’t changed a bit. In as much as there is a Gen X, it’s paying for school bills for their kids and nursing care for their parents. There’s not much free time to be either pro or ...
