Every generation has collective experiences in its youth that help define it. Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) had the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, and the Moon landing. Millennials (1981 to 1996) lived through 9/11, the Great Recession, and the social media revolution. What about Gen X (1965 to 1980)? In their youth, they experienced the fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of pop culture in the ‘80s, and Kurt Cobain’s suicide.
Gen Xers were also born in an in-between era after women entered the workforce and before the advent of helicopter parenting. They fell through the cracks and were often left on their own. That’s a big reason why they have a reputation for being resourceful and independent. They are also known to be a bit cynical and sarcastic, a trait that comes from the economic and social tumult they experienced as children.
The generation also occupies an interesting point in history where many Gen Xers had analog childhoods and digital adulthoods. This gives them an interesting perspective on the role that technology should have in our lives and a nostalgia for long summer days riding bikes without a phone in sight and staying outside until the street lights came on.
But what were some other Gen X experiences that other generations may not understand? A Reddit user asked the Gen X forum, “What’s THE most Gen X thing?” and over 5,000 people responded with memories of their childhoods that helped to define them.
15 of the ‘most Gen X’ things people have ever experienced
1. Whatever
"Whatever."
"I’m 46 and will take my jaded apathy to the grave, thank you very much. Now everybody leave alone cause everything sucks."
2. Taping songs off the radio
"I'm just on that border between Gen X and the oldest Millennials, but my sister is 8 years older than me. We would call the local rock station to request a song, then sit there with a tape at the ready to hit record as soon as they played our song. Repeat that about 10x and you've got a nice mixtape."
"I spent months making a tape that had 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston on repeat (both sides) and gave it to my stepsister as a gift. She listened to the whole thing, hoping for a different song. Cause she hated that one."
3. Arcades
"Video arcade. Before Gen-X, graphics weren’t good enough, and after Gen X, you’d play the games on your own home console. No other generation claimed them like we did."
"I remember being indignant when the first 50-cent games came out. What, you think I'm MADE OF MONEY?"
4. Being forgotten
"Never getting mentioned in the news. It always goes from Gen Z to millennials to boomers."
"My sister watched a video that was supposed to be about every generation from the greatest generation through Gen Z, and they left out Gen X. Just skipped right over that time period."
This is in reference to a news story that CBS News ran in 2019 about Millennials being the "burnout generation," where they put up a graphic of every generation from Silent to post-Millennials, now known as Gen Z, but they forgot to include Gen X. It was a perfect example of how Gen Xers have been ignored for years.
5. Music videos
"Watching MTV Headbangers Ball Saturday morning, ready to record on the VHS when my favourite bands came on."
"Yes, 120 Minutes- but also, Yo! MTV Raps."
6. Swatch watches
"With the rubber guard on the face."
"Swatch Guard, to keep you from telling time on the face with no numbers, of course. Yes, I had both at 14 in 1985."
7. CD cases
"Massive CD collections neatly stored in binders for easy access."
"Claiming shotgun in the car so you had access to the binder and could play DJ for the night."
8. Last generation to live without the internet
"Being old enough to remember (and appreciate) life before the Internet and cellphones but being young enough to transition into that world without a hitch."
"Old enough to remember life before the ubiquity of the internet (and computers to a lesser extent), yet young enough to still be able to understand newer tech like modern smartphones and computers."
9. The Young Ones
The Young Ones was a
British comedy TV show that ran from 1982 to 1984, about four very different university students who each represented a different clique. There was Vyvyan the punk rocker, Neil the hippie, Mike the "cool guy," and Rick, the Mod-socialist. The show mixed gross-out comedy, surrealism, and political satire, and was a cultural phenomenon in England that became a cult classic in 1985 when it debuted on MTV.
10. Being unreachable
"Being the last unreachable generation. There were hours where no one knew where we were and our parents had zero way to contact us."
"Be home before the street lights are on."
11. Garbage Pail Kids
"I bought a pack once, and my mom thought they were Cabbage Patch Kid cards. When she saw them, she made me return them to the store!"
12. Blockbuster on a Friday night
"Hanging by the door to see if any good movies were just returned."
"Checking your answering machine messages to see if the video store called to say the movie you wanted was in."
13. Trapper Keepers
"I loved my Trapper Keeper. Everything fit in there, didn't need a bookbag."
14. Hypercolor shirts
"I sell the sh*t out of hypercolor shirts in my vintage store. I’m the only one who actually knows to look for them. The younger set is completely amazed by vintage hyper color."
15. Payphone scams
"Using a payphone to make a collect call with the intent of the call being declined. It's a messaging system that notifies your ride that you're ready to be picked up from the movies, where you watched Back to the Future. Or from the arcade where you just blew a roll of quarters on Super Mario Bros."
"Calling your out-of-town friend collect from a payphone to another payphone to avoid long-distance charges. Successfully did this with an overseas boyfriend, too."
"We used to call the payphone on the corner by 7-11 just to see who would answer."
A handwritten note with the words "good job!" on it
A man smiling
A dad with his kid on his shoulders
Dakota Johnson Snl GIF by Saturday Night Live