90s nostalgia

Gen Xers (1965 to 1980) are often called the forgotten generation because they are wedged between the much larger and culturally significant Baby Boomer and Millennial generations. Gen Xers are frequently overlooked because they were known as a nihilistic, sarcastic generation that was very skeptical of fame and power, and their youths were overshadowed by Boomer nostalgia. There's no greater proof of the generations' apathetic younger years than the fact that Gen Xers have yet to have a person from their generation elected president.

Even though Gen X may not be as discussed as Baby Boomers or Millennials (and they may not mind), we mustn’t forget that a lot of the culture and technology that we enjoy today was a gift given to the world by Gen X. Yes, they may be known as slackers. Still, they did change the world in their own DIY (do-it-yourself) way.

Here are 11 gifts that Gen X gave to the world

1. Reality TV

This one is a mixed bag because over the past 30-plus years, a lot of reality TV hasn’t exactly been at the pinnacle of American culture. But, initially, in 1992, MTV debuted The Real World, featuring a group of Gen Xers living in an apartment together in New York City. It was a powerful statement on whether or not a group of young Americans from different ethnic groups, regions, and sexualities could live together under the same roof. Eventually, the show became all about people hooking up, losing its cultural relevance.

2. Golden Age of hip-hop

The first rappers who picked up microphones in the South Bronx in the late '70s were most likely Baby Boomers, but the Golden Age of hip-hop, from the mid-’80s to mid-'90s, was created by Gen Xers. In this time, we had gangster rappers such as N.W.A. and Snoop Dogg, as well as political activists like Public Enemy and KRS-One. Artists who brought rap to the front pages, including Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Wordsmiths who drew inspiration from jazz, such as De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, and the boom-bap artists who made rap mainstream, including L.L. Cool J, RUN DMC, and Beastie Boys.

3. Extreme sports

In the 1990s, one of the most overused buzzwords was “Extreme.” The soft drinks were extreme. The games on your Game Boy were extreme. Even on Wayne’s World, the close-ups were extreme as all get-out. But the most extreme that one could get was in the world of sports, where in the ‘90s people were always tempting the reaper while bungee jumping, mountain biking, skateboarding, base jumping, paragliding, or anything that Dan Cortese could cram into MTV Sports.

4. Blogs

Before social media and online articles existed, bloggers were the first to share their thoughts and feelings on the Internet, a space then known as the World Wide Web or Cyberspace. Early bloggers used platforms such as LiveJournal and Open Diary, while some wrote their own code. These personal musings serve as a touchpoint for early Internet culture and formed the framework for many of the online platforms we use today.

5. Music festivals

Yes, Boomers, we know that Woodstock first happened in 1969. Gen Xers heard about it every day of their lives growing up. However, the modern music festival really took off after 1991’s Lollapalooza, curated by Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction. Lollapalooza was the culmination of ‘90s alternative culture, priding itself on bringing together top bands in alternative rock and hip-hop with legacy acts, cult bands, and extreme sideshows.

6. Grunge music

Even if you don’t like grunge rock, you have to thank the genre for wiping the airwaves of the scourge of hair metal that dominated in the late ‘80s. Grunge rock was born in the late ‘80s in Seattle and was a confluence of the slow, heavy sounds of early metal, such as Black Sabbath, and the do-it-yourself, anti-establishment punk scene that started in the late ‘70s. Grunge was gritty, thumbed its nose at rock star excess, and brought thrift-store fashion to the forefront of youth culture.

7. The Indie film movement

While Boomers can lay claim to the early indie film movement sparked by 1969’s Easy Rider, that was squashed by the blockbuster era of the ‘80s. The rise of independent film festivals and award shows, video stores and the era’s DIY attitude created a new crop of filmmakers armed with, as filmmaker Kevin Smith would call it, “A credit card and a dream,” and led to a new generation of filmmakers including Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), Quentin Tarrantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs), Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused), and Stephen Soderberg (Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Oceans 11).

8. Coffee house culture

Kids of today often lament that there aren’t any third spaces, after home and work, to meet up with friends and just hang out. In the time before the great Starbucks takeover, coffee shops were a place in the ‘90s where young people, especially teenagers and adults too young for the bar scene, hung out and spent long hours on shabby, thrift-store decor, arguing over who killed Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks.

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9. A healthy dose of skepticism

Of course, skepticism has been around since the dawn of man, but Gen Xers brought it to an art form. It’s hard to imagine in 2025 that from the late ‘80s until 2001, young people in America didn’t really care that much about politics. They had very low voter turnout and were skeptical about people in power. Gen X was more concerned with selling out than buying into the system. Some may find that level of apathy appalling, but there’s something to be said for putting politics on the back burner and focusing on things that bring more satisfaction in life than following an ugly “zero-sum” game.

10. Gaming culture

Older generations may have enjoyed Pong (1972), but authentic video game culture came alive in the early ‘80s with games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Frogger. Gen X was the first generation to play on mass-produced home game systems such as the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision. This sowed the seeds for a gaming subculture to become part of the mainstream, where video games are worth nearly $200 billion a year.

11. Social media

Gen Xers were the creators of key platforms in the development of social media, starting with Blogger (1999), which allowed people to share posts. The significant change came in 2003, when MySpace, created by Gen Xers Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, became the first mainstream social network. Gen Xers would also be behind the creation of YouTube (2005) and Twitter (2006). You can say Gen X is the forgotten generation, but in a world dominated by social media, it’s impossible to say they didn’t have a massive impact on the world of today.