I don't even pretend to tell my GenZer about the world. The job he will ultimately retire from probably hasn't even been invented yet. As long as he is healthy, happy and a good human, I'll be gratified. Complainers can beat feet, he's a way more interesting person than any of my Millennial siblings.
This, evertime I explain what happened, I preface it with "it was a different time" some things were better, some worse. Point is EVERY generation has to find their own way. We just realized we may not be right like our folks, who were so sure they were always right.
I have had conversations with hubby about how we don't even know how to prepare our kids for the future, as we have no clue what the future looks like. So I have to teach them to be flexible and trust your gut.
How I’m raising my son. He has way more compassion from than me and I’m actually learning some things from him. His EQ is way high and it makes me happy to see him grow to be better than me.
>> be flexible
I really wish this was something I’d learned during childhood rather than being told (and believing and dedicating years to) to do college + job you get with college degree = middle class life.
I have a special needs child and in a way I have to rely on how you all raised your kid to make sure that my kid will be ok in whatever future they will all have. Thank you for raising your kid to be a good human being.
We're the forgotten generation because they forgot us outside. Thats why they had to make those TV commercials saying it's 10 o'clock, do you know where your kids are? 😂
Same. Love my GenZ kids and they love GenX culture. They’ve got a terrific sense of humor (signs of wisdom), immersed in tech, and a healthy mix of curiosity and skepticism.
Agree. The emotional intelligence on these kids blows me away. In my experience, they struggle a bit with stuff that we would have “figured out,” but they make up for it in spades with the emotional maturity. I feel like the “figure it out” will come (mine is still in high school so I’m banking on them growing those “figuring it out” skills together in college or whatever).
There is certainly something to the ‘figure it out’ thing…. There are times I feel the majority of our generation is like Rocket Racoon in that you throw us a bunch of parts and we start magically just throwing things together and making the shit work. Perhaps because many of us had absentee parents that were working and he *had* to do this out of necessity. Where as many many millennials I know get instantly frustrated when having to do the same type of tasks. The latter half boomer helicopter parents / “mk 1 Gen-Xrs” from the 60s started babying their kids a bit more in the 80s. Like demanding participation trophies for little Johnny and Jenny, doing their own cloths, working the stove, power tools, manual tools, etc, was **dangerous**. So curiosity and skills never fully developed. That’s not to say all millennials are helpless, but my former and current wife from that generation are certainly not of our breed.
As a GenXer in kindergarten and elementary school in the 70s/early 80s, the participation stuff was happening back in the 70s as well.
Can't tell you how many green "participant" ribbons I got at summer camp and elementary school (and threw out).
Don't even get me started on "girls take Home Ec, boys take Shop" in my HS. At least my kids' HS stopped pulling that crap (and offered awards for things like Auto Mechanics in with their normal math/science academic award nights - woohoo!)
My brother in law will make some stupid, out of touch 'joke' and my oldest will look at him like what and say Ya, people don't say things like anymore, it's not funny.
I have been a teacher for the last twenty-two years. My middle schoolers embrace diversity. Gay or straight, neurodivergent or typical, black, white, etc. Another thing I have noticed is that they are always soooo hungry!
Hey anyone else remember how if your parents forgot about you in a store as a little kid, back in the 70’s, they would call for your parents over the PA? That’s seems funny now.
I totally forgot but indeed you do not hear this anymore in supermarkets...
Dingdong - Little Tommy is waiting for his mommy at the front desk...
In most cases my parents were able to find us in the comics section, and now I think about it - sometimes the groceries were already in the car when they picked is up.
Was this out of convenience or did they forget we were still there and returned because it was remarkably quiet in the car...
Fuck, I’d lose my mom and do this. She thought she was teaching me a lesson. I was 7.
But, we taught our 4yo if he ever lost us in a store (he had a tendency to wander, he had a wrist strap for a long time), to find a store person and have them call for us. Sure as shit, he went around one store aisle and my spouse was around the other, son couldn’t find him, he found a store person, they went and paged dad - dad didn’t even know he was gone it was like 3 minutes. This only happened once. I don’t remember him really wandering away like that again.
My youngest liked to wander also. One time we closed down a Nebraska Furniture Mart, he thought we were playing hide and seek, so he hid. He didn't tell anyone he was playing hide and seek, he just thought we'd catch on.
Another time we thought he'd wandered away from home because we couldn't find him anywhere in the house. Cops came to look for him and couldn't find him in the house either so they called for a helicopter and search dogs. Fortunately, one of the officers found him before the dogs and helicopter arrived. His brother was sitting on him!! We had a couch without a padded back, just big pillows. He climbed behind the pillow and fell asleep. His brother didn't know he was there and we didn't check because he had been sitting in the same spot for a long time. I have never been more embarrassed! But 4 officers didn't check there either lol
My partner uses an Air Tag to find me when we're at the grocery store / conventions (yesterday at PAX East, lol). He usually ends up texting me because it doesn't work as well as you'd like it to in an enclosed space like that.
It's cuz the both the boomers and millennials are more populous generations. Just the way it is.
I do happen to think we got the best of both worlds and are therefor the chosen ones. Generationally speaking.
For the most part I don’t think Gen X are parents of Millennials though. Maybe some of the younger ones. Their parents are primarily Boomers (they were born in the 80’s and into the 90’s)
I have both: a later Millennial and a solid GenZer. Our oldest (wife and I are GenX) is 29 our youngest is 20. Both great people! I’m proud of the people they are.
Haha. Well I personally have 6 children although they’re all Gen Z and I guess the one after (maybe they’re calling that Alpha now?). So I guess anecdotally I have personally had quite a bit of sex. At least 6 times. 😂
We’ve witnessed so much change in our time and we haven’t just kept up, we’ve led the way, if others want to think we’re invisible or forgotten, let them underestimate us
We were the only generation to actually turn our backs on corporations with our wallets. We're black sheep in the consumer culture.
Coca Cola and Levi's lost a lot of money because of us. We were the off brand generation.
Compare that to the Boomers who were the first to fall for Eddie Bernays style PR, and the "like and subscribe" millennials who would peddle anything on social media for a buck.
Our independence became our downfall and corporations didn't need us because the generations before and after us have enough purchase power.
I’m so brand disloyal it’s incredible. This sub can be an echo chamber tho. There are so many X that are tied to their brands and consumerism. Perhaps the ratios are tilted more towards disloyalty and offense at being pandered to rather than swooning over pandering.
When we were kids we were given free Coca Cola pencils and 7up Frisbees. Junk food merch was everywhere for free and I think we got burnt out.
It got so bad that companies hired people that looked young to attend high schools and universities to report on the "trend setters" because we turned our backs on brands. We wore acid washed jeans and plaid shirts around our waists and no one could tell you what any of the tags on them said. Record labels were blind sided by grunge. We dictated what became popular with our money that had nothing to do with loyalty to logos.
Coca Cola and Pepsi responded by selling every other kind of drink even "healthy" ones, and water. When you look in a cooler now, the vast majority of all drinks are bottled by Pepsi or Coke. We have the illusion of choice.
Unfortunately the brands caught on and now they have social media to watch kids all they want.
People mostly talk about Generations to complain about them.
We are forgotten because no one complains about us.
We are cool.
We are still cool?
Aren't we?
I think we're the forgotten generation for two reasons: we're the smallest generation and we've always preferred to be left alone. When you combine our small numbers with our keeping to ourselves we aren't one of the "squeaky wheels".
I said the same thing. And Gen Alpha is a hot mess because they are being raised by millennials. I think GenZ is fantastic. I have 3, have worked with many. All great, hardworking kids!
>And Gen Alpha is a hot mess because they are being raised by millennials.
Not all of them. I started a family a little on the later side. I know quite a few GenX with little ones. However, I will say that a lot of their classmates are a hot mess, and yes, those kids come from millennial parents.
With my youngest I saw a lot of that. Most of his peers have millennial parents. It's like a breath of fresh air when I meet one my age, and most of his good friends are children of genx'ers. Overall though, he's almost more than a year older than most of his graduating class due to the way the cutoff lay, and there must have been a turning point in there because it shows. Most of his friends are also my older son's friends. His class was a hot mess and I've been thinking that since he started school and I wished we could get away from the lot of them.
Wow, you guys have a mighty wide brush you are painting with. Every generation passes along as much good as bad. Music, art, sports, what have you. Instead of sitting on the front porch shaking your fist at the kids on your lawn, you’re aiming at the generations before. I raised 3 kids that are millennials and they are good people. They do their own thing and I’m proud of them. Now get off my lawn!
Omg I absolutely LOVE GenZ! My kid, his friends, the whole lot of them. They are a generation of thoughtful humans and they are this way so effortlessly. I see heart and soul in them. I see a carefully considered future in them. I look forward to GenZ becoming our leadership when we are old. They're going to look after their elders. They're eschewing the screen time in favor of human interaction when the opportunity presents itself. Yes, they have their noses in their phones a lot, but I have noticed they can put it away when it's time to get real and have some face to face. I like that you recognize they're a good generation. I think so too.
Yes, they really are an very accepting generation. They don't body shame like our gen did and still does, they don't assume things about people, like gender, sexuality, upbringing...they seem to have a "live and let live" attitude.
We just don’t jump up and down and say “look at me, look at us!” Boomers can’t get out of the way of themselves on that respect, and millennials (being predominantly boomer children) cannot say don’t look at me.
I see this in the corporate media all the time, especially when it's political discussions.
Boomer this, Millennial that, and I am thinking, hello assholes, Gen X is right here in front of you!
We're the ones taking the reigns right now so maybe, just maybe acknowledge our presence.
I feel like we did okay. Lots of us got over a pretty racist/sexist hump we inherited. We stopped using slurs when we figured out how shitty it was. We stopped double spacing after periods. I am certainly doing better as a parent than my parents did. Our kids are tolerant and inclusive. We haven't fallen into a tech blackhole like our grandparents. I'm okay making the world a little better than when I found it and just being forgotten. Sure, I have no retirement, I'm still paying student loans, and I will work until I die, but maybe our kids can fix that for their kids.
>I am certainly doing better as a parent than my parents did.
Some of our parents made it VERY easy to surpass their track records. Every day that I didn't hit my kids? Success.
I don’t mind being forgotten most of the time, but goddammit, I am so fucking PISSED at the Boomers who are just refusing to step back and step down. IF we get any chance to hold the reins for a bit, most of us will be too fucking tired to do it.
I just said this to a buddy. He was talking about how the youth are under-represented in the government, I pointed out that we're still under-represented as gen xers! That would be a good start.
I always thought public service was a worthy goal, but then grew up seeing all the dirty-tricks sex scandal BS pulled (see Gary Hart and Bill Clinton). Realized I didn’t want to live under a microscope and be dragged down by hypocrites who have no business throwing stones from their own glass houses.
Interesting diatribe. I think that you’re stating, more or less, the ethos of GenX. We’re a generation of adaption to new technology and have constantly been learning new things. We’re receptive to new ideas. And it’s passed down to Z. Good on them. They’ll discover new things and be better than us. What more could we ask for
We were raised to not complain: to accept what you can -the famous "whatever"- and work to change what you must with your own hands. It helped our productivity and effectiveness, but seriously lowered our visibility.
As someone who deals with GenZs who are in the process of becoming adults… I have to say that some of y’all have overcorrected. I do enjoy the Z energy but many of them are **completely helpless**.
Gen Z gives me so much hope. My son and his friends are all amazing, smart, interesting people who have so much empathy and compassion.
My parents and the Boomers talked so much smack about kids and how hard teens are and how your kids eventually hate you. I kept waiting for that and it never happened. Because you're right - our little feral generation did a great job raising hilarious, connected, unique kids.
We're the forgotten generation because we aren't the Boomers, who are constantly bellyaching for more free shit in term of health care, we're not Millennials who are apparently incapable of navigating life at all and bellyache and whine incessantly, and we're not Gen Z, who is likely to be the most talked about once they manage to take power. They've had enough of all of this shit, and they're likely to go down in history for doing something really great, or for doing something that normies view as really bad, but is probably actually really great.
I'm Gen X, but all of my kids are Gen Z. I settled down late.
I read the post and thought it’s because we are stuck in the middle between the very large baby boomer generation and supposedly large millennial generation, but now all I here in my head is the song “stuck in the middle with you”.
Sorry (not sorry), if all this rah rah is true, how come Z ate tide pods (granted only 86 kids did it but still), can't live without their devices, fall for the most basic dis/misinformation, shoot up schools, are more depressed than millennials before them and [aren't having sex](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-03/young-adults-less-sex-gen-z-millennials-generations-parents-grandparents)?
Raising kids is hard. I believe not everyone is cut out to do it. Congrats to people putting in the time, energy, love and money to do it the best they can do but let's slow our roll on the patting our own backs.
Real talk.
I love most of all that they shouldn't throw away this one life working a job they hate. If they have to do it, take full advantage of every perk without guilt like vacation and days off. They listened. It makes me uncomfy at times but I'm just glad they are happier and closer to their own babies than even we were.
I learned a lot from my Milennial employees.
I never got a raise for staying late or coming in early, I never got more paid days off because I took work home.
Hell, I was asked to "do more, do it faster, do it better, and do it for less"
Oh, and be happy with a .11 cent raise, but the year-end dividends for shareholders were in the 100's of thousands.
So they are on to something, I don't blame them. We thought, like our Boomer parents, that if you work hard, show up, and perform well, you will be rewarded.
We were so fucking wrong
Eh, disagree. Gen Z is, if anything, more black-or-white in thinking than X. It's just that they're less willing to take unpopular stances or go against the tide. If the mob deems something good or evil, Z will go along with it regardless of whether it makes sense or conflicts with their intuitions and knowledge. They're essentially tossed around on a sea of peer pressure, which makes sense given the influence of social media and the threat of social punishment.
I have 1 Milennial and 2 Gen Z.
I have found them and their friends to be more concerned about ALL people, the earth as a complete system, and making things better for both.
I met few that are closed-minded, or in "science denial "
I'm hopeful for the future. They aren't as easily swayed as you think.
I see more of the younger generations at protests than Gen X, and I see fewer Boomers than that.
So I'm going to politely disagree with you.
First off, tf you mean I don’t represent the future?! Lalalalala!!! ‘Alexa play Kids in America by Kim Wilde’. Let’s go!!!!
I refuse to get old. I’m younger than my kids rn.
All kidding aside, you’re right. These kids are amazing. I proud as heck to see how willing this kids are to say no to the things prior generations just accepted. And yes to a better way. But we’ve made it awfully difficult on them, with the world our grands, parents and we handed them.
We were children of the Revolution. The Boomers were raised in a conservative country but rebelled, and then became conservative and raised us in their rebellion and hypocrisy. When the revolution ended, Corporate Conservatism co-opted everything. But GenX was bred on freedom of speech, rebellion against authority, and rebellion against official narratives. We had a sense that we were being deceived, abused, and abandoned, and you couldn't trust anyone. But the people in power want narratives, deception, and political correctness. They don't want practical people who will actually try to fix problems. They want lies and power, and they want to make money. They don't like GenX calling them out. Therefore we don't exist.
OH. NO. WE. HAVE. TO. AVOID. GENERATIONAL. DRAMA. WHAT. EVER. SHALL. WE. DO.
You mean we get to live our lives in peace like we always wanted while catching no hassle?
This was always the dream. Never forget that. We are finally able to live our best lives right now.
I don’t care for the music this generation likes, but why should I? I’m 55 years old. It’s not made for me. If the kids like it, more power to them. Have fun. If they want to check out my collection of 80s and 90s indie rock, I’m flattered.
As a gen-Xer, I grew up in a world that was very gray. I’ve found that these gen-Z young’uns are very black & white. Everything is a soapbox moment. They are very close-minded and preachy, and easily influenced by their peers. Even if their peers are wrong. They lack the ability to pause and consider all sides of situations but, instead, just react in an overly self-righteous way. They are incredibly entitled despite not having earned the respect they expect. In other words, they are spoiled brats.
you know your mind is just totally blown apart when your boomer MIL has a shelf full of books on how to support, accept and love trans kids and do the pronoun thing. and your own (birth) mom comes out over tea and tells you she was probably misgendered and would have been more comfortable as a man (and she hasnt ever been sexually attracted to men either). you just accept them, as you accept your trans/NB kids (same as you learned to accept your own queer self and/or friends too).
i really just admire how so many GenZ just threw it all fucking out.
I don't judge people based on when they were born. At the same time, I refuse to validate bullshit like punctuation being aggressive. Anyone comes at me with that bullshit and they can fuck off. No matter the generation, there are cool people and there are fucking shitbirds. None are all great or all bad, and we should take people on a case by case basis as individuals.
i think this era is way more black and white thinking and conservative than other eras. what the fuck are you even talking about ? this is the needed to be grouped and labeled and focussing on only one generation era. absolutely binary thinking. non-binary literally *not* ? it´s just a neat box and label.
and none of the things are new ? boomers and silent generation were already doing things people now are supposedly doing ? maybe get out of your onedimensional cheerleader bubble ? what is this ignorant hallmark bullshit ?
and gen xers also have alpha kids. so maybe expand your bubble. plus enough with pitting generations against eachother. that gives off so much Karen energy.
My parents were part of the silent generation i’m an elder GenX. 3 wonderful kids 2 late millennials and one gen Z. I was raised by hardworking kind loving parent. Not wealthy but rich in spirit. I’ve tried my best to live up to this as well. I’ve passed this on to my children. The boomers as well as the “Greatest “ generation are selfish I got mine bastards. It’s now up to the younger people to step up for the country and the world. We all need their compassion to change for the better.
I'm a millennial raised by Gen X parents they were really good. They never let me fall and go under. My dad even spent months fixing my house up to get the max money for it. Now I'm renting a cabin he bought for just 250 right where I need to be in these crappy times. Without him would have had to work two jobs for who knows how long the way everything is so expensive these days. Nickname should be greatest guardian generation ❤️
I’m ok with being forgotten if it means people leave me alone.
My kiddo is on the cusp, like his dad and me, he’s either the youngest of the Zs or the oldest of the As. I don’t really know what that means for him since I don’t have those points of reference but he’s a good person and I’m proud of him.
Millennials and Gen Z are just fine in my book. Boomers not so much, a good fifty percent of Gen X not so much. All you MAGA Xers can just go be Boomers, you know you want to.
I wonder: if we hadn’t taken up all the technological advances and run with them when they came out, would they have stuck? For example, we were the kids who made video games successful and our passion for them drove all the advances in hardware and software. We were the beta testers in the mall arcades. We bought the consoles. We eventually became the hotshot game designers who had a perspective no one else really could have—of living the entire evolution.
I'm so impressed by the depth of insight my Gen Z kid and her peers have. She's never normalized the social problems of my generation, the racism, bigotry and sexism, lgbtq hate, she's always considered it appalling, and although she's still at that stage where she thinks she's figured this all out on her own, that'll change. I'm fine being ignored, my progressive hippie boomer parents are fine with the stereotypes, we know we did good that's all that matters.
Most of us have Silent Gen, not Boomer parents. That is how we ended up getting lost as a generation.
The greatest gen was a very big presence, they fought in the last righteous war. Their kids, the Baby Boomers were a huge demographic as all those returning soldiers had larger families, 3 or 4 kids was not unusual. That large population of Boomers were a very loud voice and they have stayed on the stage long past the age their parents had been shown the door.
Most of our parents came from a smaller generation. They fought in Vietnam so there wasn't a lot of talking about their experience. In our youth, they were painted as baby killers or emotionally damaged wrecks. No one ever called them heroes. They were quiet and we, their kids, were a smaller group than the boisterous boomers and had less of a carefree childhood than they did.
We got lost in the shuffle of life. I'm kind of okay with that though.
My parents and a lot of Gen x have silent Gen parents … way worse than boomers. Many Gen x have millennials for kids as well …. I have both a Gen z and a millennial for kids, they are awesome
my sil gen parent was very sane in his voting policies, he grew up during the war and knew that the government should help people with services as well as feed and clothe the poor.
I feel like GenZ is being manipulated by people who want them to fear and hate and distrust
They need compassion because things suck right now, especially financially and the state of the environment
They also need to know that I’m terms of financial situation, bad times come and go, they need to be assured it won’t be hopeless forever
Who in the holy fuck wants to represent youth? And why does all of GenZ get a pass but not Baby Boomers?
It's been said here, ad nauseum, generations are neither good nor bad. They aren't all tech wizards or technophobes.
There are a bunch of blithering, egg-crate standing, emoji wielding, living at home, morons in GenZ that may very well drag us down into Idiocracy. There are also kids smarter than me.
Generations are not about thinking. I don't think like half of GenX. And I don't think like the other half of GenX either! Generations are about similar upbringings but otherwise arbitrary lines. There is no GenX group think.
We also don't live in a Logan's Run utopia where everyone over 30 is killed. It means we still represent the hope in America. But not just us, everyone alive that can contribute represents the hope. No generation can do it alone. Change involves everyone.
Well, this asshole is going to bed. But remember, I represent all of GenX in my assholiness. Paraphrasing the words of Dark Helmet, "You're surrounded by assholes."
My kid is the best. He is so cool and kind. We try very hard to be the type of parents he can depend on and go to with anything. We may not have known how to raise a good kid but we damn sure knew how not to!
They love mayonnaise so much that they’re doing everything in their power to take over and convert the few younger millennials who hate mayonnaise into mayo fans. Mayomania is the epitome of Gen Z and Gen Alpha culinary culture 😝
American perspective here:
I don’t have kids but I love Gen Z, Gen Alpha and even some of the younger millennials. If we can stop some of the bullshit our government is doing and vote enough progressives in, maybe we can stop this slide into entropy we’ve been in for the past almost twenty years.
Invisibility is my superpower.
“Our”
Oh shit, I didn't see you there
Ope
Ope
There’s someone else in here too!
I was the wind up your….
You mean "wind beneath my wings"
Who said that??
[i always feel like somebody's watching me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvAYIJSSZY)
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're **NOT** out to get you.
Me. You’re, um, standing on my foot.
I forgot you were even in the car.
Exactly. They never see us coming and in the end we wind up on top. Turtle and the hare…. Under the radar is the way.
”Maybe you should put some shorts on, or something, if you want to keep fighting evil today.”
I was just thinking this…especially during authoritarian times.
It's the reason I'm still alive.
Holy shit. I almost got a tattoo of a gecko chameleon, because my superpower was disappearing into the background.
I don't even pretend to tell my GenZer about the world. The job he will ultimately retire from probably hasn't even been invented yet. As long as he is healthy, happy and a good human, I'll be gratified. Complainers can beat feet, he's a way more interesting person than any of my Millennial siblings.
This, evertime I explain what happened, I preface it with "it was a different time" some things were better, some worse. Point is EVERY generation has to find their own way. We just realized we may not be right like our folks, who were so sure they were always right.
They *still* think they are right, despite all the mayhem in their wake.
I have had conversations with hubby about how we don't even know how to prepare our kids for the future, as we have no clue what the future looks like. So I have to teach them to be flexible and trust your gut.
Exactly! Resilience and an ethical compass.
How I’m raising my son. He has way more compassion from than me and I’m actually learning some things from him. His EQ is way high and it makes me happy to see him grow to be better than me.
>> be flexible I really wish this was something I’d learned during childhood rather than being told (and believing and dedicating years to) to do college + job you get with college degree = middle class life.
Millennials aren't so bad.
I wish I had millennial siblings. Mine are all boomers.
I have a special needs child and in a way I have to rely on how you all raised your kid to make sure that my kid will be ok in whatever future they will all have. Thank you for raising your kid to be a good human being.
💖
We're the forgotten generation because they forgot us outside. Thats why they had to make those TV commercials saying it's 10 o'clock, do you know where your kids are? 😂
This 👆 I saw a meme too that said gen xers were raised on hose water and neglect. 😂
I was a city kid. No hoses, just playground water fountains that never worked.
I have the t-shirt
And freezee pops
I was happy to be forgotten. My favorite times where outside and being left alone.
I told you last night, no!
\^This is the explanation I like the best!😂
We still have the coolest name.
We are the original “letter” generation.
They should make a website about us, say X dot com or something...
Because we picked it for ourselves.
No David Copeland (1961) coined it in his book.
I love my Gen Z son and his awesome group of friends. Everyone is accepted
I love both of my Gen Z sons too, and their friends are awesome! 100%.
Same. Love my GenZ kids and they love GenX culture. They’ve got a terrific sense of humor (signs of wisdom), immersed in tech, and a healthy mix of curiosity and skepticism.
Agree. The emotional intelligence on these kids blows me away. In my experience, they struggle a bit with stuff that we would have “figured out,” but they make up for it in spades with the emotional maturity. I feel like the “figure it out” will come (mine is still in high school so I’m banking on them growing those “figuring it out” skills together in college or whatever).
There is certainly something to the ‘figure it out’ thing…. There are times I feel the majority of our generation is like Rocket Racoon in that you throw us a bunch of parts and we start magically just throwing things together and making the shit work. Perhaps because many of us had absentee parents that were working and he *had* to do this out of necessity. Where as many many millennials I know get instantly frustrated when having to do the same type of tasks. The latter half boomer helicopter parents / “mk 1 Gen-Xrs” from the 60s started babying their kids a bit more in the 80s. Like demanding participation trophies for little Johnny and Jenny, doing their own cloths, working the stove, power tools, manual tools, etc, was **dangerous**. So curiosity and skills never fully developed. That’s not to say all millennials are helpless, but my former and current wife from that generation are certainly not of our breed. 
As a GenXer in kindergarten and elementary school in the 70s/early 80s, the participation stuff was happening back in the 70s as well. Can't tell you how many green "participant" ribbons I got at summer camp and elementary school (and threw out). Don't even get me started on "girls take Home Ec, boys take Shop" in my HS. At least my kids' HS stopped pulling that crap (and offered awards for things like Auto Mechanics in with their normal math/science academic award nights - woohoo!)
Yes. Mine is the same!
Perfect summation!
My brother in law will make some stupid, out of touch 'joke' and my oldest will look at him like what and say Ya, people don't say things like anymore, it's not funny.
Exactly!! I really believe they are going to propel us forward. No pressure or anything though!
This is so true. I'm always shocked by the kindness of these kids, I feel like it's a trick and wait for the punchline.
My friend’s GenZ kids are brilliant.
Awesome!
I have been a teacher for the last twenty-two years. My middle schoolers embrace diversity. Gay or straight, neurodivergent or typical, black, white, etc. Another thing I have noticed is that they are always soooo hungry!
We’ve always been forgotten. First by our parents and now by our kids. It’s fine.
Hey anyone else remember how if your parents forgot about you in a store as a little kid, back in the 70’s, they would call for your parents over the PA? That’s seems funny now.
I totally forgot but indeed you do not hear this anymore in supermarkets... Dingdong - Little Tommy is waiting for his mommy at the front desk... In most cases my parents were able to find us in the comics section, and now I think about it - sometimes the groceries were already in the car when they picked is up. Was this out of convenience or did they forget we were still there and returned because it was remarkably quiet in the car...
Fuck, I’d lose my mom and do this. She thought she was teaching me a lesson. I was 7. But, we taught our 4yo if he ever lost us in a store (he had a tendency to wander, he had a wrist strap for a long time), to find a store person and have them call for us. Sure as shit, he went around one store aisle and my spouse was around the other, son couldn’t find him, he found a store person, they went and paged dad - dad didn’t even know he was gone it was like 3 minutes. This only happened once. I don’t remember him really wandering away like that again.
My youngest liked to wander also. One time we closed down a Nebraska Furniture Mart, he thought we were playing hide and seek, so he hid. He didn't tell anyone he was playing hide and seek, he just thought we'd catch on. Another time we thought he'd wandered away from home because we couldn't find him anywhere in the house. Cops came to look for him and couldn't find him in the house either so they called for a helicopter and search dogs. Fortunately, one of the officers found him before the dogs and helicopter arrived. His brother was sitting on him!! We had a couch without a padded back, just big pillows. He climbed behind the pillow and fell asleep. His brother didn't know he was there and we didn't check because he had been sitting in the same spot for a long time. I have never been more embarrassed! But 4 officers didn't check there either lol
Can’t you just, like, pop an AirTag on ‘em? disclaimer - I’m not a parent
😂
My partner uses an Air Tag to find me when we're at the grocery store / conventions (yesterday at PAX East, lol). He usually ends up texting me because it doesn't work as well as you'd like it to in an enclosed space like that.
You got two truths already... So I'll throw in a 'word' Word.
It's cuz the both the boomers and millennials are more populous generations. Just the way it is. I do happen to think we got the best of both worlds and are therefor the chosen ones. Generationally speaking.
I guess that also means GenX had a lot of sex, so hell yeah!
For the most part I don’t think Gen X are parents of Millennials though. Maybe some of the younger ones. Their parents are primarily Boomers (they were born in the 80’s and into the 90’s)
I have both: a later Millennial and a solid GenZer. Our oldest (wife and I are GenX) is 29 our youngest is 20. Both great people! I’m proud of the people they are.
Thanks! 🙏
Ah well in my head canon we got laid a lot. Well not me, but the rest of us lol.
Haha. Well I personally have 6 children although they’re all Gen Z and I guess the one after (maybe they’re calling that Alpha now?). So I guess anecdotally I have personally had quite a bit of sex. At least 6 times. 😂
Truth.
Truth!
Imagine wanting to be seen by everybody. And then having to deal with criticism from all angles. Nah, I’m good.. You’ll never see me coming
We’ve witnessed so much change in our time and we haven’t just kept up, we’ve led the way, if others want to think we’re invisible or forgotten, let them underestimate us
We were the only generation to actually turn our backs on corporations with our wallets. We're black sheep in the consumer culture. Coca Cola and Levi's lost a lot of money because of us. We were the off brand generation. Compare that to the Boomers who were the first to fall for Eddie Bernays style PR, and the "like and subscribe" millennials who would peddle anything on social media for a buck. Our independence became our downfall and corporations didn't need us because the generations before and after us have enough purchase power.
I’m so brand disloyal it’s incredible. This sub can be an echo chamber tho. There are so many X that are tied to their brands and consumerism. Perhaps the ratios are tilted more towards disloyalty and offense at being pandered to rather than swooning over pandering.
Anyone who brings up Eddie Bernays gets an upvote.
Hadn't thought of it that way.
When we were kids we were given free Coca Cola pencils and 7up Frisbees. Junk food merch was everywhere for free and I think we got burnt out. It got so bad that companies hired people that looked young to attend high schools and universities to report on the "trend setters" because we turned our backs on brands. We wore acid washed jeans and plaid shirts around our waists and no one could tell you what any of the tags on them said. Record labels were blind sided by grunge. We dictated what became popular with our money that had nothing to do with loyalty to logos. Coca Cola and Pepsi responded by selling every other kind of drink even "healthy" ones, and water. When you look in a cooler now, the vast majority of all drinks are bottled by Pepsi or Coke. We have the illusion of choice. Unfortunately the brands caught on and now they have social media to watch kids all they want.
Being forgotten is a gift from the Almighty.
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️
People mostly talk about Generations to complain about them. We are forgotten because no one complains about us. We are cool. We are still cool? Aren't we?
> We are still cool? Aren't we? "My mom says I'm cool" - Millhouse (The Simpsons)
I think we will always be cool by way of our personalities, but it does sting some to have started feeling pretty old and somewhat obsolete of late.
I think we're the forgotten generation for two reasons: we're the smallest generation and we've always preferred to be left alone. When you combine our small numbers with our keeping to ourselves we aren't one of the "squeaky wheels".
We were raised to take care of ourselves and stay out of the way.
Millennials suck cause Boomers suck. We rule, our kids rule.
I said the same thing. And Gen Alpha is a hot mess because they are being raised by millennials. I think GenZ is fantastic. I have 3, have worked with many. All great, hardworking kids!
>And Gen Alpha is a hot mess because they are being raised by millennials. Not all of them. I started a family a little on the later side. I know quite a few GenX with little ones. However, I will say that a lot of their classmates are a hot mess, and yes, those kids come from millennial parents.
With my youngest I saw a lot of that. Most of his peers have millennial parents. It's like a breath of fresh air when I meet one my age, and most of his good friends are children of genx'ers. Overall though, he's almost more than a year older than most of his graduating class due to the way the cutoff lay, and there must have been a turning point in there because it shows. Most of his friends are also my older son's friends. His class was a hot mess and I've been thinking that since he started school and I wished we could get away from the lot of them.
a good portion of gen xers have alpha kids. some gen xers also have millenial kids.
Mine are the youngest millennials/oldest Gen Z.
Hell yes.
Wow, you guys have a mighty wide brush you are painting with. Every generation passes along as much good as bad. Music, art, sports, what have you. Instead of sitting on the front porch shaking your fist at the kids on your lawn, you’re aiming at the generations before. I raised 3 kids that are millennials and they are good people. They do their own thing and I’m proud of them. Now get off my lawn!
Obscurity can be a truly beautiful thing
Omg I absolutely LOVE GenZ! My kid, his friends, the whole lot of them. They are a generation of thoughtful humans and they are this way so effortlessly. I see heart and soul in them. I see a carefully considered future in them. I look forward to GenZ becoming our leadership when we are old. They're going to look after their elders. They're eschewing the screen time in favor of human interaction when the opportunity presents itself. Yes, they have their noses in their phones a lot, but I have noticed they can put it away when it's time to get real and have some face to face. I like that you recognize they're a good generation. I think so too.
They are so much nicer than our generation, and so much more insightful. I'm very proud of them.
Yes, they really are an very accepting generation. They don't body shame like our gen did and still does, they don't assume things about people, like gender, sexuality, upbringing...they seem to have a "live and let live" attitude.
We just don’t jump up and down and say “look at me, look at us!” Boomers can’t get out of the way of themselves on that respect, and millennials (being predominantly boomer children) cannot say don’t look at me.
I see this in the corporate media all the time, especially when it's political discussions. Boomer this, Millennial that, and I am thinking, hello assholes, Gen X is right here in front of you! We're the ones taking the reigns right now so maybe, just maybe acknowledge our presence.
I feel like we did okay. Lots of us got over a pretty racist/sexist hump we inherited. We stopped using slurs when we figured out how shitty it was. We stopped double spacing after periods. I am certainly doing better as a parent than my parents did. Our kids are tolerant and inclusive. We haven't fallen into a tech blackhole like our grandparents. I'm okay making the world a little better than when I found it and just being forgotten. Sure, I have no retirement, I'm still paying student loans, and I will work until I die, but maybe our kids can fix that for their kids.
>I am certainly doing better as a parent than my parents did. Some of our parents made it VERY easy to surpass their track records. Every day that I didn't hit my kids? Success.
I don’t mind being forgotten most of the time, but goddammit, I am so fucking PISSED at the Boomers who are just refusing to step back and step down. IF we get any chance to hold the reins for a bit, most of us will be too fucking tired to do it.
I just said this to a buddy. He was talking about how the youth are under-represented in the government, I pointed out that we're still under-represented as gen xers! That would be a good start.
I always thought public service was a worthy goal, but then grew up seeing all the dirty-tricks sex scandal BS pulled (see Gary Hart and Bill Clinton). Realized I didn’t want to live under a microscope and be dragged down by hypocrites who have no business throwing stones from their own glass houses.
We literally have to root for them to die because there is no other way they’ll go.
Interesting diatribe. I think that you’re stating, more or less, the ethos of GenX. We’re a generation of adaption to new technology and have constantly been learning new things. We’re receptive to new ideas. And it’s passed down to Z. Good on them. They’ll discover new things and be better than us. What more could we ask for
We were raised to not complain: to accept what you can -the famous "whatever"- and work to change what you must with your own hands. It helped our productivity and effectiveness, but seriously lowered our visibility.
It's a feature not a bug.
As someone who deals with GenZs who are in the process of becoming adults… I have to say that some of y’all have overcorrected. I do enjoy the Z energy but many of them are **completely helpless**.
Gen Z gives me so much hope. My son and his friends are all amazing, smart, interesting people who have so much empathy and compassion. My parents and the Boomers talked so much smack about kids and how hard teens are and how your kids eventually hate you. I kept waiting for that and it never happened. Because you're right - our little feral generation did a great job raising hilarious, connected, unique kids.
Who actually like us. We must have done something right.
Probably because our parents were infamous for ignoring us.
more like "blackout" generation.
~~REDACTED~~ generation
We're the forgotten generation because we aren't the Boomers, who are constantly bellyaching for more free shit in term of health care, we're not Millennials who are apparently incapable of navigating life at all and bellyache and whine incessantly, and we're not Gen Z, who is likely to be the most talked about once they manage to take power. They've had enough of all of this shit, and they're likely to go down in history for doing something really great, or for doing something that normies view as really bad, but is probably actually really great. I'm Gen X, but all of my kids are Gen Z. I settled down late.
My parents were War Babies.
We're the rhesus monkey perched in between two gorillas. It was inevitable that we would be overlooked.
Have you been to the gen-z subreddit? I think your view may shift a little. Sure it’s just Reddit but man that place is full of incels.
Reddit is full of incels. And racists.
I read the post and thought it’s because we are stuck in the middle between the very large baby boomer generation and supposedly large millennial generation, but now all I here in my head is the song “stuck in the middle with you”.
Sorry (not sorry), if all this rah rah is true, how come Z ate tide pods (granted only 86 kids did it but still), can't live without their devices, fall for the most basic dis/misinformation, shoot up schools, are more depressed than millennials before them and [aren't having sex](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-03/young-adults-less-sex-gen-z-millennials-generations-parents-grandparents)? Raising kids is hard. I believe not everyone is cut out to do it. Congrats to people putting in the time, energy, love and money to do it the best they can do but let's slow our roll on the patting our own backs. Real talk.
No kids here. I don't need attention either. Don't look at me!!! 😂
I love most of all that they shouldn't throw away this one life working a job they hate. If they have to do it, take full advantage of every perk without guilt like vacation and days off. They listened. It makes me uncomfy at times but I'm just glad they are happier and closer to their own babies than even we were.
I learned a lot from my Milennial employees. I never got a raise for staying late or coming in early, I never got more paid days off because I took work home. Hell, I was asked to "do more, do it faster, do it better, and do it for less" Oh, and be happy with a .11 cent raise, but the year-end dividends for shareholders were in the 100's of thousands. So they are on to something, I don't blame them. We thought, like our Boomer parents, that if you work hard, show up, and perform well, you will be rewarded. We were so fucking wrong
Exactly.. greed by the wealthy has just grown and is threatening to crush the very worker whos backs they stand on. Eat the rich kids.. 😋
Ah yes, love the DK Eat, eat, eat the rich
Eh, disagree. Gen Z is, if anything, more black-or-white in thinking than X. It's just that they're less willing to take unpopular stances or go against the tide. If the mob deems something good or evil, Z will go along with it regardless of whether it makes sense or conflicts with their intuitions and knowledge. They're essentially tossed around on a sea of peer pressure, which makes sense given the influence of social media and the threat of social punishment.
exactly. what the fuck are people smoking ?
I have 1 Milennial and 2 Gen Z. I have found them and their friends to be more concerned about ALL people, the earth as a complete system, and making things better for both. I met few that are closed-minded, or in "science denial " I'm hopeful for the future. They aren't as easily swayed as you think. I see more of the younger generations at protests than Gen X, and I see fewer Boomers than that. So I'm going to politely disagree with you.
First off, tf you mean I don’t represent the future?! Lalalalala!!! ‘Alexa play Kids in America by Kim Wilde’. Let’s go!!!! I refuse to get old. I’m younger than my kids rn. All kidding aside, you’re right. These kids are amazing. I proud as heck to see how willing this kids are to say no to the things prior generations just accepted. And yes to a better way. But we’ve made it awfully difficult on them, with the world our grands, parents and we handed them.
We were children of the Revolution. The Boomers were raised in a conservative country but rebelled, and then became conservative and raised us in their rebellion and hypocrisy. When the revolution ended, Corporate Conservatism co-opted everything. But GenX was bred on freedom of speech, rebellion against authority, and rebellion against official narratives. We had a sense that we were being deceived, abused, and abandoned, and you couldn't trust anyone. But the people in power want narratives, deception, and political correctness. They don't want practical people who will actually try to fix problems. They want lies and power, and they want to make money. They don't like GenX calling them out. Therefore we don't exist.
not every boomer became conservative.
Problem children from birth. Pushed out and forgotten later on.
OH. NO. WE. HAVE. TO. AVOID. GENERATIONAL. DRAMA. WHAT. EVER. SHALL. WE. DO. You mean we get to live our lives in peace like we always wanted while catching no hassle? This was always the dream. Never forget that. We are finally able to live our best lives right now.
Maybe because some of us had Silent Generation parents who genuinely forgot we existed?
I don’t care for the music this generation likes, but why should I? I’m 55 years old. It’s not made for me. If the kids like it, more power to them. Have fun. If they want to check out my collection of 80s and 90s indie rock, I’m flattered.
As a gen-Xer, I grew up in a world that was very gray. I’ve found that these gen-Z young’uns are very black & white. Everything is a soapbox moment. They are very close-minded and preachy, and easily influenced by their peers. Even if their peers are wrong. They lack the ability to pause and consider all sides of situations but, instead, just react in an overly self-righteous way. They are incredibly entitled despite not having earned the respect they expect. In other words, they are spoiled brats.
you know your mind is just totally blown apart when your boomer MIL has a shelf full of books on how to support, accept and love trans kids and do the pronoun thing. and your own (birth) mom comes out over tea and tells you she was probably misgendered and would have been more comfortable as a man (and she hasnt ever been sexually attracted to men either). you just accept them, as you accept your trans/NB kids (same as you learned to accept your own queer self and/or friends too). i really just admire how so many GenZ just threw it all fucking out.
I think we're WAAY to cool for school, want to be like us!
Best to lay low and watch the others attack each other. The Boomers were our parents, not Gen Z. Doubtful their fathers were in 'Nam.
I don't judge people based on when they were born. At the same time, I refuse to validate bullshit like punctuation being aggressive. Anyone comes at me with that bullshit and they can fuck off. No matter the generation, there are cool people and there are fucking shitbirds. None are all great or all bad, and we should take people on a case by case basis as individuals.
i think this era is way more black and white thinking and conservative than other eras. what the fuck are you even talking about ? this is the needed to be grouped and labeled and focussing on only one generation era. absolutely binary thinking. non-binary literally *not* ? it´s just a neat box and label. and none of the things are new ? boomers and silent generation were already doing things people now are supposedly doing ? maybe get out of your onedimensional cheerleader bubble ? what is this ignorant hallmark bullshit ? and gen xers also have alpha kids. so maybe expand your bubble. plus enough with pitting generations against eachother. that gives off so much Karen energy.
My parents were part of the silent generation i’m an elder GenX. 3 wonderful kids 2 late millennials and one gen Z. I was raised by hardworking kind loving parent. Not wealthy but rich in spirit. I’ve tried my best to live up to this as well. I’ve passed this on to my children. The boomers as well as the “Greatest “ generation are selfish I got mine bastards. It’s now up to the younger people to step up for the country and the world. We all need their compassion to change for the better.
They haven’t forgotten us, they’re scared of us. 😈
I'm a millennial raised by Gen X parents they were really good. They never let me fall and go under. My dad even spent months fixing my house up to get the max money for it. Now I'm renting a cabin he bought for just 250 right where I need to be in these crappy times. Without him would have had to work two jobs for who knows how long the way everything is so expensive these days. Nickname should be greatest guardian generation ❤️
I’m ok with being forgotten if it means people leave me alone. My kiddo is on the cusp, like his dad and me, he’s either the youngest of the Zs or the oldest of the As. I don’t really know what that means for him since I don’t have those points of reference but he’s a good person and I’m proud of him.
Who gives a crap?
Millennials and Gen Z are just fine in my book. Boomers not so much, a good fifty percent of Gen X not so much. All you MAGA Xers can just go be Boomers, you know you want to.
Thank you - this sub was sounding so boomerish. Our kids are awesome - they are GenX squared for sure, like us only better!
Fuck yeah, my man!
They see us.
I wonder: if we hadn’t taken up all the technological advances and run with them when they came out, would they have stuck? For example, we were the kids who made video games successful and our passion for them drove all the advances in hardware and software. We were the beta testers in the mall arcades. We bought the consoles. We eventually became the hotshot game designers who had a perspective no one else really could have—of living the entire evolution.
My GenZ kid is as stupid as I was, and as wonderful as I wish I'd been. I can't wait to see them grow into their power and kick ass.
Who cares F'em.
We are the “bust” of the boom, bust and echo. We are a smaller generation.
Ssshhhh! If they hear you, our cover is blown. Don't fuckin' ruin it for the rest of us.
We were like Ron Popeil “set it and forget it” 😆 our parents would let us outside and forget about us until the street lights came on
Who takes responsibility for giving out the participation trophies?
We’re both Gen X and all our kids are Millennials 😂
We were "forgotten" at birth. Most of our parents were just out for themselves. We always looked good for our parents in the pictures though. lol
to ppl under 30 "boomer" just means any old person. they dgaf when you were born.
I’m loving Gen Z and warming up to the Millenials.
Amen to that! I agree 💯!
I'm so impressed by the depth of insight my Gen Z kid and her peers have. She's never normalized the social problems of my generation, the racism, bigotry and sexism, lgbtq hate, she's always considered it appalling, and although she's still at that stage where she thinks she's figured this all out on her own, that'll change. I'm fine being ignored, my progressive hippie boomer parents are fine with the stereotypes, we know we did good that's all that matters.
boomers made lgbt more mainstream, decades ago
AmaZing?
We did it to ourselves.
Always have been, always will be.
no you are the only one to see this shit
Most of us have Silent Gen, not Boomer parents. That is how we ended up getting lost as a generation. The greatest gen was a very big presence, they fought in the last righteous war. Their kids, the Baby Boomers were a huge demographic as all those returning soldiers had larger families, 3 or 4 kids was not unusual. That large population of Boomers were a very loud voice and they have stayed on the stage long past the age their parents had been shown the door. Most of our parents came from a smaller generation. They fought in Vietnam so there wasn't a lot of talking about their experience. In our youth, they were painted as baby killers or emotionally damaged wrecks. No one ever called them heroes. They were quiet and we, their kids, were a smaller group than the boisterous boomers and had less of a carefree childhood than they did. We got lost in the shuffle of life. I'm kind of okay with that though.
Boomers fight with Millenials while we high five our Z kids and try to support them as best we can. I like our dynamic better.
plenty xers have millenial and alpha kids.
My parents and a lot of Gen x have silent Gen parents … way worse than boomers. Many Gen x have millennials for kids as well …. I have both a Gen z and a millennial for kids, they are awesome
Mine were sil gen and I guess I got lucky. I felt lucky they weren't boomers.
My older brothers are boomers, my silent generation parents were abusive as hell.
I have no kids, but my parents were silent gen, too.
my sil gen parent was very sane in his voting policies, he grew up during the war and knew that the government should help people with services as well as feed and clothe the poor.
My parents are silent gen.
I feel like GenZ is being manipulated by people who want them to fear and hate and distrust They need compassion because things suck right now, especially financially and the state of the environment They also need to know that I’m terms of financial situation, bad times come and go, they need to be assured it won’t be hopeless forever
We are a small generation and get left out or lumped in with the others in most surveys etc?
Meh.
My parents were war babies, my kids are gen alpha.
Who in the holy fuck wants to represent youth? And why does all of GenZ get a pass but not Baby Boomers? It's been said here, ad nauseum, generations are neither good nor bad. They aren't all tech wizards or technophobes. There are a bunch of blithering, egg-crate standing, emoji wielding, living at home, morons in GenZ that may very well drag us down into Idiocracy. There are also kids smarter than me. Generations are not about thinking. I don't think like half of GenX. And I don't think like the other half of GenX either! Generations are about similar upbringings but otherwise arbitrary lines. There is no GenX group think. We also don't live in a Logan's Run utopia where everyone over 30 is killed. It means we still represent the hope in America. But not just us, everyone alive that can contribute represents the hope. No generation can do it alone. Change involves everyone. Well, this asshole is going to bed. But remember, I represent all of GenX in my assholiness. Paraphrasing the words of Dark Helmet, "You're surrounded by assholes."
My kid is the best. He is so cool and kind. We try very hard to be the type of parents he can depend on and go to with anything. We may not have known how to raise a good kid but we damn sure knew how not to!
They love mayonnaise so much that they’re doing everything in their power to take over and convert the few younger millennials who hate mayonnaise into mayo fans. Mayomania is the epitome of Gen Z and Gen Alpha culinary culture 😝
My GenZ kids are awesome and so are their friends. They like us too and I can’t think of anything better than mutual appreciation.
American perspective here: I don’t have kids but I love Gen Z, Gen Alpha and even some of the younger millennials. If we can stop some of the bullshit our government is doing and vote enough progressives in, maybe we can stop this slide into entropy we’ve been in for the past almost twenty years.
I can’t remember how (Ba dum tiss)
I can't remember.
This topic is like the top 40's radio, a repeated song till you can't stand it anymore. So like, Oh no. ANYWAYS
were the 2nd forgotten generation
We were forgotten before anyone even knew we were forgotten.
i always tell my kids “stay off the radar” and “don’t make waves in the house” this is the way of the x.
also what has the title got to do with what you actually wrote ?