Generation X (1965-1980)

[James Nored]

Here is the next generation--Gen X--in the Generations series.

Generation X (1965-1980)
- 46 million (added to with immigration) as opposed to 80 million Boomers, 78 million Millennials
- Parents: Silent and Boomer
- Children - Millennial and Digitals

1. Well-Known/Significant Gen Xers

• President - Barak Obama*   *(Note - President Obama was actually born in 1961; however, some generational studies start Gen X at 1961, and Obama has generally been refered to in the news as the first Gen X president.)
• Tiger Woods, Kurt Cobain, Jewel, Drew Barrymore, Marilyn Manson, Will Smith, Andy Wachowski, Pamela Anderson, Jennifer Aniston, Matt Damon, Quentin Tarantino, Jon Stewart, Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, Rob Bell, Dave Ferguson

2. Shaping/Coming of Age Events for Gen Xers

• 1973 - Roe vs. Wade - Most Aborted Generation
• 1970s- Bad economy, Bad politics, Bad cars/manufacturing (& Bad Fashion and Hair)
• 1974 - Watergate/Nixon brought down by Woodward and Bernstein (press)
• 1977-80 - Carter Recession
• 1980s - MTV/Music Videos/Cable Generation, Rise of Gangster Rap, Punk Rock, Heavy Metal Bands
• 1981 - Ronald Reagan era begins; discovery of AIDS
• 1983 - The Day After (Fear of Atomic War
• 1986 - Space Shuttle Explosion
• 1990s - Friends, Seinfeld, Alternative Rock, Grunge, Nirvana
• 1991 - Persian Gulf War

3. Later Events/Accomplishments of Gen Xers

• Technology! - First generation to grow up with personal computers; builders of  programs/programmers, IT specialists; connected; 95 percent have a Facebook account
• Google, Youtube, Amazon; 
• The Internet Generation - networked, decentralized authority and leadership, interconnected web
• Gen Xer Movies - Sex, Lies, & Videotape, Fight Club, Matrix, Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, Reality Bites, Natural Born Killers, The Truman Show, Good Will Hunting, Office Space; Fast Food Nation; search for meaning or expose lack of meaning/randomness/violence/irony in life

4. Characteristics/Values of Gen Xers

• 13th Generation since founding of the country; grew up in shadow of Boomers
• Cynical/Survivalists/Self-Reliant/Independent - Do not expect help from any institutions, pensions, or any Social Security, Medicare
• Adaptable/Entrepreneurs/Pragmatic/Get-it-Done Doers”/Highly Educated
• Divorce/Latchkey Generation - From 1965 to 1985, the number of U.S. divorces exploded from just over 300,000 to nearly 1.2 million, so an estimated 40 percent of Gen Xers are children of divorce, compared to 11 percent of boomers
• Postmodern Generation-multicultural, multi-ethnic, pluralistic, more accepting of alternative lifestyles; see shades of gray; value community, authenticity, relationships, experience
• Post-religious (more spiritual) and rise of New Age; post-political; post-racial
• Fiercely protective parents and family-oriented, less focused on material things, and higher work/family balance than Boomers
• First generation to go down in primary breadwinner income; dramatic rise of two income working families

5. Significant Quotes - “Whatever, dude” and “Whatever works”; “Starved for affection, terrified of abandonment, I began to wonder if sex was really just an excuse to look deeply into another human being's eyes.” ― Douglas Coupland, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture

What do you see are the strengths of Gen X? The challenges? The biblical values?

[James Nored]

@Apostle - I would not characterize any generation as either biblical or unbiblical. They are usually a mix of both. And of course, no individual necessarily reflects his or her generation.

Were the previous generations that were blatantly racist, where African-Americans were not even allowed to use the same water fountain, more biblical? Gen X by and large did not struggle with this. Gen Xers also value community, authenticity, and diversity. Are these not biblical values? And the reason so many waited to get married is because they did not want to go through the horrible divorces that their parents went through.

[James Nored]

Thanks, Bart! Well, I put Obama in with Gen X because some start Gen X in 1961, and he has generally been referenced to as our first Gen X president. I probably should have noted this.

[Bartlett Cleland]

Good stuff.  One fact check - POTUS Obama was born in 1961, making him a baby boomer.