All posts tagged: generation X

10 Gen-X Childhood Dangers That Were Basically Trying To End Us

10 Gen-X Childhood Dangers That Were Basically Trying To End Us

Published by Jenni Sidey

History shows that over time people want to feel safe. Safe at home with locks on doors, safe in cars with rules on the road, and safe out in the wild with —well, just about everything else — almost to the point of being overprotective. We put our kids in a bubble, don’t let them out of our sight for 10 minutes, don’t allow them to play “rough” with each other, or on surfaces that might scratch their delicate paper skin. I mean, when’s the last time you saw a kid in a cast? But for Gen-X (and before), we were thrown to the wolves: Left unattended, given hazardous, toxic things to play with, and encouraged to do anything but stay indoors. If you were in the house, you were shoved outside to play, and if no one was home, look out, Mom might come home to a fire truck in front of the house (true story). Here are a few death-defying things we grew up with that make me wonder if this was meant …

Boys Raised In The 70s & 80s Were Taught 11 Things We Now Know Were Wrong

Boys Raised In The 70s & 80s Were Taught 11 Things We Now Know Were Wrong

Published by Jenni Sidey

Every generation faces their own challenges, and no singular struggle is more or less valid than any other. Gen X went from having latch-key childhoods to being DIY teens, and in many ways that independence hurt more than it helped. Of all the things Gen X boys were taught in the 70s and 80s, emotional suppression may have been the most damaging lesson their families taught. But when men give voice to the things that didn’t actually serve them, they help generations have a better chance at happiness.  Here are 11 things Gen X boys were taught growing up that turned out to be wrong: 1. Boys don’t cry Akilina Winner from Getty Images via Canva Boys in the 70s and 80s were raised with a tough-love mentality and dangerously rigid gender roles. They were told to “man up” and “get over it.” They were sent the message that being cool meant not caring, and so, they internalized that mindset, pushing tender feelings down, to a place they couldn’t be reached. Those Gen X boys …

Gen-X Woman Explains Why Her Generation Never Felt The Need To Document Everything They Did

Gen-X Woman Explains Why Her Generation Never Felt The Need To Document Everything They Did

Published by Jenni Sidey

It’s the 1980s. I walk into the gym, ready for my aerobics class. Before Natalie starts up, I load my 110 Kodak Elektralite with film and ask Julie to take a picture of me posing in my leg warmers, making a tight bicep curl. Boof! The flash goes off, and I hear the camera’s high-pitched scream as it resets. After class, I’m taking this roll to Eckerd Drugs to get it developed and sending a copy to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, so all my friends can see my weight-loss progress. Oooh darn, I should’ve posed with a glass of water filled with Crystal Light — maybe that would influence people to buy it. While Gen-X got up to plenty of mischief, there was little to no evidence of most of it Yellyana / Shutterstock Tonight we are going out. Richard is picking me up at 9, then we’re going to Tom’s house party. He’s making trash can punch with Everclear. Three hours later, I’m feeling it. Kathy and I sneak away from the party, run …

90s Kids Grew Up Totally Believing 10 Lies Their Parents Swore Were True

90s Kids Grew Up Totally Believing 10 Lies Their Parents Swore Were True

Published by Jenni Sidey

The 1990s were a drastically different era. Kids roamed free and our moms only knew where we were if we called from our bestie’s landline or the payphone on the corner.  Growing up in the 90s also meant that we believed whatever our parents told us because we didn’t have the internet to fact-check, and those Encyclopedia Britannica CD-ROMS only went so far. Now, 90s kids are adults with instant access to all the information in the world, which means we can find out the truth. The lies almost all 90s kids grew up believing because their parents told them so: 1. ‘Drinking coffee stunts your growth’ 90s parents told their kids that we couldn’t drink coffee because it would stunt our growth, which turns out to be a medical myth. According to Harvard Medical School, there’s no proven link between coffee consumption and height.  How tall we are depends mostly on genetics and our overall health while we’re growing, not whether we enjoy a delicious cup of coffee in the morning. Most people reach …

Gen-X Is The First Generation To Fully Age Online And It’s Getting Weird

Gen-X Is The First Generation To Fully Age Online And It’s Getting Weird

Published by Jenni Sidey

I had an epiphany this week: Gen-X is the first true generation to fully age online. Boomers, please don’t take offense. We see you, but in my humble opinion, there is a larger portion of your people who are in a deep hippie state that want to live “off-grid” than us Atari 2600-playing, hose-drinking, latchkey kids. We like playing with others, and we aren’t afraid of speaking our truths out in the open, while much of my big sister’s generation wants to hide in the shadows. I think this is why we are all now well aware of what perimenopause is. We can thank Gen-X for going through it in a very vocal, very public way. My Greatest Generation parents use their PCs mostly for email, playing the Publishers Clearing House games, and still trying to avoid being scammed by the King of Nigeria, while their kids (me) are screaming about how mood swings and hair loss start as early as age 38. Nobody told us about the freaking hair loss. That’s why the eyebrow …

Generational Differences In What It Means To Be In A Good Marriage

Generational Differences In What It Means To Be In A Good Marriage

Published by Jenni Sidey

Attitudes towards marriage have shifted a lot over the years. While most people still want to get married and see it as an important milestone, some of the more traditional beliefs about marriage have been left in the past. Since opinions are changing with time, it makes sense that each generation has its own unique idea of what a good marriage actually looks like. Pretty much everyone values spending their lives in a healthy relationship with someone they love, but this doesn’t mean the exact same thing across different age groups. Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and boomers all have their own ideas of what it means to be in a good marriage. While marriage might have been considered a necessity for older generations, younger folks feel they have more of a choice in the matter. The idea of spending a happy life with your soulmate is an enduring one, but Gen Zers and millennials don’t necessarily want the same things out of marriage that their boomer and Gen X parents did. Boomers came of …

Gen-X And Boomers Will No Longer Tolerate 10 Ridiculous Social Pressures

Gen-X And Boomers Will No Longer Tolerate 10 Ridiculous Social Pressures

Published by Jenni Sidey

In today’s world, Gen-X and Baby Boomers are the motivating glue that keeps families and workplaces going. But as they get older, there are more and more things they’re simply tired of at this stage in their lives. They report feeling drained as they’ve reached the age when they’re expected to take on more and more burdens, with what feels like too little reward.  Too often, they’re seen as money-making machine for their kids (or the economy) or care-takers for both their kids and sometimes their parents and grandparents, too. Now that they’ve been through it all, they know what they’re no longer willing to compromise.  10 social pressures Gen-X and boomers are no longer willing to tolerate 1. To keep up with every new tech advance One thing Gen-X and Boomers are tired of at this stage in their lives is keeping up with technology.  It’s important to understand that Gen-X and Boomers didn’t grow up like the younger generations did. They didn’t have iPads or iPhones and had to rely on an actual …

9 Old-Fashioned Things Gen X Kids Were Obsessed With That Are Cool Again

9 Old-Fashioned Things Gen X Kids Were Obsessed With That Are Cool Again

Published by Jenni Sidey

Trends cycle every 20 years. And yet, many older people still tend to gatekeep and get defensive when younger generations start wearing the clothes they loved or styling their hair the way they did as teenagers, especially when they claim the ideas as their own. It’s certainly happening right now, with people in Gen Z and Gen Alpha deciding that all sorts of previously deemed old-fashioned things Gen X kids were obsessed with are now cool again. While these young people may be taking these trends from the 80s and 90s and making them new with their own unique twists, they’re also opening a bunch of fresh cans of nostalgia for the middle-aged crowd without even realizing it. Gen X kids were obsessed with these old-fashioned things that are suddenly trending again: 1. Cassette tapes and Walkmans Pressmaster | Shutterstock.com Much like they are with print media and newspapers, Gen Z is enjoying disconnecting from their phones in favor of more physical forms of entertainment. The cool kids today are buying cassette tapes and listening …

9 Responsibilities That Gen X Kids Had No Choice But To Do But Gen Z Adults Can Barely Handle

9 Responsibilities That Gen X Kids Had No Choice But To Do But Gen Z Adults Can Barely Handle

Published by Jenni Sidey

Many young people today feel overwhelmed and alone. Not only are they facing all kinds of challenges that are unique to this period of time, but they’re being collectively judged as lazy and entitled, even if that isn’t true. As far as people in older generations are concerned, many of the responsibilities Gen X had no choice but to take on are seriously difficult for Gen Z to handle. Much of this is because Gen Z has come of age in a world with more technology and the ever-increasing availability of convenience, which has changed daily life and perceptions of what it means to be independent. These formerly everyday tasks that younger people now struggle with highlight just how dramatically childhood expectations have changed over the past few decades. Adults in Gen Z can barely handle the same responsibilities Gen X kids had no choice but to take on when they were younger 1. Figuring out what to do when you’re bored irynakhabliuk via Canva Many Gen Zers are never bored because they always have some …

10 Things People Born In The 60s & 70s Don’t Get Offended By

10 Things People Born In The 60s & 70s Don’t Get Offended By

Published by Jenni Sidey

Gen Zers are often misunderstood. Yes, they have a laundry list of things that offend them, but they’re also committed, strong-willed, and passionate. But of course, there are some things younger generations get offended by that people born in the 60s and 70s just don’t care about one way or the other, and it represents a generational gap. They’re different, with certain formative experiences and upbringings, as well as different comfort levels and values. The specific things people born in the 1960s and 1970s just don’t usually get offended by: 1. Not having instructions at work Jacob Lund | Shutterstock Gen Xers grew up figuring things out on their own, which is why they’d prefer not to be guided and mentored constantly in environments like the workplace. They have a naturally entrepreneurial spirit, valuing their independence and autonomy, and condemning micromanagers and constant oversight. However, many young people are suffering from poor critical thinking skills at the hands of constant convenience and screen time. So, they may also struggle with independence in the workplace, without …