After setting trends and innovating like crazy (see nearly every cool thing about the Internet and pop culture), we have been pushed to the back burner.
The latest insult added to injury came recently when CBS left the much-ignored and previously much-maligned Gen X off a TV graphic about generations.
The Silent Generation (those born 1928 to 1945, according to the Pew Research Center ) is listed, as are Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964).
The network skipped right over Gen X and went straight on to the Millennials (1981 to 1996) and the Post-Millennials (1997 to present).
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Once again, the generation previously referred to as “latchkey kids,” “the MTV Generation” and “slackers” was left out of the mix.
Evidently, no one was born from 1965 to 1980.
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The relatively small mistake illustrates why many believe Generation X is the new Lost Generation. The last Lost Generation is the group of people who matured around World War I.
Generation X is the most dismissed generation in the history of America (only a slight exaggeration).
There was a time we were the children Whitney Houston said were the future, but as a whole, both employers and advertisers have jumped right over Gen X for the Millennials.
Not bashing my Boomers or Millennials (you are good enough, smart enough and people love you), but I have never heard of a Gen X awareness program.
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Special courses have been created for and/or about Boomers and Millennials.
If “X” were not such an awesome letter and that delightful Baby Boomer Billy Idol had not started in the English punk band Generation X, I would find even the name Generation X kind of dismissive and nondescript.
The Millennials were called Generation Y before they got their cool descriptive names. American Baby Boomers hatched during the baby boom that followed the end of WWII in 1945.
Post-Millennials are not defined and many scholarly and/or marketing types still refer to them as Generation Z.
There are a few positives to once again being overlooked for the larger, sexier generations.
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We weren't born so we aren't really here which means we can't be blamed for anything and can sit back with a big old bowl of buttery popcorn.
“Jay Z, Tyra Banks, Susan Wojcicki, Phife Dawg
Watergate, Reagan cheese, OJ is on the run.
Angelina Jolie, Bradley Cooper, Uma Thurman
We didn’t actually start the fire, actually.
It was totally always burning
Since the world has definitely been turning”
That would be nice, but totally ridiculous.
Despite all the talk about Boomers and Millennials, Gen X does exist and has does more than add cynicism to any conversation.
We, particularly those of us who could identify as Xennials (born in the late 70s to early 80s), are digitally savvy, but remember a time when people had to actually do things and do those things without a smart phone.
Remember that time they tried to get everyone to convert to the metric system?
We know who Mark Zuckerberg is and miss the heck out of our first MySpace friend Tom.
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If the Internet went away, we could find a book in the library.
We are loyal to companies, but well aware that companies are not always so loyal to employees.
Social Security? We we told in fifth grade not to count on it.
We are self-reliant, but know how to work collaboratively.
Being a latchkey kid had its upsides, but so did never winning a participation trophy.
So pop those collars my Gen X friends, you are good enough, smart enough and they won’t see you coming.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amelia Robinson is a reporter, columnist and podcaster for the Dayton Daily News and Dayton.com. Amelia is an Oregon District resident who has been covering the Dayton community for 20 years. She covers topics including dining, nightlife, entertainment and the people, places and things that make Dayton a great place to live, work and play. She is the host of the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi award-nominated podcast “What Had Happened Was …” about the people and places of Dayton. She has been the author of the Smart Mouth column for the Dayton Daily News for 15 years. The column, which appears in Sunday’s Dayton Daily News Life & Arts section, was recognized as the best newspaper column in Ohio this year. Amelia appears on WHIO Radio’s “Miami Valley Morning News” every Friday and “Miami Valley Happenings with Jason Michaels” every Sunday. Amelia is also president and a founding member of the Greater Dayton Association of Black Journalists. She also serves on the boards of the Dayton Sister City Committee and Oregon Historic District Society.
About the Author