"There are various reasons that members of each new generation seem to think they see things more clearly relative to members of previous generations. Partly, this fact results from people surrounding themselves with like-minded others. If all of my friends and I tend to see the prior generation as having ridiculously outdated views, then our attitudes are bolstered and feel like a sort of reality," Dr. Geher, from the State University of New York at New Paltz, told Bored Panda via email.
"Further, in a time marked by rapid technological and cultural advancement, members of each new generation often do, in many ways, have a genuinely advanced understanding of the world relative to prior generations," the psychology expert noted that there's a kernel of truth in the idea that all generations tend to criticize others.
We wanted to find out what it is that makes Gen X unique in the United States, compared to other generations. Dr. Geher was kind enough to shed some light on this.
"We Generation Xers saw—and largely created—profound technological advances in our lifetimes. We saw the realization of the full human genome, the shift from paper mail to email, and shared global issues such as climate change. Our world is truly and permanently changed relative to the world of prior generations," he said.
The psychology professor added that Gen X "absolutely" enjoys different memes and internet content than other generations. "Memes tend to often be generation-specific," he said.
"Gen Xers may find memes about having difficulty resetting passwords hysterical while the younger generation seems to have better figured out things like account passwords and they seem to be onto other things when it comes to what they find funny and how they see the world in general."
Members of Generation X are the parents of Millennials and Generation Z (aka Zoomers). Meanwhile, Gen X themselves are the kids of the Silent Generation and early Baby Boomers. According to the US Census data, there were over 65 million Gen Xers as of 2019. Compare that to roughly 72 million Baby Boomers, as well as another 72 million Millennials in the United States.
There is some confusion as to how exactly to define Gen X in terms of when they were born. Investopedia notes that some researchers like William Straus and Neil Howe describe them as being born from 1961 to 1981. However, Gallup states differently, that the range runs from 1965 to 1979. But broadly and culturally speaking, Gen Xers are individuals born between the mid-1960s till the very early-1980s. This time span and cultural values will differ in other countries.
Gen Xers, who are known as an ‘in-between’ generation, are approaching the middle of their careers and (hopefully) peak-earning years right now. However, they may be the first generation in the United States that is worse off than their parents when it comes to retirement prep. Only the future will tell.
A few key events may have done a lot of harm to Gen Xers’ potential savings and earning power, including the dot-com bubble, as well as the financial crisis of 2008. And this is clear from the numbers. Investopedia points out that as of 2021, Generation X households have estimated median retirement savings of $87k, compared to $162k for Baby Boomers and $50k for Millennials. What’s more, a third of Gen Xers have taken loans or early withdrawals from their retirement accounts, compared to 24% of Baby Boomers and 46% of Millennials.
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The ‘Righteous Memes from Generation X’ Facebook group currently has 92.3k members, and the community is focused on having fun, posting good memes, and being excellent to each other. The moderator and administrator team running the whole show asks anyone posting and commenting to “leave their politics at the door” because it will serve to divide the community.
Moreover, the mods and admins want the community members to stay on-point and post memes that are relevant to the theme of the entire group: namely, things related to Generation X, not random stuff they find elsewhere. They also note that current events are rarely relevant.
