Posted on 11/21/2006 9:37:10 AM PST by shrinkermd
In 1991, Douglas Coupland wrote the best-selling novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term, well, Generation X. Gen Xers are roughly defined as those born between 1965 and 1980. At the time of Mr. Coupland’s breakthrough, they were in their early 20’s, fresh out of college, hanging onto the bottom rung of the company ladder. Now, 15 years later, they are in their late 30’s or early 40’s, more likely to be buying up market share than using dad’s gas card at the mini-mart....
...Generation X” has come to mean more than just a specific group of post-boomers, more even than a marketing demographic—people who will go see Last Days one evening and drop $5 on a pumpkin-spice latte the next morning. It has also come to serve as a marketing model, in this post–Reality Bites world, for how all young Americans should live out their 20’s. Now we are all Generation X.
According to OnPoint Marketing and Promotions (whose clients include Ford, Microsoft and Pepsi), Gen Xers are 50 million strong, make up 17 percent of the population and spend $125 billion on consumer goods each year. Whereas Mr. Coupland’s characters removed themselves from families, schools and potential career paths to tend bar and dwell in bungalows in Palm Springs, grown-up Gen Xers retreat into gated communities, planned developments and luxury loft condominiums. They used to be obsessed with other people’s money; now, they obsess over their own.
(Excerpt) Read more at observer.com ...
Their tattoos are getting a little dated
And this was perceived as grossly unfair and unprecendented.
Your quote from the article gave me a headache. ;)
They are a bunch of babies...with credit cards....
ROFLMAO !!!
seems like a tattoo was/is part of the uniform.
Forty years later, yeah, it just gives one headaches.
He says GenX embraced the world of its parents (Boomers). How can that be, when the Boomers STILL haven't become adults?
Okayyyy. This is based on what? GEN-X is one of the most educated generations turned out by this country and one of the most productive. In the 80s, Americans were called lazy by the japanese. Now they say we're obsessed with work, and we have almost the lowest vacation rate of the industrialized world.
It used to be board executives were in their 50s and 60s. Now we're seeing more and more in their 40s and even late 30s.
Hard working? Absolutely. Cynical? Perhaps. But "babies with credit cards"? Hey, at least we weren't a bunch of lazy hippies who never grew up.
Yes, it didn't give me a headache but I really did not understand it. Seemed like something Maureen Dowd would write trying to impress us with the consumer preferences of the overclass.
right on... to quote a boomer phrase
boomers are the biggest sell outs in modern history with their hippie anti establishment ideas continuing into modern day self indulgence.
X'ers meanwhile had no choice but to be educated as they are the first generation that had to buy into astronomical real estate growth as well as financing their own retirements. To top it all off they will also be responsible for cleaning up social security and reigning in the latest boomer giveaway, perscription drug benefits.
Its as if the rest of the generations have eaten and the Xer's will be stuck with the check.
Exactly. Not being one to give up easily, I read it 3 times. Then gave up. lol!
perscription = prescription... ahem.
Wonder if this will turn into another bash GenX thread. Oh wait, of course it will.
Whatever would we do if we couldn't find someone to blame? Next thing you know, GenXers will be asking for reparations. ;)
Ping
Boomers and GenXers just need to meet in the parking lot after school and fight. Just to get it out of their systems and all. At least the ones here do.
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