Editing Generation X (section)

==Characteristics==

=== In the United States ===
====As children and adolescents====
=====Rising divorce rates and women workforce participation=====
Strauss and Howe, who wrote several books on generations, including one specifically on Generation X titled ''13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?'' (1993), reported that Gen Xers were children at a time when society was less focused on children and more focused on adults.<ref name="13th Gen">{{cite book|last1=Howe|first1=Neil|title=13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?|date=1993|publisher=Vintage|isbn=978-0-679-74365-1|url=https://archive.org/details/13thgenabortretr00howe}}</ref> Xers were children during a time of increasing [[divorce]] rates, with divorce rates doubling in the mid-1960s, before peaking in 1980.<ref name="Adweek"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dulaney|first1=Josh|title=A Generation Stuck in the Middle Turns 50|url=http://projects.presstelegram.com/gen-x-turns-50/|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=PT Projects|date=27 December 2015|archive-date=18 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518072231/http://projects.presstelegram.com/gen-x-turns-50/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dawson|first1=Alene|title=Gen X women, young for their age|url=https://www.latimes.com/fashion/alltherage/la-ig-beauty-genx-20110925-story.html|access-date=19 June 2016|newspaper=LA Times|date=25 September 2011|archive-date=13 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813064546/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/25/image/la-ig-beauty-genx-20110925|url-status=live}}</ref> Strauss and Howe described a cultural shift where the long-held societal value of staying together for the sake of the children was replaced with a societal value of parental and individual [[self-actualization]]. Strauss wrote that society "moved from what Leslie Fiedler called a 1950s-era 'cult of the child' to what Landon Jones called a 1970s-era 'cult of the adult'".<ref name="13th Gen"/><ref name="Strauss">{{cite news|last1=Strauss|first1=William|title=What Future Awaits Today's Youth in the New Millennium?|url=https://www.angelo.edu/events/university_symposium/97_Strauss.php|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=Angelo State University|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808195038/https://www.angelo.edu/events/university_symposium/97_Strauss.php|archive-date=8 August 2016}}</ref> ''The Generation Map'', a report from Australia's McCrindle Research Center writes of Gen X children: Boomer parents were the most divorced generation in Australian history".<ref name="GenMap">{{cite news|url=https://2qean3b1jjd1s87812ool5ji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/McCrindle-Research_ABC-03_The-Generation-Map_Mark-McCrindle.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618103906/https://2qean3b1jjd1s87812ool5ji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/McCrindle-Research_ABC-03_The-Generation-Map_Mark-McCrindle.pdf |archive-date=18 June 2019 |url-status=live|title=The Generation Map|access-date=2 August 2016|publisher=McCrindle Research}}</ref> According to Christine Henseler in the 2012 book ''Generation X Goes Global: Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion'', "We watched the decay and demise (of the family), and grew callous to the loss."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henseler|first=Christine|title=Generation X Goes Global: Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-0-415-69944-0|pages=xx}}</ref>

[[File:US Marriages Ending in Divorce 1950-1990.png|thumb|left|upright=1.1|U.S. Marriages Ending in Divorce 1950–1990]]
The Gen X childhood coincided with the [[sexual revolution]] of the 1960s to 1980s, which Susan Gregory Thomas described in her book ''In Spite of Everything'' as confusing and frightening for children in cases where a parent would bring new sexual partners into their home.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Susan|title=All Apologies: Thank You for the 'Sorry'|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-gregory-thomas/all-apologies-thank-you-f_b_931718.html|access-date=19 June 2016|work=The Huffington Post|date=22 October 2011|archive-date=15 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415055600/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-gregory-thomas/all-apologies-thank-you-f_b_931718.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Thomas also discussed how divorce was different during the Gen X childhood, with the child having a limited or severed relationship with one parent following divorce, often the father, due to differing societal and legal expectations. In the 1970s, only nine U.S. states allowed for joint custody of children, which has since been adopted by all 50 states following a push for joint custody during the mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=Susan|title=In Spite of Everything|year=2011|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4000-6882-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/inspiteofeveryth0000thom}}</ref> ''[[Kramer vs. Kramer]]'', a 1979 American legal drama based on [[Avery Corman]]'s best-selling novel, came to epitomize the struggle for child custody and the demise of the traditional nuclear family.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Peter|title=The Cinema of Generation X: A Critical Study of Films and Directors|url=https://archive.org/details/cinemaofgenerati00hans|url-access=registration|publisher=McFarland & Co|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7864-1334-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cinemaofgenerati00hans/page/45 45]}}</ref>

[[File:US Participation Rates for Women Professionals 1966-2013.png|thumb|upright=1.1|U.S. Participation Rates for Women Professionals 1966–2013]]
The rapid influx of Boomer women into the labor force that began in the 1970s was marked by the confidence of many in their ability to successfully pursue a career while meeting the needs of their children. This resulted in an increase in [[latchkey child]]ren, leading to the terminology of the "latchkey generation" for Generation X.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Blakemore|first1=Erin|title=The Latchkey Generation: How Bad Was It?|url=http://daily.jstor.org/latchkey-generation-bad/|access-date=5 April 2016|publisher=JSTOR Daily|date=9 November 2015|archive-date=12 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112003116/http://daily.jstor.org/latchkey-generation-bad/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="highbeam.com">{{cite web|last1=Clack|first1=Erin|title=Study probes generation gap.(Hot copy: an industry update)|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116445054.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503103915/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116445054.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 May 2016|website=HighBeam Research|access-date=2 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/11/02/141930849/whats-the-defining-moment-of-your-generation|title=What's The Defining Moment of Your Generation?|work=NPR.org|access-date=11 September 2017|language=en|archive-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910004557/http://www.npr.org/2011/11/02/141930849/whats-the-defining-moment-of-your-generation|url-status=live}}</ref> These children lacked adult supervision in the hours between the end of the school day and when a parent returned home from work in the evening, and for longer periods of time during the summer. Latchkey children became common among all socioeconomic demographics, but this was particularly so among middle- and upper-class children.<ref name="highbeam.com"/> The higher the educational attainment of the parents, the higher the odds the children of this time would be latchkey children, due to increased maternal participation in the workforce at a time before childcare options outside the home were widely available.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Susan|title=All Apologies: Thank You for the 'Sorry'|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-gregory-thomas/all-apologies-thank-you-f_b_931718.html|access-date=2 April 2016|work=Huffington Post|date=21 October 2011|archive-date=15 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415055600/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-gregory-thomas/all-apologies-thank-you-f_b_931718.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Teacher's Guide to Generation X|url=http://www.edutopia.org/generation-x-parents-relationships-guide|website=Edutopia|access-date=2 April 2016|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323084700/http://www.edutopia.org/generation-x-parents-relationships-guide|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Susan|title=The Divorce Generation|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303544604576430341393583056|access-date=2 April 2016|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=9 July 2011|archive-date=9 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409014656/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303544604576430341393583056|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Toch|first1=Thomas|title=The Making of 'To Save Our Schools, To Save Our Children': A Conversation With Marshall Frady|url=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1984/09/19/05550017.h04.html|access-date=17 April 2016|publisher=Education Week|date=19 September 1984|archive-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426034829/http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1984/09/19/05550017.h04.html|url-status=live}}</ref> McCrindle Research Centre described the cohort as "the first to grow up without a large adult presence, with both parents working", stating this led to Gen Xers being more peer-oriented than previous generations.<ref name="GenMap"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Corry|first1=John|title=A Look at Schools in U.S.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/04/arts/a-look-at-schools-in-us.html|access-date=17 April 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 September 1984|archive-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426222125/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/04/arts/a-look-at-schools-in-us.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Conservative and neoliberal turn=====
Some older Gen Xers started high school in the waning years of the [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] presidency, but much of the cohort became socially and politically conscious during the [[Reagan Era]]. President [[Ronald Reagan]], voted in office principally by the Boomer generation,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gitlin|first=Martin|title=The Baby Boomer Encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/babyboomerencycl00gitl|url-access=limited|publisher=Greenwood|year=2011|isbn=978-0-313-38218-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/babyboomerencycl00gitl/page/n184 160]}}</ref> embraced [[Laissez-faire|''laissez-faire'' economics]] with vigor. His policies included cuts in the growth of government spending, reduction in taxes for the higher echelon of society, legalization of [[Share repurchase|stock buybacks]], and deregulation of key industries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebalance.com/reaganomics-did-it-work-would-it-today-3305569#citation-2|title=Reaganomics|last=Amadeo|first=Kimberly|date=31 January 2020|website=The Balance|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525164514/https://www.thebalance.com/reaganomics-did-it-work-would-it-today-3305569#citation-2|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[early 1980s recession]] saw unemployment rise to 10.8% in 1982; requiring, more often than not, dual parental incomes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2012-2/|title=The Rise in Dual Income Households|date=18 June 2015|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=4 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404030454/https://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2012-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> One in five American children grew up in poverty during this time. The federal debt almost tripled during Reagan's time in office, from $998&nbsp;billion in 1981 to $2.857&nbsp;trillion in 1989, placing greater burden of repayment on the incoming generation.<ref>{{Cite book|last=di Lorenzo|first=Stefano|title=Reaganomics: The Roots of Neoliberalism|publisher=Independently Published|year=2017|isbn=978-1-9731-6329-9}}</ref>

[[File:UnderstandingAIDS.png|thumb|left|upright=0.9|U.S. Department of Health booklet published in 1988]]
Government expenditure shifted from domestic programs to defense. Remaining funding initiatives, moreover, tended to be diverted away from programs for children and often directed toward the elderly population, with cuts to [[Medicaid]] and programs for children and young families, and protection and expansion of [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] and [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] for the elderly population. These programs for the elderly were not tied to economic need. Congressman [[David Durenberger]] criticized this political situation, stating that while programs for poor children and for young families were cut, the government provided "free health care to elderly millionaires".<ref name="Strauss"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Holtz|first1=Geoffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ay28CTKlgsC|title=Welcome to the Jungle: The Why Behind Generation X|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=1995|isbn=978-0-312-13210-1|pages=49–50|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=3 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203080702/https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ay28CTKlgsC|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Crack epidemic and AIDS=====
Gen Xers came of age or were children during the 1980s [[crack epidemic]], which disproportionately impacted urban areas as well as the African-American community. The U.S. Drug turf battles increased violent crime. [[Crack cocaine|Crack addiction]] impacted communities and families. Between 1984 and 1989, the homicide rate for black males aged 14 to 17 doubled in the U.S., and the homicide rate for black males aged 18 to 24 increased almost as much. The crack epidemic had a destabilizing impact on families, with an increase in the number of children in foster care.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dunlap |first=Eloise |date=2006 |title=The Severely-Distressed African American Family in the Crack Era: Empowerment is not Enough |journal=J Sociol Soc Welf |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=115{{ndash}}139 |pmid=18852841 |pmc=2565489 }}</ref> In 1986, President Reagan signed the [[Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986|Anti-Drug Abuse Act]] to enforce strict [[Mandatory sentencing|mandatory minimum sentencing]] for drug users. He also increased the federal budget for supply-reduction efforts.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fryer|first1=Roland|date=April 2006|title=Measuring Crack Cocaine and Its Impact|url=http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/fhlm_crack_cocaine_0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007234650/http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/fhlm_crack_cocaine_0.pdf |archive-date=7 October 2013 |url-status=live|journal=Harvard University Society of Fellows|pages=3, 66|access-date=4 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/yuppies-beware-here-comes-generation-x/article_ce19c561-c82d-51b0-a0f9-0f680bc50da9.html|title=Yuppies, Beware: Here Comes Generation X|date=9 July 1991|newspaper=Tulsa World|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228212911/https://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/yuppies-beware-here-comes-generation-x/article_ce19c561-c82d-51b0-a0f9-0f680bc50da9.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Fear of the impending [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s loomed over the formative years of Generation X. The emergence of AIDS coincided with Gen X's adolescence, with the disease first clinically observed in the U.S. in 1981. By 1985, an estimated one-to-two million Americans were HIV-positive. This particularly hit the [[LGBT]] community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABtjR7Bc84SyiSRKv6VQ3xatq2VPWu1GfUD_ckT_c5g_EtJI3HGX5x9IT68-4FfKqdrDftJ9HAQ9u4UM5XXjNA_HERTn7paNfwbGt1TI9MEkHC3DKQKBpIVnbvJ22FF_ewfIeJGyyBidkzrBXNndRk2Td29GCvpC1GZxqxr524E6|title=The Disease That Defined My Generation|last=Haltikis|first=Perry|date=2 February 2016|website=Huffington Post|access-date=11 March 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801005145/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABtjR7Bc84SyiSRKv6VQ3xatq2VPWu1GfUD_ckT_c5g_EtJI3HGX5x9IT68-4FfKqdrDftJ9HAQ9u4UM5XXjNA_HERTn7paNfwbGt1TI9MEkHC3DKQKBpIVnbvJ22FF_ewfIeJGyyBidkzrBXNndRk2Td29GCvpC1GZxqxr524E6|url-status=live}}</ref> As the virus spread, at a time before effective treatments were available, a public panic ensued. [[Sex education]] programs in schools were adapted to address the AIDS epidemic, which taught Gen X students that sex could kill them.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/generation-x/videos/gen-x-reacts-to-aids/|title=Generation X Reacts to AIDS|date=2016|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=National Geographic Channel|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427015344/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/generation-x/videos/gen-x-reacts-to-aids/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Halkitis|first1=Perry|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/perry-n-halkitis-phd-ms/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884.html|title=The Disease That Defined My Generation|date=2 February 2016|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809002203/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/perry-n-halkitis-phd-ms/the-disease-that-defined-_b_5881884.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Rise of home computing=====
[[File:Apple II tranparent 800.png|thumb|upright=1.0|An 8-bit 1977 [[Apple II (1977 computer)|Apple II]]]]
Gen Xers were the first children to have access to [[personal computer]]s in their homes and at schools.<ref name="GenMap" /> In the early 1980s, the growth in the use of personal computers exploded. Manufacturers such as [[Commodore International|Commodore]], [[Atari]], and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] responded to the demand via [[8-bit computing|8-bit]] and [[16-bit computing|16-bit machines]]. This in turn stimulated the software industries with corresponding developments for backup storage, use of the [[floppy disk]], [[zip drive]], and [[CD-ROM]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Clark Northrup|first=Cynthia|title=The American economy : a historical encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/americaneconomyh12nort|url-access=limited|publisher=ABC Clio|year=2003|isbn=978-1-57607-866-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americaneconomyh12nort/page/n166 144]}}</ref>

At school, several computer projects were supported by the Department of Education under [[United States Secretary of Education]] [[Terrel Bell]]'s "Technology Initiative".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saettler|first=Paul|title=The evolution of American educational technology|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|year=1990|isbn=978-0-87287-613-2|pages=166}}</ref> This was later mirrored in the UK's 1982 Computers for Schools programme<ref>{{Cite book|last=Younie|first=Sarah|title=Teaching with Technologies: The Essential Guide|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education (UK)|year=2013|isbn=978-0-335-24619-9|pages=20}}</ref> and, in France, under the 1985 scheme ''[[Computing for All|Plan Informatique pour Tous (IPT)]].''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mourot|first=Jean J.|title=La dernière classe 1984-1990|publisher=Le Scorpion Brun|year=2013|isbn=979-10-92559-00-2|pages=71}}</ref>

=====Post–civil rights generation=====
In the U.S., Generation X was the first cohort to grow up post-integration after [[Jim Crow laws|the racist Jim Crow]] laws. They were described in a marketing report by ''Specialty Retail'' as the kids who "lived the [[civil rights movement]]". They were among the first children to be [[Desegregation busing|bused]] to attain [[Racial integration|integration]] in the public school system. In the 1990s, Strauss reported Gen Xers were "by any measure the least racist of today's generations".<ref name="Strauss"/><ref name="Retail">{{cite news|url=http://specialtyretail.com/issue/2003/07/running-a-cart-or-kiosk/generation-x/|title=Generation X|date=Summer 2003|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=Specialty Retail|archive-date=23 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623105506/http://specialtyretail.com/issue/2003/07/running-a-cart-or-kiosk/generation-x/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the U.S., [[Title IX]], which passed in 1972, provided increased athletic opportunities to Gen X girls in the public school setting.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Underwood|first1=Chuck|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6ZGuilmLcc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/y6ZGuilmLcc| archive-date=28 October 2021|title=America's Generations With Chuck Underwood - Generation X|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=PBS}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''[[Roots (1977 miniseries)|Roots]]'', based on the novel by [[Alex Haley]] and broadcast as a 12-hour series, was viewed as a turning point in the country's ability to relate to Afro-American history.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Erickson|first=Tamara J|title=What's Next, Gen X?: Keeping Up, Moving Ahead, and Getting the Career You Want|publisher=Harvard Business Review Pres|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4221-2064-4}}</ref>

====As young adults====
=====Continued growth in college enrollments=====
[[File:Total Fall Enrollment in US degree granting Institutions 1965-1998.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Total Fall Enrollment in U.S. degree granting Institutions 1965–1998]]
In the U.S., compared to the Boomer generation, Generation X was more educated than their parents. The share of young adults enrolling in college steadily increased from 1983, before peaking in 1998. In 1965, as early Boomers entered college, total enrollment of new undergraduates was just over 5.7&nbsp;million individuals across the public and private sectors. By 1983, the first year of Gen X college enrollments (as per Pew Research's definition), this figure had reached 12.2&nbsp;million. This was an increase of 53%, effectively a doubling in student intake. As the 1990s progressed, Gen X college enrollments continued to climb, with increased loan borrowing as the cost of an education became substantially more expensive compared to their peers in the mid-1980s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=US Congress, Senate Committee on Finance Staff|title=Education Tax Proposals: Hearing Before the Committee on Finance|publisher=US Government Printing Office, 1999|year=1999|isbn=978-0-16-058193-9|pages=99}}</ref> By 1998, the generation's last year of college enrollment, those entering the higher education sector totaled 14.3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d00/dt174.asp|title=Total fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by control and type of institution: 1965 to 1998|date=July 2000|website=National Center for Education Statistics|access-date=3 February 2023|archive-date=1 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101005108/https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d00/dt174.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, unlike Boomers and previous generations, women outpaced men in college completion rates.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bialik|first=Kristen|url=https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations/|title=Millennial life: How young adulthood today compares with prior generation|date=14 February 2019|work=Pew Research Center|access-date=3 February 2023|archive-date=8 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208213629/https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Adjusting to a new societal environment=====
For early Gen Xer graduates entering the job market at the end of the 1980s, economic conditions were challenging and did not show signs of major improvements until the mid-1990s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ericksson|first=Tamara|title=What's Next, Gen X?: Keeping Up, Moving Ahead, and Getting the Career You Want|publisher=Harvard Business Review Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4221-2064-4}}</ref> In the U.S., restrictive monetary policy to curb rising inflation and the collapse of a large number of [[savings and loan association]]s (private banks that specialized in [[home mortgage]]s) impacted the welfare of many American households. This precipitated a large government bailout, which placed further strain on the budget.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Walsh|first=Carl E|date=1993|title=What caused the 1990-91 Recession?|journal=Economic Review: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco|pages=33}}</ref> Furthermore, three decades of growth came to an end. The social contract between employers and employees, which had endured during the 1960s and 1970s and was scheduled to last until retirement, was no longer applicable. By the late 1980s, there were large-scale layoffs of Boomers, corporate downsizing, and accelerated [[offshoring]] of production.<ref>{{Cite book|last=. Erickson|first=Tamara|title=What's Next, Gen X?: Keeping Up, Moving Ahead, and Getting the Career You Want|publisher=Harvard Business Pres|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4221-5615-5}}</ref>

On the political front, in the U.S. the generation became ambivalent if not outright disaffected with politics. They had been reared in the shadow of the [[Vietnam War]] and the [[Watergate scandal]]. They came to maturity under the Reagan and [[George H. W. Bush]] presidencies, with first-hand experience of the impact of [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] policies. Few had experienced a Democratic administration and even then, only, at an atmospheric level. For those on the left of the political spectrum, the disappointments with the previous Boomer student mobilizations of the 1960s and the collapse of those movements towards a consumerist "[[greed is good]]" and "[[yuppie]]" culture during the 1980s felt, to a great extent, like hypocrisy if not outright betrayal. Hence, the preoccupation on "authenticity" and not "selling-out". The [[Revolutions of 1989]] and the collapse of the socialist utopia with the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]], moreover, added to the disillusionment that any alternative to the [[capitalist model]] was possible.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Erickson|first=Tamara|title=What's Next, Gen X?: Keeping Up, Moving Ahead, and Getting the Career You Want|publisher=Harvard Business Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4221-5615-5}}</ref>

=====Birth of the "slacker"=====
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| image3 = Raleigh chopper.jpg
| footer = [[Skateboard]]ing, [[BMX bike]]s, and [[Raleigh Chopper|chopper]] bikes first became popular among Generation X.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Alex |title=Skateboarding Past a Midlife Crisis (Published 2012) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/fashion/skateboarding-past-a-midlife-crisis.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/fashion/skateboarding-past-a-midlife-crisis.html |archive-date=2 January 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=9 May 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
}}
In 1990, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine published an article titled "Living: Proceeding with Caution", which described those then in their 20s as aimless and unfocused. Media pundits and advertisers further struggled to define the cohort, typically portraying them as "unfocused [[Twentysomething (term)|twentysomething]]s". A [[MetLife]] report noted: "media would portray them as the ''[[Friends]]'' generation: rather self-involved and perhaps aimless...but fun".<ref name="MetLife">{{cite news|title=The MetLife Study of Gen X: The MTV Generation Moves into Mid-Life|url=https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/2013/mmi-gen-x.pdf|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=MetLife|date=April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021014452/https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/2013/mmi-gen-x.pdf|archive-date=21 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Time1">{{cite magazine|last1=Gross|first1=David|title=Living: Proceeding With Caution|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,970634-1,00.html|access-date=19 June 2016|magazine=Time|date=16 July 1990|archive-date=1 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701074300/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,970634-1,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Gen Xers were often portrayed as [[Apathy|apathetic]] or as "[[slackers]]", lacking bearings, a stereotype which was initially tied to [[Richard Linklater]]'s comedic and essentially plotless 1991 film ''[[Slacker (film)|Slacker]]''. After the film was released, "journalists and critics thought they put a finger on what was different about these young adults in that 'they were reluctant to grow up' and 'disdainful of earnest action'".<ref name="Time1"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=ScrIibner|first1=Sara|url=http://www.salon.com/2013/08/11/generation_x_gets_really_old_how_do_slackers_have_a_midlife_crisis/|title=Generation X gets really old: How do slackers have a midlife crisis?|date=11 August 2013|work=Salon|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=19 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619213301/http://www.salon.com/2013/08/11/generation_x_gets_really_old_how_do_slackers_have_a_midlife_crisis/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ben Stiller]]'s 1994 film ''[[Reality Bites]]'' also sought to capture the [[zeitgeist]] of the generation with a portrayal of the attitudes and lifestyle choices of the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/reality-bites-captured-gen-x-25-years-later-helen-childress/583870/|title=Reality Bites Captured Gen X With Perfect Irony|last=Roberts|first=Soraya|date=March 2019|website=The Atlantic|access-date=3 February 2023|archive-date=1 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101005107/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/reality-bites-captured-gen-x-25-years-later-helen-childress/583870/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Negative stereotypes of Gen X young adults continued, including that they were "bleak, cynical, and disaffected". In 1998, such stereotypes prompted sociological research at [[Stanford University]] to study the accuracy of the characterization of Gen X young adults as cynical and disaffected. Using the national [[General Social Survey]], the researchers compared answers to identical survey questions asked of 18–29-year-olds in three different time periods. Additionally, they compared how older adults answered the same survey questions over time. The surveys showed 18–29-year-old Gen Xers did exhibit higher levels of cynicism and disaffection than previous cohorts of 18–29-year-olds surveyed. However, they also found that cynicism and disaffection had increased among all age groups surveyed over time, not just young adults, making this a period effect, not a [[cohort effect]]. In other words, adults of all ages were more cynical and disaffected in the 1990s, not just Generation X.<ref>{{cite news|title=Generation X not so special: Malaise, cynicism on the rise for all age groups|url=http://news.stanford.edu/pr/98/980821genx.html|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=Stanford University|archive-date=14 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814224207/http://news.stanford.edu/pr/98/980821genx.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Oldsters Get The Gen X Feeling|url=http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19980729080415data_trunc_sys.shtml|access-date=11 July 2016|publisher=SCI GOGO|date=29 August 1998|archive-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818120039/http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19980729080415data_trunc_sys.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a 2023 interview with television host [[Bill Maher]] on the podcast ''Club Random with Bill Maher'', vocalist and guitarist [[Billy Corgan]] hinted at how [[the Smashing Pumpkins]] spoke to the disillusionment felt by many Gen Xers as they reached adulthood, noting:

{{Quote|text=At least generationally, I think that's why I connected with so many people—because I was speaking the patois of: ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' meets "What the fuck happened in my life?"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Club Random Podcast |date=2023-05-28 |title=Billy Corgan – Club Random with Bill Maher |website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ1JP0j1wj4}}</ref>|author=}}

==== Rise of the Internet and the dot-com bubble ====
By the mid-late 1990s, under [[Bill Clinton]]'s presidency, economic optimism had returned to the U.S.,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Weinstein|first=Deena|title=Rock'n America: A Social and Cultural History|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4426-0018-8|pages=237}}</ref> with unemployment reduced from 7.5% in 1992 to 4% in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebalance.com/president-bill-clinton-s-economic-policies-3305559|title=President Bill Clinton's Economic Policies|website=The Balance|access-date=3 February 2023|archive-date=24 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524002921/https://www.thebalance.com/president-bill-clinton-s-economic-policies-3305559|url-status=live}}</ref> Younger members of Gen X, straddling across administrations, politically experienced a "liberal renewal". In 1997, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine published an article titled "Generation X Reconsidered", which retracted the previously reported negative stereotypes and reported positive accomplishments. The article cited Gen Xers' tendency to found technology [[Startup company|startup companies]] and small businesses, as well as their ambition, which research showed was higher among Gen X young adults than older generations.<ref name="Time1"/> Yet, the slacker moniker stuck.<ref name="Jury Expert">{{cite news|last1=Keene|first1=Douglas|title=Generation X members are "active, balanced and happy". Seriously?|url=http://www.thejuryexpert.com/2011/11/gen-x-members-are-active-balanced-and-happy/|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=The Jury Expert – The Art and Science of Litigation Advocacy|date=29 November 2011|archive-date=3 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703145524/http://www.thejuryexpert.com/2011/11/gen-x-members-are-active-balanced-and-happy/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Time2">{{cite magazine|last1=Hornblower|first1=Margot|title=Generation X Reconsidered|url=https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19970609,00.html|access-date=19 June 2016|magazine=Time|date=9 June 1997|archive-date=1 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701084116/http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19970609,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As the decade progressed, Gen X gained a reputation for [[entrepreneurship]]. In 1999, ''[[The New York Times]]'' dubbed them "Generation 1099", describing them as the "once pitied but now envied group of [[self-employed]] workers whose income is reported to the [[Internal Revenue Service]] not on a [[W-2 form]], but on [[Form 1099]]".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ellin|first1=Abby|title=Preludes; A Generation of Freelancers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/15/business/preludes-a-generation-of-freelancers.html|access-date=1 July 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 August 1999|archive-date=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610003411/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/15/business/preludes-a-generation-of-freelancers.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Nostalgia (7539894906).jpg|thumb|right|America Online (AOL) version 2.0 program disk for Microsoft Windows (1994), widely used by younger Gen Xers to access the Internet]]
Consumer access to the [[Internet]] and its commercial development throughout the 1990s witnessed a frenzy of IT initiatives. Newly created companies, launched on stock exchanges globally, were formed with dubitable revenue generation or cash flow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moneycrashers.com/dot-com-bubble-burst/|title=History of the Dot-Com Bubble Burst and How to Avoid Another|last=Smith|first=Kalen|website=Money Crashers|date=6 June 2022 |access-date=3 February 2023|archive-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925211920/https://www.moneycrashers.com/dot-com-bubble-burst/|url-status=live}}</ref> When the [[dot-com bubble]] eventually burst in 2000, early Gen Xers who had embarked as entrepreneurs in the IT industry while riding the Internet wave, as well as newly qualified programmers at the tail-end of the generation (who had grown up with [[AOL]] and the first [[web browser]]s), were both caught in the crash.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wang|first=Cynthia|title=100 Questions and Answers About Gen X Plus 100 Questions and Answers About Millennials|publisher=Front Edge Publishing|year=2019|isbn=978-1-64180-048-8}}</ref> This had major repercussions, with cross-generational consequences; five years after the bubble burst, new matriculation of IT Millennial undergraduates fell by 40% and by as much as 70% in some information systems programs.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Torres-Coronas|first=Teresa|title=Encyclopedia of Human Resources Information Systems: Challenges in e-HRM: Challenges in e-HRM|publisher=IGI Global|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59904-884-0|pages=230}}</ref>

However, following the crisis, sociologist [[Mike Males]] reported continued confidence and optimism among the cohort. He reported "surveys consistently find 80% to 90% of Gen Xers self-confident and optimistic".<ref name="Males">{{cite news|last1=Males|first1=Mike|title=The True 'Great Generation'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-26-op-38674-story.html|access-date=19 June 2016|newspaper=LA Times|date=26 August 2001|archive-date=4 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704111116/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/aug/26/opinion/op-38674|url-status=live}}</ref> Males wrote "these young Americans should finally get the recognition they deserve", praising the cohort and stating that "the permissively raised, universally deplored Generation X is the true 'great generation', for it has braved a hostile social climate to reverse abysmal trends". He described them as the hardest-working group since the [[Greatest Generation|World War II generation]]. He reported Gen Xers' entrepreneurial tendencies helped create the high-tech industry that fueled the 1990s economic recovery.<ref name="Males" /><ref>{{cite news|last1=Reddy|first1=Patrick|title=Generation X Reconsidered; 'Slackers' No More. Today's Young Adults Have Fought Wars Fiercely, Reversed Unfortunate Social Trends and Are Proving Themselves to be Another 'Great Generation'|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-22449092.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911121441/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-22449092.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 September 2016|access-date=19 June 2016|newspaper=The Buffalo News|date=10 February 2002}}</ref> In 2002, ''Time'' magazine published an article titled ''Gen Xers Aren't Slackers After All'', reporting that four out of five new businesses were the work of Gen Xers.<ref name="Retail"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Chatzky|first1=Jean|date=31 March 2002|title=Gen Xers Aren't Slackers After All|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,221136,00.html|magazine=Time|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=1 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701074918/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,221136,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Response to 9/11=====
In the U.S., Gen Xers were described as the major heroes of the [[September 11 terrorist attacks]] by author William Strauss. The firefighters and police responding to the attacks were predominantly from Generation X. Additionally, the leaders of the passenger revolt on [[United Airlines Flight 93]] were also, by majority, Gen Xers.<ref name="Jury Expert" /><ref>{{cite news|last1=Koidin|first1=Michelle|title=After September 11 Events Hand Generation X a 'Real Role to Play'|newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|date=11 October 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Koidin|first1=Michelle|title=Events Hand Generation X A 'Real Role to Play'|url=http://www.lifecourse.com/media/articles/lib/2001/101101-saen.html|access-date=16 October 2016|publisher=LifeCourse Associates|date=11 October 2001|archive-date=19 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019061452/http://www.lifecourse.com/media/articles/lib/2001/101101-saen.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Author Neil Howe reported survey data which showed that Gen Xers were [[cohabitation|cohabiting]] and getting married in increasing numbers following the terrorist attacks. Gen X survey respondents reported that they no longer wanted to live alone.<ref>{{cite web|title=Neil Howe on Gen X and 9/11|date=2001|work=CNN|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur-b1FMUVo4 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929141554/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur-b1FMUVo4&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=29 September 2019|via=youtube.com}}</ref> 

In October 2001, the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'' wrote of Gen Xers: "Now they could be facing the most formative events of their lives and their generation."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Klondin|first1=Michelle|title=After September 11 Events Hand Generation X a 'Real Role to Play'|newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|date=11 October 2001}}</ref> The ''[[Greensboro News & Record]]'' reported members of the cohort "felt a surge of [[patriotism]] since terrorists struck" by giving blood, working for charities, donating to charities, and by joining the military to fight the [[War on Terror]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Maria|title=Greatness Alive in Generation X Young Americans Show Patriotism in the Wake of the Terrorist Attacks Sept. 11|publisher=[[Greensboro News & Record]]|date=20 September 2001}}</ref> ''The Jury Expert'', a publication of The American Society of Trial Consultants, reported: "Gen X members responded to the terrorist attacks with bursts of patriotism and national fervor that surprised even themselves."<ref name="Jury Expert"/>

====In midlife====
=====Achieving a work-life balance=====
In 2011, survey analysis from the ''Longitudinal Study of American Youth'' found Gen Xers (defined as those who were then between the ages of 30 and 50) to be "balanced, active, and happy" in midlife and as achieving a [[work-life balance]]. The Longitudinal Study of Youth is an [[NIH]]-[[National Institute on Aging|NIA]] funded study by the University of Michigan which has been studying Generation X since 1987. The study asked questions such as "Thinking about all aspects of your life, how happy are you? If zero means that you are very unhappy and 10 means that you are very happy, please rate your happiness." LSA reported that "[[mean]] level of happiness was 7.5 and the [[median]] (middle score) was 8. Only four percent of Generation X adults indicated a great deal of unhappiness (a score of three or lower). Twenty-nine percent of Generation X adults were very happy with a score of 9 or 10 on the scale."<ref name="LSA">{{cite web|url=http://lsay.org/GenX_Rept_Iss1.pdf|title=The Generation X Report: Active, Balanced, and Happy|last=Miller|first=Jon|date=Fall 2011|publisher=Longitudinal Study of American Youth – University of Michigan|page=1|access-date=29 May 2013|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128113321/http://lsay.org/GenX_Rept_Iss1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lsay.org/|title=NSF funds launch of a new LSAY 7th grade cohort in 2015 NIH-NIA fund continued study of original LSAY students|date=2011|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=University of Michigan|archive-date=6 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606005038/http://lsay.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122088|title=Long-term Survey Reveals Gen Xers Are Active, Balanced and Happy|date=25 October 2011|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=National Science Foundation|archive-date=7 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807195604/https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122088|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dawson|first1=Alene|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/living/gen-x-satisfied/|title=Study says Generation X is balanced and happy|date=27 October 2011|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=CNN|archive-date=30 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630002619/http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/living/gen-x-satisfied|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014, [[Pew Research]] provided further insight, describing the cohort as "savvy, skeptical and self-reliant; they're not into preening or pampering, and they just might not give much of a hoot what others think of them. Or whether others think of them at all."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Paul|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/05/generation-x-americas-neglected-middle-child/|title=Generation X: America's neglected 'middle child'|date=5 June 2014|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=Pew Research|archive-date=18 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618205325/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/05/generation-x-americas-neglected-middle-child/|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, guides regarding managing multiple generations in the workforce describe Gen Xers as: independent, resilient, resourceful, self-managing, adaptable, cynical, pragmatic, skeptical of authority, and as seeking a work-life balance.<ref name="MetLife" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/Glance-Inclusion.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822204235/http://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/Glance-Inclusion.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2016 |url-status=live|title=Creating a Culture of Inclusion – Leveraging Generational Diversity: At-a-Glance|date=2010|access-date=19 June 2016|publisher=University of Michigan}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Eames|first1=David|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/david-eames/news/article.cfm?a_id=211&objectid=10496379|title=Jumping the generation gap|date=6 March 2008|newspaper=New Zealand Herald|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=17 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817081448/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/david-eames/news/article.cfm?a_id=211&objectid=10496379|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=White|first1=Doug|date=23 December 2014|title=What to Expect From Gen-X and Millennial Employees|url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240556|magazine=Entrepreneur|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809090746/https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240556|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Entrepreneurship as an individual trait=====
[[File:Sergey Brin, Web 2.0 Conference.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|[[Google]] co-founder [[Sergey Brin]], speaking at a [[Web 2.0]] conference]]
[[Individualism]] is one of the defining traits of Generation X, and is reflected in their entrepreneurial spirit.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sirias|first=Danilo|date=September 2007|title=Comparing the levels of individualism/collectivism between Baby Boomers and generation X: Implications for teamwork|url=https://www.emerald.com/|journal=Management Research News|doi=10.1108/01409170710823467|access-date=3 February 2023|archive-date=27 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127044449/http://emerald.com/|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In the 2008 book ''X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking'', author [[Jeff Gordinier]] describes Generation X as a "[[dark horse]] demographic" which "doesn't seek the limelight". Gordiner cites examples of Gen Xers' contributions to society such as: [[Google]], [[Wikipedia]], [[Amazon.com]], and [[YouTube]], arguing that if Boomers had created them, "we'd never hear the end of it". In the book, Gordinier contrasts Gen Xers to Baby Boomers, saying Boomers tend to trumpet their accomplishments more than Gen Xers do, creating what he describes as "elaborate mythologies" around their achievements. Gordiner cites [[Steve Jobs]] as an example, while Gen Xers, he argues, are more likely to "just quietly do their thing".<ref name="Gordinier" /><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Stephey|first1=M.J.|url=http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731528,00.html|title=Gen-X: The Ignored Generation?|date=16 April 2008|magazine=Time|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=20 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620201749/http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731528,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a 2007 article published in the [[Harvard Business Review]], authors Strauss and Howe wrote of Generation X: "They are already the greatest entrepreneurial generation in U.S. history; their high-tech savvy and marketplace resilience have helped America prosper in the era of globalization."<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Howe|first1=Neil|title=The next 20 years: How customer and workforce attitudes will evolve|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6196698|access-date=19 June 2016|magazine=Harvard Business Review|date=June 2007}}</ref> According to authors Michael Hais and Morley Winograd:
<blockquote>Small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit that Gen Xers embody have become one of the most popular institutions in America. There's been a recent shift in consumer behavior and Gen Xers will join the "idealist generation" in encouraging the celebration of individual effort and business risk-taking. As a result, Xers will spark a renaissance of [[entrepreneurship]] in economic life, even as overall confidence in economic institutions declines. Customers, and their needs and wants (including Millennials) will become the North Star for an entire new generation of entrepreneurs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/942/GenX|title=Why Generation X is Sparking a Renaissance in Entrepreneurship|last1=Winograd|first1=Morley|last2=Hais|first2=Michael|year=2012|access-date=2013-04-22|archive-date=9 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309230233/http://www.beinkandescent.com/articles/942/GenX|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>

A 2015 study by [[Sage Group]] reports Gen Xers "dominate the playing field" with respect to founding [[Startup company|startups]] in the United States and Canada, with Xers launching the majority (55%) of all new businesses in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sage.com/na/~/media/site/sagena/responsive/docs/startup/report|title=2015 State of the Startup|date=2015|access-date=6 August 2016|publisher=sage|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021015127/https://www.sage.com/na/~/media/site/sagena/responsive/docs/startup/report|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Iudica|first1=David|url=https://advertising.yahoo.com/insights/overlooked-influence-gen-x|title=The overlooked influence of Gen X|date=12 September 2016|access-date=2 October 2016|publisher=Yahoo Advertising|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021014750/https://advertising.yahoo.com/insights/overlooked-influence-gen-x|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Income benefits of a college education=====
Generation X was the last generation in the U.S. for whom [[Issues in higher education in the United States#Financial value of degrees|higher education was broadly financially remunerative]]. In 2019, the [[Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis]] published research (using data from the 2016 ''[[Survey of Consumer Finances]]'') demonstrating that after controlling for race and age, families with heads of household born before 1980 had higher wealth and income when the head of household had post-secondary education. For those born after 1980, the wealth premium (of college education) was no longer statistically significant (in part because of the [[Cost and financing issues facing higher education in the United States|rising cost of college]]). The income premium, while remaining positive, had declined to historic lows, with more pronounced downward trajectories among heads of household with [[Postgraduate education|postgraduate degrees]].<ref name="Emmons Kent & Ricketts 2019">{{cite journal|last1=Emmons|first1=William R.|last2=Kent|first2=Ana H.|last3=Ricketts|first3=Lowell R.|year=2019|title=Is College Still Worth It? The New Calculus of Falling Returns|url=https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/2019/10/15/is-college-still-worth-it-the-new-calculus-of-falling-returns.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016192859/https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/2019/10/15/is-college-still-worth-it-the-new-calculus-of-falling-returns.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2019 |url-status=live|journal=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review|publisher=[[Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis]]|volume=101|issue=4|pages=297–329|doi=10.20955/r.101.297-329|s2cid=211431474|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=====Parenting and volunteering=====
In terms of advocating for their children in the educational setting, author Neil Howe describes Gen X parents as distinct from Baby Boomer parents. Howe argues that Gen Xers are not [[helicopter parents]], which Howe describes as a parenting style of Boomer parents of Millennials. Howe described Gen Xers instead as "stealth fighter parents", due to the tendency of Gen X parents to let minor issues go and to not hover over their children in the educational setting, but to intervene forcefully and swiftly in the event of more serious issues.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Howe|first1=Neil|title=Meet Mr. and Mrs. Gen X: A New Parent Generation|url=http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=11122|access-date=19 April 2016|publisher=AASA – The School Superintendents Association|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107072813/http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=11122|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, the [[Corporation for National and Community Service]] ranked Gen X volunteer rates in the U.S. at "29.4% per year", the highest compared with other generations. The rankings were based on a three-year moving average between 2009 and 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=Volunteering and Civic Life in America: Generation X Volunteer Rates|url=http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/rankings/States/Generation-X-Volunteer-Rates/2011|publisher=Corporation for National and Community Service|access-date=31 January 2013|date=27 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116084906/http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/rankings/States/Generation-X-Volunteer-Rates/2011|archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Volunteering in the United States|url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/volun.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040113073422/http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/volun.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2004 |url-status=live|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics – U.S. Department of Labor|access-date=20 April 2013|page=1|date=22 February 2013}}</ref>

=====Communication style=====
Generation X prefers the communication modes of face-to-face and phone, whereas the younger generations prefer e-mail and texting.<ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=CareerBuilder Survey Identifies Generational Differences in Work Styles, Communication and Changing Jobs |url=https://press.careerbuilder.com/2012-09-13-CareerBuilder-Survey-Identifies-Generational-Differences-in-Work-Styles-Communication-and-Changing-Jobs |publisher=[[CareerBuilder]] |date=2012-09-13 |access-date=2024-07-11}}</ref> In terms of writing, Generation X is more likely than Generation Z to know [[cursive]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Seariac |first=Hanna |date=2023-12-15 |title=Gen Z never learned cursive. The effects of this are more widespread than you think |url=https://www.deseret.com/2022/9/21/23363871/cursive-writing-practice-genz-never-learned-cursive/ |work=[[Deseret News]]  |access-date=2024-07-22}}</ref> and more likely than Millennials to use postal [[mail]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Holder |first=Sarah |date=2018-08-09 |title=How Millennials Can Save the Postal Service |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-09/the-u-s-postal-service-s-plan-to-win-over-millennials |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |access-date=2024-07-22}}</ref> Also, Generation X is less likely to [[Ghosting (behavior)|ghost]] than Millennials and Generation Z.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sbam.org/gen-z-getting-a-bad-reputation-with-employers/ |title=Gen Z Getting a Bad Reputation with Employers |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-03-11 |publisher=[[Small Business Association of Michigan]] |access-date=2024-07-10}}</ref> Social media usage is also different, with Generation X preferring [[LinkedIn]] and [[Facebook]], while Millennials and Generation Z prefer [[Snapchat]] and [[TikTok]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/ |title=Social media demographics to inform your 2024 strategy |last=Zote |first=Jacqueline |date=2024-02-14 |publisher=[[Sprout Social]] |access-date=2024-07-10}}</ref>

=====Income differential with previous generations=====
A report titled ''Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well?'' focused on the income of males 30–39 in 2004 (those born April 1964{{spaced ndash}}March 1974). The study was released on 25 May 2007 and emphasized that this generation's men made less (by 12%) than their fathers had at the same age in 1974, thus reversing a historical trend. It concluded that, per year increases in household income generated by fathers/sons slowed from an average of 0.9% to 0.3%, barely keeping pace with inflation. "Family incomes have risen though (over the period 1947 to 2005) because more women have gone to work",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300002|title=Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: Women|date=1950–2018|website=FRED: Economic Data|publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=9 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309014459/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300002|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Federal Reserve Bank of St.Louis">{{cite web|url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001|title=Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: Men|date=January 1948|website=FRED: Economic Data|publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of St.Louis|ref=1950 to 2018|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517155756/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Isabel Sawhill, Ph.D 2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/sawhill/200705.pdf|title=Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well?|author=Isabel Sawhill, PhD|last2=Morton|first2=John E.|year=2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529155632/http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/sawhill/200705.pdf|archive-date=29 May 2013|access-date=22 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="Making less than dad did">{{cite news|last1=Ellis|first1=David|url=https://money.cnn.com/2007/05/25/pf/mobility_study/index.htm?cnn=yes|title=Making less than dad did|date=25 May 2007|work=CNN|access-date=3 May 2010|archive-date=7 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707001755/http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/25/pf/mobility_study/index.htm?cnn=yes|url-status=live}}</ref> "supporting the incomes of men, by adding a second earner to the family. And as with male income, the trend is downward."<ref name="Federal Reserve Bank of St.Louis"/><ref name="Isabel Sawhill, Ph.D 2007"/><ref name="Making less than dad did"/>

===Globally ===
Although, globally, children and adolescents of Generation X will have been heavily influenced by U.S. cultural industries with shared global currents (e.g., rising divorce rates, the AIDS epidemic, advancements in [[Information and communications technology|ICT]]), there is not one U.S.-born-and-raised concept but multiple perspectives and geographical outgrowths. Even within the period of analysis, inside national communities, commonalities will have differed on the basis of one's birth date. The generation, Christine Henseler also remarks, was shaped as much by real-world events, within national borders, determined by specific political, cultural, and historical incidents. She adds "In other words, it is in between both real, clearly bordered spaces and more fluid global currents that we can spot the spirit of Generation X."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henseler|first=Christine|title=Generation X Goes Global: Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-0-415-69944-0|pages=15}}</ref> 

In 2016, a global consumer insights project from [[Viacom International Media Networks]] and [[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]], based on over 12,000 respondents across 21 countries,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rodriguez|first=Ashley|title=Generation X's rebellious nature helped reinvent adulthood|language=en-US|newspaper=Quartz|url=http://qz.com/812502/generation-x-has-found-its-groove-in-middle-age-according-to-a-new-study-from-viacom/|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020112117/http://qz.com/812502/generation-x-has-found-its-groove-in-middle-age-according-to-a-new-study-from-viacom/|url-status=live}}</ref> reported on Gen X's unconventional approach to sex, friendship, and family,<ref>{{Cite news|date=22 September 2016|title=Gen X's Unconventional Approach To Sex, Friendship and Family|language=en-US|newspaper=Viacom International Insights|url=http://internationalinsights.viacom.com/post/gen-xs-unconventional-approach-to-sex-friendship-and-family/|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020120209/http://internationalinsights.viacom.com/post/gen-xs-unconventional-approach-to-sex-friendship-and-family/|url-status=live}}</ref> their desire for flexibility and fulfillment at work<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 September 2016|title=At Work, Gen X Want Flexibility and Fulfilment More Than a Corner Office|language=en-US|newspaper=Viacom International Insights|url=http://internationalinsights.viacom.com/post/at-work-gen-x-want-flexibility-and-fulfilment-more-than-a-corner-office/|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020115412/http://internationalinsights.viacom.com/post/at-work-gen-x-want-flexibility-and-fulfilment-more-than-a-corner-office/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the absence of [[midlife crisis]] for Gen Xers.<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 October 2016|title=For Gen X, Midlife Is No Crisis|language=en-US|newspaper=Viacom International Insights|url=http://internationalinsights.viacom.com/post/for-gen-x-midlife-is-no-crisis/|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020115151/http://internationalinsights.viacom.com/post/for-gen-x-midlife-is-no-crisis/|url-status=live}}</ref> The project also included a 20&nbsp;min documentary titled ''Gen X Today''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Anna|date=20 October 2016|title=Gen X Today: The Documentary|publisher=Viacom International Insights|url=http://internationalinsights.viacom.com/post/gen-x-today-the-documentary/|access-date=28 January 2017|archive-date=3 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203080705/https://insights.paramount.com/post/gen-x-today-the-documentary/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Russia ====
In [[Russia]], Generation Xers are referred to as "the last Soviet children", as the last children to come of age prior to the downfall of [[communism]] in their nation and prior to the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="McCrindle">{{cite news|last1=McCrindle|first1=Mark|title=Generations Defined|url=http://mccrindle.com.au/resources/whitepapers/McCrindle-Research_ABC-01_Generations-Defined_Mark-McCrindle.pdf|access-date=18 June 2016|publisher=McCrindle Research Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616232732/http://mccrindle.com.au/resources/whitepapers/McCrindle-Research_ABC-01_Generations-Defined_Mark-McCrindle.pdf|archive-date=16 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Those that reached adulthood in the 1980s and grew up educated in the doctrines of [[Marxism]] and [[Leninism]] found themselves against a background of economic and social change, with the advent of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] to power and ''[[Perestroika]]''. However, even before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the disbanding of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], surveys demonstrated that Russian young people repudiated the key features of the Communist worldview that their party leaders, schoolteachers, and even parents had tried to instill in them.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bernbaum|first=John A|date=9 July 1996|title=Russia's "Generation X": Who Are They?|url=http://beam-inc.org/russias-generation-x-who-are-they/|website=beam-inc.org|access-date=9 March 2020|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718085934/http://beam-inc.org/russias-generation-x-who-are-they/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> This generation, caught in the transition between [[Marxism–Leninism]] and an unknown future, and wooed by the new domestic political classes, remained largely apathetic.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stanley|first=Alessandra|date=6 June 1996|title=To Win Russia's 'Generation X', Yeltsin Is Pumping Up the Volume|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/06/world/to-win-russia-s-generation-x-yeltsin-is-pumping-up-the-volume.html|journal=The New York Times|access-date=9 March 2020|archive-date=6 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906220252/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/06/world/to-win-russia-s-generation-x-yeltsin-is-pumping-up-the-volume.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== France ====
In France, "Generation X" is not as widely known or used to define its members. Politically, this loosely denotes those born in the early 1960s to the early 1980s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sally|first=Marthaler|title=Partisan De-Alignment and the Blue-Collar Electorate in France|publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland AG|year=2020|isbn=978-3-030-35467-1|pages=59}}</ref> Although fertility rates started to fall in 1965, number of births in France only followed suit in 1975.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Monnier |first=Alain |title=Le baby-boom : suite et fin |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-population-et-societes-2007-2-page-1.htm |journal=Population & Sociétés |date=2007 |language=French |volume=2 |issue=431 |pages=4 |doi=10.3917/popsoc.431.0001 |access-date=24 July 2022 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203080704/https://www.cairn.info/revue-population-et-societes-2007-2-page-1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> There is general agreement that, domestically, the event that is accepted in France as the separating point between the Baby Boomer generation and Generation X are the [[May 68|French strikes and violent riots of May 1968]] with those of the generation too young to participate. Those at the start of the cohort are sometimes referred to as 'Génération Bof' because of their tendency to use the word 'bof', which, translated into English, means "whatever".<ref name="McCrindle" />

The generation is closely associated with socialist [[François Mitterrand]] who served as President of France during two consecutive terms between 1981 and 1995 as most transitioned from teenagers into adulthood during that period. Economically, Xers started when the new labour market was emerging and were the first to fully experience the advent of the post-industrial society. For those at the tail-end of the generation, educational and defence reforms, a new style ''[[Baccalauréat#Baccalauréat général|baccalauréat général]]'' with three distinct streams in 1995 (the preceding programme, introduced in 1968) the 2002 [[Licence Master Doctorat|licence-master-doctorat]] reform for first Millennial graduates ([[Diplôme d'études universitaires générales|DEUG]], Maîtrise, [[Diplome d'Etudes Superieures Specialisees|DESS]] and [[Diplome d'Etudes Approfondies|DEA]] degrees no longer awarded), and the cessation of military conscription in 1997 (for those born after January 1979) are considered as new transition points to the next.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henseler|first=Christine|title=Generation X Goes Global: Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-0-415-69944-0|location=London|pages=188}}</ref>

====Republic of Ireland====

The term "Generation X" is used to describe [[Irish people]] born between 1965 and 1985; they grew up during [[The Troubles]] and the 1980s [[economic recession]], coming of age during the [[Celtic Tiger]] period of prosperity in the 1990s onward.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-20443236.html|title=All grown up and in their forties: Whatever happened to Generation X?|first=Suzanne|last=Harrington|date=19 February 2017|website=Irish Examiner|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627181540/https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-20443236.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://irishstudies.nd.edu/events/2020/12/02/irelands-generation-x-with-belinda-mckeon-barry-mccrea/|title=Ireland's Generation X? with Belinda McKeon & Barry McCrea |website=Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies|date=2 December 2020 |access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627181540/https://irishstudies.nd.edu/events/2020/12/02/irelands-generation-x-with-belinda-mckeon-barry-mccrea/|url-status=live}}</ref> The appropriateness of the term to Ireland has been questioned, with [[Darach Ó Séaghdha]] noting that "Generation X is usually contrasted with the one before by growing up in smaller and different family units on account of their parents having greater access to [[contraception]] and [[divorce]] – again, things that were not widely available in Ireland. [''Contraception was only available under prescription in 1978 and without prescription in 1985; divorce was illegal until 1996.''] However, this generation was in prime position to benefit from the Celtic Tiger, the [[Northern Ireland peace process|Peace Process]] and liberalisations introduced on foot of [[EU membership]] and was less likely to [[Irish diaspora|emigrate]] than those that came before and after. You could say that in many ways, these are Ireland's real Boomers."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/the-irish-for-is-this-generation-ireland-progressive-one-because-we-didnt-have-baby-boomers-4664099-Jun2019/|title=The Irish For: Is Ireland more progressive now because we didn't have baby boomers?|first=Darach|last=Ó Séaghdha|website=TheJournal.ie|date=2 June 2019|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627181538/https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/the-irish-for-is-this-generation-ireland-progressive-one-because-we-didnt-have-baby-boomers-4664099-Jun2019/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Culturally, [[Britpop]], [[Celtic rock]], the [[Irish traditional music|trad revival]], ''[[Father Ted]]'', the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] and [[rave]] culture were significant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2020/08/07/millennials-spirituality-sex-and-the-screen|title=Millennials: spirituality, sex, and the screen|website=Theos Think Tank|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627181540/https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2020/08/07/millennials-spirituality-sex-and-the-screen|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/generation-x-no-it-s-generation-zzzzzz-1.215566|title=Generation X? No, it's Generation Zzzzzz|first=John|last=Waters|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=6 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206052329/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/generation-x-no-it-s-generation-zzzzzz-1.215566|url-status=live}}</ref> [[The Divine Comedy]] song "[[Generation Sex]]" (1998) painted a picture of [[hedonism]] in the late 20th century, as well as its effect on the media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/life/gen-x-spotting-they-ascended-the-ladder-just-as-the-celtic-tiger-was-being-birthed-35473566.html|title=Gen X-spotting: they ascended the ladder just as the Celtic Tiger was being birthed|last=Sweeney|first=Tanya|website=independent|date=24 February 2017 |access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627181539/https://www.independent.ie/life/gen-x-spotting-they-ascended-the-ladder-just-as-the-celtic-tiger-was-being-birthed-35473566.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Greenwald">{{cite web |first=Matthew |last=Greenwald |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/generation-sex-mt0000377781 |title=The Divine Comedy: 'Generation Sex' – Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=4 September 2020 |archive-date=6 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206051136/https://www.allmusic.com/song/generation-sex-mt0000377781 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[David McWilliams (economist)|David McWilliams]]' 2005 book ''[[The Pope's Children|The Pope's Children: Ireland's New Elite]]'' profiled Irish people born in the 1970s (just prior to the [[Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland|papal visit to Ireland]]), which was a [[baby boom]] that saw Ireland's population increase for the first time since the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|1840s Great Famine]]. The Pope's Children were in position to benefit from the Celtic Tiger and the newly liberal culture, where the [[Catholic Church]] had significantly less social power.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/pope-john-pauls-rte-4020761-May2018/|title=If you were named John Paul after the Pope's 1979 visit, RTÉ is looking for you|first=Gráinne Ní|last=Aodha|website=TheJournal.ie|date=19 May 2018|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627181538/https://www.thejournal.ie/pope-john-pauls-rte-4020761-May2018/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/born-in-1981-am-i-part-of-generation-x-or-generation-y-1.2755760|title=Born in 1981, am I part of Generation X or Generation Y?|first=Conor|last=Ward|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=6 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206144712/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/born-in-1981-am-i-part-of-generation-x-or-generation-y-1.2755760|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== United Kingdom ====

===== As children, adolescents and young adults =====

====== Political environment ======
The United Kingdom's [[Economic and Social Research Council]] described Generation X as "Thatcher's children" because the cohort grew up while [[Margaret Thatcher]] was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, "a time of social flux and transformation". Those born in the late 1960s and early 1970s grew up in a period of social unrest. While unemployment was low in the early 1970s, industrial and social unrest escalated. Strike action culminated in the "[[Winter of Discontent]]" in 1978–79, and [[the Troubles]] began to unfold in [[Northern Ireland]]. The turn to neoliberal policies introduced and maintained by consecutive conservative governments from 1979 to 1997 marked the end of the [[post-war consensus]].<ref name=":0" />

====== Education ======
The almost universal dismantling of the [[grammar school]] system in Great Britain during the 1960s and the 1970s meant that the vast majority of the cohort attended [[comprehensive school]]s. [[Compulsory education]] ended at the age of 16.<ref>{{cite book|last=Reitan|first=Earl Aaron|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qaMqwGRE00C&pg=PA14|title=The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979–2001|year=2003|page=14|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9780742522039 |access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=3 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203080703/https://books.google.com/books?id=7qaMqwGRE00C&pg=PA14|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> As older members of the cohort reached the end of their mandatory schooling, levels of educational enrollment among older adolescents remained below much of the [[Western world]]. By the early 1980s, some 80% to 90% of school leavers in France and West Germany received [[vocational training]], compared with 40% in the United Kingdom. By the mid-1980s, over 80% of pupils in the United States and West Germany and over 90% in Japan stayed in education until the age of eighteen, compared with 33% of British pupils.<ref name="MacDowall2000">{{cite book|last=MacDowall|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyK2MgEACAAJ|title=Britain in Close-up: An In-depth Study of Contemporary Britain|publisher=Longman|year=2000|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=3 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203080704/https://books.google.com/books?id=eyK2MgEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> There was, however, broadly a rise in education levels among this age range as Generation X passed through it.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bolton|first=Paul|date=27 November 2012|title=Education: Historical statistics|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn04252/|access-date=10 April 2021|website=House of commons Library|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525002800/https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn04252/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1990, 25% of young people in England stayed in some kind of full-time education after the age of 18, this was an increase from 15% a decade earlier.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Coughlan|first=Sean|date=26 September 2019|title=The symbolic target of 50% at university reached|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/education-49841620|access-date=10 April 2021|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411010003/https://www.bbc.com/news/education-49841620|url-status=live}}</ref> Later, the [[Further and Higher Education Act 1992]] and the liberalisation of higher education in the UK saw greater numbers of those born towards the tail-end of the generation gaining university places.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|date=11 March 2016|title=Thatcher's children: the lives of Generation X|publisher=Economic and Social Research Council|url=http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-events-and-publications/news/news-items/thatcher-s-children-the-lives-of-generation-x/|url-status=dead|access-date=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729024605/http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-events-and-publications/news/news-items/thatcher-s-children-the-lives-of-generation-x/|archive-date=29 July 2016}}</ref>

====== Employment ======
The 1980s, when some of Generation X reached working age, was an era defined by high unemployment rates.<ref>{{Cite news|date=9 April 2013|title=The Thatcher years in statistics|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-22070491|access-date=10 April 2021|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411010003/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-22070491|url-status=live}}</ref> This was particularly true of the youngest members of the working aged population. In 1984, 26% of 16 to 24 year olds were neither in full-time education or participating in the workforce.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Nicola|date=15 December 2009|title=1980s recession was worse for young people|url=https://leftfootforward.org/2009/12/1980s-recession-was-worse-for-young-people/|access-date=10 April 2021|website=Left Foot Forward|language=en-GB|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411010004/https://leftfootforward.org/2009/12/1980s-recession-was-worse-for-young-people/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, this figure did decrease as the economic situation improved reaching 17% by 1993.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 2010|title=Youth Unemployment: Déjà Vu?|url=https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/2117/1/SEDP-2010-04-Bell-Blanchflower%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012200101/https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/2117/1/SEDP-2010-04-Bell-Blanchflower%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2016 |url-status=live|website=University of Sterling}}</ref>

===== In midlife =====
Generation X were far more likely to have children out of wedlock than their parents. The number of babies being born to unmarried parents in [[England and Wales]] rose from 11% in 1979, a quarter in 1998, 40% by 2002 and almost half in 2012. They were also significantly more likely to have children later in life than their predecessors. The average age of a mother giving birth rose from 27 in 1982 to 30 in 2012. That year saw 29,994 children born to mothers over the age 40, an increase of 360% from 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Duggan|first=Oliver|date=11 July 2013|title=Half of all babies born out of wedlock|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/half-of-all-babies-born-out-of-wedlock-8703059.html|access-date=3 August 2021|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=3 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203080709/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/half-of-all-babies-born-out-of-wedlock-8703059.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2016 study of over 2,500 British office workers conducted by [[Workfront]] found that survey respondents of all ages selected those from Generation X as the hardest-working employees and members of the workforce (chosen by 60%).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.workfront.com/sites/default/files/2019-04/uk-state-of-work-report-nonmarketing.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402170516/https://www.workfront.com/sites/default/files/2019-04/uk-state-of-work-report-nonmarketing.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2019 |url-status=live |title=The UK State of Work Report |date=2016 |publisher=Workfront |access-date=22 July 2021 }}</ref> Gen X was also ranked highest among fellow workers for having the strongest [[work ethic]] (chosen by 59.5%), being the most helpful (55.4%), the most skilled (54.5%), and the best troubleshooters/problem-solvers (41.6%).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leeming|first1=Robert|date=19 February 2016|title=Generation X-ers found to be the best workers in the UK|publisher=HR Review|url=http://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/strategy-news/generation-x-ers-are-found-to-be-the-best-workers-in-the-uk/61386|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=11 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811133219/http://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/strategy-news/generation-x-ers-are-found-to-be-the-best-workers-in-the-uk/61386|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Frith|first1=Bek|date=23 February 2016|title=Are generation X the UK's hardest workers?|magazine=HR Magazine|url=http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/are-generation-x-the-uks-hardest-workers|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=31 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531022748/http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/are-generation-x-the-uks-hardest-workers|url-status=live}}</ref>

===== Political evolution =====
[[Ipsos MORI]] reports that at the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]] and [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]] general elections, the first [[List of United Kingdom general elections|United Kingdom general elections]] where significant numbers of Generation X members could vote, a plurality of 18 to 24 year olds opted for the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] by a small margin. The polling organisation's figures suggest that in 1987, 39% of that age group voted Labour, 37% for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] and 22% for the [[SDP–Liberal Alliance]]. Five years later, these numbers were fairly similar at 38% Labour, 35% Conservative and 19% [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], a party by then formed from the previously mentioned alliance. Both these elections saw a fairly significant lead for the Conservatives in the popular vote among the general population.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=12 May 2010|title=How Britain Voted 1974 - 2010|url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-october-1974|website=Ipsos Mori|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140820/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-october-1974|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the 1997 General election where Labour won a large majority of seats and a comfortable lead in the popular vote, research suggests that voters under the age of 35 were more likely to vote Labour if they turned out than the wider electorate but significantly less likely to vote than in 1992. Analysts suggested this may have been due to fewer differences in policies between the major parties and young people having less of a sense of affiliation with particular political parties than older generations.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Foster|first=Katie|date=23 September 2016|title=Turnout gap between young and old voters could be Tony Blair's fault|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tony-blair-turnout-gap-young-old-general-elections-1997-voters-2015-election-new-labour-a7326131.html|access-date=2 August 2021|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140818/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tony-blair-turnout-gap-young-old-general-elections-1997-voters-2015-election-new-labour-a7326131.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A similar trend continued at the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]] and [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]] general elections as turnout dropped further among both the relatively young and the wider public.<ref name=":68">{{Cite web|title=Voter turnout in the UK 1918-2019|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1050929/voter-turnout-in-the-uk/|access-date=19 June 2021|website=Statista|language=en|archive-date=4 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504175331/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1050929/voter-turnout-in-the-uk/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=December 2018|title=Increasing Youth Voter Turnout|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/assets/documents/Increasing-Youth-Voter-Turnout.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607110218/https://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/assets/documents/Increasing-Youth-Voter-Turnout.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2021 |url-status=live|journal=London School of Economics and Political Science}}</ref>

Voter turnout across the electorate began to recover from a 2001 low until the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]].<ref name=":68" /> Generation X also became more likely to vote as they entered the midlife age demographics. Polling suggests a plurality of their age group backed the Conservatives in [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]] and [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015]] but less overwhelming than much of the older generation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 May 2010|title=How Britain Voted in 2010|url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2010|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104013908/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kellner|first=Peter|date=8 June 2015|title=General election 2015: how Britain really voted|url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted|access-date=2 August 2021|website=yougov.co.uk|language=en-gb|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140818/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted|url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 EU membership referendum]] and [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]], Generation X was split with younger members appearing to back remain and Labour and older members tending towards Leave and Conservative in a British electorate more polarised by age than ever before.<ref>{{Cite web|date=5 September 2016|title=How Britain voted in the 2016 EU referendum|url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2016-eu-referendum|website=Ipsos MORI|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629014501/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2016-eu-referendum|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Curtis|first=Chris|date=13 June 2017|title=How Britain voted at the 2017 general election|url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2017/06/13/how-britain-voted-2017-general-election|access-date=2 August 2021|website=yougov.co.uk|language=en-gb|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140820/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2017/06/13/how-britain-voted-2017-general-election|url-status=live}}</ref> At the 2019 general election, voting trends continued to be heavily divided by age but a plurality<!-- Plurality means the largest minority --> of younger as well as older generation X members (then 39 to 55 year olds) voted Conservative.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Curtis|first=Chris|date=17 December 2019|title=How Britain voted in the 2019 general election|url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/12/17/how-britain-voted-2019-general-election|access-date=2 August 2021|website=yougov.co.uk|language=en-gb|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802070549/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/12/17/how-britain-voted-2019-general-election|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:BerlinWall-BrandenburgGate.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989 was a landmark event in Generation X's formative years.|297x297px]]

==== Germany ====
In Germany, "Generation X" is not widely used or applied. Instead, reference is sometimes made to "Generation Golf" in the previous [[West German]] republic, based on a novel by [[Florian Illies]]. In the east, children of the "Mauerfall" or coming down of the wall. For former [[East German]]s, there was adaptation, but also a sense of loss of accustomed values and structures. These effects turned into romantic narratives of their childhood. For those in the West, there was a period of discovery and exploration of what had been a forbidden land.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henseler|first=Christine|title=Generation X Goes Global: Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-0-415-69944-0|pages=148}}</ref>

==== South Africa ====
In [[South Africa]], Gen Xers spent their formative years of the 1980s during the "hyper-politicized environment of the final years of [[apartheid]]".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schenk|first1=Jan|date=November 2010|title=Locating generation X: Taste and identity in transitional South Africa|publisher=Centre For Social Science Research|issue=CSSR Working Paper No. 284|url=https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/22088/Schenk_Locating_Generation_X_Taste_2012.pdf?sequence=1|access-date=25 August 2016|archive-date=26 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826202032/https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/22088/Schenk_Locating_Generation_X_Taste_2012.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=live}}</ref>