Hi. I'm an "elder xellenial"...

Posted by sixfourtykilo@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 325 comments

So I've been hanging out on the "GenX" subreddit and everyone there is easily 10-15 years my senior, if not more. Most of the threads are complaining about the same topics most of the boomers complain about... Anyone else in here kind of feel the same?

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325 Comments

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Independent_Wish_862@reddit

There is a reason our microgeneration exists. As an older millenial (and younger xennial) we probably have more in common with each other than with our arbitrarilly assigned mainstream generations.

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LlamaWreckingKrew@reddit

My story is that while my birth year places me in Generation X, whenever I read about what was going on with Millennials that shit was hitting me too. I was born in 1977 and I was diagnosed with ADD so age wise knock about 5 years off the average person. Then about 8 years ago I found the Xennial definition and it was "Bingo!" for me. I grew up moving around a lot as a child because my folks were Military. So I never really felt I fit in anywhere and typically things never did suit me right. When I saw this grouping things made more sense.

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Comfortable-Crow-238@reddit

Same adhd

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chattelcattle@reddit

1977 here too!

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entertheshrine@reddit

Same:)

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HermannHaller1023@reddit

Same here! Was wondering if I had got it wrong. Glad to have discovered this sub, and joined. Guess this’ll be the right fit.

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mealymel@reddit

Me too!

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Embarrassed_Chest_70@reddit

Hello, fellow kids!

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AldusPrime@reddit

I'm 77 and Xennial is for sure the only generation that fits.

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Mandykinsseattle@reddit

77!

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sholtsclaw698@reddit

1977 here

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kahlomebad@reddit

'77 babies rule!

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Different-Smoke7717@reddit

Not that many of us! Very low birth rate that year

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nitrot150@reddit

Same!!

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chattelcattle@reddit

‘77 gang!!!

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LlamaWreckingKrew@reddit

Welcome amigo!😎👍✨

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welcome2idiocracy@reddit

I was born in 81 but have adhd. I’ve always been a bit slow maturing and 5 years sounds about right lol

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thesoozle@reddit

Born in 81 also with adhd!

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welcome2idiocracy@reddit

Are you absurdly immature too?

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thesoozle@reddit

Yea I like to say late bloomer 😜

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LlamaWreckingKrew@reddit

Yeah, my diagnosis predates ADHD. Five years is more or less the average for mental reasoning. It also factors into why jobs are difficult to keep. On reviews I get basically a B+/A- review yet there is always some bullshit that comes up and no matter how well I do or how well I argue my side of things, employers give me walking papers. I'm not sorry because I had to work A LOT harder for my professional skill set and I am a competent worker. Most of the bosses I work for really are just shitty babysitters as leaders.

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merrittinbaltimore@reddit

I was born in 1978, moved around a lot (dad was a professor but also worked for the VA at the same time) and also have ADD. I feel the same about Gen X, never really felt a part of that. Xennial is definitely how I feel, too. I will say that growing up it was hard moving around so much (especially before social media where it was hard keeping up with people I met along the way) but as an adult I’m very appreciative to have seen so much of the country! I’ve gotten to know so many people from various regions and it helped me understand a lot more about people in general. Unfortunately, it’s also how my ADD and autism kinda flew under the radar for so long. We moved before teachers could really figure out what was going on with me.

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LlamaWreckingKrew@reddit

I'm glad for the experience and exposure of moving but that lack of fundamental stability echos in my adult life. I see things as 2-4 year goals or jobs rather than "I belong here and this is what I do for a living." I also tend to move around more.

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merrittinbaltimore@reddit

Oh, for sure! For most of my 20s I was never in a relationship for more than a year. I attribute that to moving around so much. I still have a hard time keeping friends for a long time and I think that’s part of it too! I just never developed the skills for long term friendships because I always knew that we’d be moving soon. Most people don’t get that. It’s nice to hear from someone else who does!

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LlamaWreckingKrew@reddit

I have a few long term friends but pretty much can just count on one hand. I am so used to people coming and going in my life, it's no big deal. I'm in my longest relationship now with just under 6 years. Usually past 3 years is when issues do not seem to get ironed out. I usually look at this as positive because I see the glass as half full instead of half empty as I used to view it. I don't feel so slaves to norms either.

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merrittinbaltimore@reddit

Although I do have a hard time keeping friends in the long term, whenever I visit a city I used to live in I see old friends and it feels like we haven’t missed a beat. I moved around a lot as an adult, as well, and it’s nice to be able to go places and always have a set of friends in a lot of cities. My father-in-law moved around even more than I did and we share a lot of stories about it, which is nice. We talk about how life before social media kinda sucked when we moved. Of course, he more than I. Moving around also helped my former career. I worked in marketing in the tourism sector and because of that it really helped with getting into the mindset of people from all over the country (I’m in the US). My coworkers were always amazed at my insights, which was cool. I’m in the alcohol industry now and it doesn’t really apply in the same way, though. lol

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LlamaWreckingKrew@reddit

I'm in Phoenix myself. Yeah, moving around helps in some ways and hurts in others. For example I am never in the "Good Old Boys" club anywhere I go. That's not really a bad thing as most of those people tend to be extremely mediocre. I know people where we pick up where we left off after years, it's a nice change of pace. I worked at a Liquor store back in 2000, it was interesting but I don't miss it.

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merrittinbaltimore@reddit

As you can tell from my username (I’m an idiot) I’m in Baltimore. I usually moved for school over the years as an adult. I actually went to undergrad here and then moved back 13 years later after a divorce. I lived all over the place during that time, the longest being in Memphis and New England. It was cool moving back here and reconnecting with people. I work in a wine & spirits shop currently, but used to work for a couple of breweries. It’s so funny when customers ask me where I’m from. I usually say it’s complicated and ask them where they’re from. Too often I answer “oh, I used to live there!” My coworkers usually ask where haven’t I lived, not the reverse! I actually love this place. It’s kinda upscale but in a neighborhood where a lot of young people live. I get treated better here than I ever did in museums, plus I make almost as much. My store is kind of a unicorn in that sort of sense. I’m definitely the “old lady” of the store though. I’m older than one of my coworker’s moms!

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LlamaWreckingKrew@reddit

I feel you. I just say I am from everywhere. I was born overseas and I lived in Italy for awhile. I moved around a lot. I've been living out West and enjoying it more or less.

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Antaine1916@reddit

We should have just been called the video generation. Kids who grew up with at home video games and VCRs and the least aggressive part of the Cold War being the main vibe in movies and whatnot, but without internet, cell phones, and social media.

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Alucardspapa@reddit

Cowabunga dude

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Antaine1916@reddit

![gif](giphy|ceK5e0DXc7Zh6)

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Penny0207@reddit

Wheezin the juu-uice

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AldusPrime@reddit

No wheezin the juu-uice!

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Penny0207@reddit

Ah, haha, no wheezin the juu-uice! We used to watch Encino Man all the time. I think I'm gonna watch it this weekend now.

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menunu@reddit

Yes. I was definitely raised by television. And TV was so off the wall and experimental and weird back then as well.

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PoisonMind@reddit

We should have a Xennial reboot of HBO's Dream On. The main character is a boomer whose internal monologue is entirely 50's and 60's TV shows.

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Electronic-Plum-4472@reddit

Now that was great television.

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Acceptable_Result488@reddit

It would be perfect, the kid in the original show would be in his forties now. His dad could be a granpa and they could have dueling internal monologues from their respective upbringing time periods

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sccforward@reddit

Remember “You Can’t Do That On Television”?

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nochumplovesucka__@reddit

Lenme think....I don't know.

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sccforward@reddit

It was on Nickelodeon and it was DARK. Very Indy. Canadian sketch comedy show for kids.

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nochumplovesucka__@reddit

My point is that "I don't know" got you slimed. I've seen it.

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rydan@reddit

I feel this show is why I have difficulty admitting I don't know something. Like you were publicly humiliated for doing so on the show.

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Collective82@reddit

![gif](giphy|zwwxwrPxfMxNe)

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sccforward@reddit

Oh shit, man. I blew it.

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replicantcase@reddit

I think Canadian sketch comedy significantly shaped my life.

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TegrinSpelledBackwrd@reddit

![gif](giphy|3o6nURan9rsoA0S7FC|downsized)

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replicantcase@reddit

Water!

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specks_of_dust@reddit

Kid me had a crush on Alasdair. Just googled him and he still looks good.

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Other_Waffer@reddit

It was bizarre. I can’t believe the things my mother let me watch. Surely I would never let my young children watch them, only after a certain age.

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glazedhamster@reddit

I fell into a public access television hole on YouTube the other night and it literally made my heart hurt knowing we can never go back.

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weedandbombs@reddit

we can always go back.

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glazedhamster@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/uwosclctzvlb1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de15688e408bc5355488f64b7febffcbb4013d9c

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weedandbombs@reddit

so? I'll make it again.

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rik1122@reddit

Bart Simpson and Kevin McAllister were figures of inspiration.

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SlimPickens77Box@reddit

Bobb Ross was my babysitter

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Idontknowthosewords@reddit

Don’t forget Bob Barker!

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Second_Act_Hot_Okra@reddit

RIP 😔

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allgreen2me@reddit

And Bob Newhart (he’s alive, but his wife died this year)

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rebamericana@reddit

And Mr Rogers

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Both-Artichoke5117@reddit

I loved Bob Ross

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specks_of_dust@reddit

I'm from the very end of '78 and I feel like my experience was about actively being part of the transition into those new technologies. As a kid, playing Clue and Sorry was only less exciting than special trips to the game arcade. By the end of it, I was never leaving the house because me and my best friend needed to beat Kid Icarus on NES. Teen years and young adulthood was spent in the early, wild west days of the internet, on AOL chat rooms and trying to avoid offers of "wanna cyber" from much older men. That was before all the world's mysteries were solved and documented and social media made gave us extreme visibility into each others' lives. The weird thing is that those few, blurry years feel like such a quick, huge jump from technology point A to point B, but the advancement hasn't really slowed down since then. If anything, it's speeding up.

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DontGrumpyStop@reddit

We are the Star Wars generation. We were all born between A New Hope and Jedi. 77-83.

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UX-Edu@reddit

Yeah I feel like if your acrimony for Russia came more from Top Gun than from the actual threat of nuclear hellfire but you ALSO weren’t old enough to know with certainty how you felt about the volleyball scene, you’re one of us.

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Common-Oil-8080@reddit

My people!

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OpenEyz2016@reddit

Facts!! I was born in 1980, so technically I am Gen X, but all my friends have been millennials. My gf is 10 yrs younger than me.

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DeSota@reddit

Same. I'm technically 3 months too old to be a milllenial, but...I'm defintely a millenial in mindset. Xennial fits better though.

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OpenEyz2016@reddit

Totally agree!!! I can't pronounce it, but I like it.

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_incredigirl_@reddit

Just sat the X like a Z. Zennial.

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AldusPrime@reddit

I've always said it like Zennial too.

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youfrickinguy@reddit

Or is it a portmanteau of GenX and Millenial; “ex-ennial”? I feel like either could be argued as appropriate, and I’ve never heard it pronounced by anyone, only written. This is ponderous, man, really ponderous.

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XanthiaAndromeda@reddit

I say ex-ennial. I'm pondering now.

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Xpandomatix@reddit

80 crew wassup. Honestly, I bagged genx and solely claim xennial. Analog childhood, and digital upbringing. We literally evolved alongside computers and the internet. The second Oregon trail generation.

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Both-Artichoke5117@reddit

I was born in 80 too

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PreciousTater311@reddit

That's most definitely what's up! Fellow 1980 with millennial friends, and I do not claim Gen X.

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cleverdylanrefrence@reddit

I'm always so confused what generation I belong to. Born in 84 so I guess I'm a geriatric millennial? But the millennial sub rarely talks about anything I relate to yet here in this sub, I can relate to most everything

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Historical-Brick-209@reddit

Yeah, 82 here. What he said.

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sparrow_42@reddit

Yeah. I'm 47. The Gen X groups on Reddit and Facebook have become mostly indistinguishable from boomer stuff. So disappointing.

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Doublejimjim1@reddit

48 here. I never felt like I had much in common with true Gen Xers. I remember being a freshman in high school and the seniors seemed so 80s with the big ugly hair, the acid washed jeans and the hair band music. By the time I was a senior it was totally different; more like the actual 90s.

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Embarrassed_Chest_70@reddit

Damn, a 75er? Rare find around here

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Azcat9@reddit

Late to the thread but I was born 3 days before 1975 in 74 so I basically say I was born in 1975 so yeah, I feel the same.

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Doublejimjim1@reddit

Lol. Probably because I don't have any older siblings, and graduated college a few years late, so I hung out with mostly xennials anyway.

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dailyoracle@reddit

Ah, see, that’s what I was wondering, whether it was the age of our sibling/s that made a big difference in how we view things. I think it does too! I had one brother five years older than me. I’ve picked an older partner (made sure he was no Fox “News” watcher, of course) and easily enjoy my time with people 5-12 years older than me. I have been a translator between my GenX partner and his late GenZ son, though. And when I went back to uni, it was fun to spend time with classmates, who were Millennials, on the whole. No one in my household understands my love of 90s music, though (or had a clue why I laughed so hard at the Pump up the Jam music video coming out of the blue during Netflix’s Cunk on Britain. They had never even heard the song before 🤯). So I do miss my true age cohort sometimes! M

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Doublejimjim1@reddit

I think it makes a big difference in your sibling's and parent's ages too. I know people 2-3 years older than me who have parents born in the 30s and are the youngest sibling who know tons of 70s pop culture references because they were watching adult TV and movies as a 7-8 year old in the 70s. It's like, I remember watching the Muppets in my PJs before bed as a 4 year old in 79 with my little brother who was 2. My pop culture references as a kid are definitely mid-80s like Madonna, Duran Duran and Michael Jackson. I'm glad I was in high school when grunge and the hippie jam bands made a revival, because I couldn't stand late 80s/early 90s (before Nirvana blew it up) pop music, not that there wasn't great music, but Poison, Bill Joel, Debbie Gibson etc were on heavy rotation on MTV and it was rough (Walk the Dinosaur comes to mind).

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-SOLONGSOLO-@reddit

Another ‘75er here.

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glazedhamster@reddit

It's shocking to me that the people I looked up to as a teen turned into boomers. Gotta love their bottom text "memes" of a kid with a beer and a cigarette talking about how good they had it back in the day and how tough they are because their parents didn't give a shit. What's interesting is I've noticed a drastic cut-off right around your age where *some* people tend to be really, really technologically and pop culture illiterate. I'm in my early 40s (elderly millennial) and several friends just a few years older than me are clueless about basic tech. I have to explain everything, like I had to walk one of them through taking a screenshot on Android (why wouldn't you just Google it if you don't know??). I don't understand how they ended up like that, a five or six year age difference feels like a chasm.

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Azcat9@reddit

Exactly, I am in my late 40s but I got into computers before a lot of my peers . It also makes a difference where you lived and how tech savvy the place was when they were growing up, some schools didn't even have access to computers until after I graduated High School. That's why I think the world got all screwed up during the pandemic because a lot of the parents didn't know how to use computers so the kids started taking over the world.

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Azcat9@reddit

I was born in the beginning of 75 which makes me a year older but most of the time I agree with you the GenX stuff is more boomer or Boomer X as I call them...lol.

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MainSteamStopValve@reddit

So as *we* get older, will we slowly become boomerized? Is one aware of boomerization as it happens, or is it just one day you realise you have Fox New on every tv in the house?

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PepurrPotts@reddit

Sorry, 2 days late to this thread, but I wanted to offer a glimmer of hope. I'm 42 and I have at least 4 Boomer friends (65-70ish) who are distinctly liberal. They're out there, even in Texas! We are not all doomed to the hellscape of Faux News.

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DreadedChalupacabra@reddit

The people being called boomers are almost exclusively gen x and it's hilarious that the subreddit still pretends we're edgy teenagers who don't give a fuck.

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oflimiteduse@reddit

I'm so disappointed with gen x. They were supposed to be the ones that changed to world almost every gen xer I know is just full boomer mentality at this point.

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Imaginary_Society411@reddit

I gave up on FB at 44. It was disappointing every damn day. The ignorance, the reduction of DV as unimportant, the flagrant misinformation, the racism (subtle or overt), and so many other things…It’s been a year and it was such a great decision.

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4TuitouSynchro@reddit

Gave up on FB 6 months ago, I'm 42, 1981 kid. Best decision ever. Most of the ppl I considered "friends" haven't even noticed I'm gone. No calls, texts, visits... they weren't my friends. I feel overall lighter, happier, and less fake. But my friend circle is now just my family. Self-awareness is very lonely but mostly I am at peace not having to *be* someone every day.

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Imaginary_Society411@reddit

100%. Though I’m sorry it was a lousy realization re: true friends. <3

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SuperRocketRumble@reddit

I’m also 47. I’ve always felt X-ers were 10 years older and millennials were 10 years younger. But if I had to pick one or the other I’d say I have more in common with millennials, but that might be because I tend to socialize with a lot of folks who are younger than myself.

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Embarrassed_Chest_70@reddit

Ayyyy 47 in the house

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Farewellandadieu@reddit

I'm 46, and same. I was a child in the mid 80s when most X-ers were getting jobs and listening to hair bands and driving and moving out on their own for the first time. I have much more in common with older Millennials and find myself aligning with people 10 years younger than me than I do 10 years older.

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michaelscarn1313@reddit

Idk I’m the same age but always considered myself Gen X. Aren’t the birth dates for gen X 1967 - 1978 or something like that?

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DreadedChalupacabra@reddit

x ends in 1980. 65-80.

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accidental_snot@reddit

Many of my fellow GenX members are old enough now to have been sucked in by FOX News. Really sad. I hate most of the people I went to school with now.

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sixfourtykilo@reddit (OP)

LOL I hated most of the people I went to school with when I was in school lol

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sparrow_42@reddit

I could not agree more. I had to ditch most of my high school friends on social media because it made me super anxious to see how ignorant most of them are.

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accidental_snot@reddit

Whoa ya. Mfers can't even spell stupid. Stewpid. Stoopud. People.

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subtractionsoup@reddit

I have Gen X coworkers and I often feel like I have to be a generation translator to explain to them why their kids haven’t been able to find work and move out. They don’t believe the absurd experience expectations for entry level positions or rising housing costs.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

you are gen x

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chattelcattle@reddit

Exactly why I’m here! They started being *the worst*.

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JsDaFax@reddit

Anyone else remember when we were supposed to be Gen Y?

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bangobot46@reddit

You know you're an Xennial when you grow up wanting to be Gen X and being told you're Gen Y. Finally accepting this fate, you're then told that Gen Y is now called "Millennial" and you don't make that cut. They swapped the cutoff (it used to be 79-80 in the mid-90s) on some of us so we said, "forget both of those, we're our own thing." And it worked. We are.

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tourniquet2099@reddit

They keep moving the goal post! I was born in 78 and originally heard the last year to qualify for GenX was 77. Then in the 2000s, I heard it was 80. Since then I’ve seen it as high as 85. WTF?! When I first heard the definition of a Xennial (2010ish?), I was like that’s me! So happy I found this sub and found others with similar journeys.

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rydan@reddit

For Millenial it was 1981 being the cutoff. So being born in 1982 makes me one of the oldest millennials alive. But now they are saying 1980. They just keep pushing it back now.

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Fast-Leg-5216@reddit

It’s funny because I’m ‘80 myself but like someone else commented here, when us 80s were teens we were told we were too young to be X’ers and that we we Y’ers, now we’re told we’re actually X’ers. From our perspective the goalpost has also been moved a lot 😝

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kongdk9@reddit

Seriously. We here Gen-Y growing up. Gen X were the misfits and teens of the 80s. Then when I found out we were 'Gen X' sometime in the 2000s, that was a shock to me.

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DreadedChalupacabra@reddit

What? I'm 79 and I've never been listed as Y. I have a good friend that's millennial and absolutely demands to be called Gen Y because millennials are all lazy. It tickles the hell out of me, like dude you totally changed the label you call yourself so you can shit on your own generation?

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Other_Waffer@reddit

I’ve read that Gen Y begin in ‘78 and ended in ‘85. I don’t mind being called millennial. But many millennials I’ve talked with don’t remember the analogue world, the 80’s and early 90’s, a world with rotary disk phones, etc. The first home number I memorized had five numbers. I think that is what

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dailyoracle@reddit

Yes! It’s an important distinction, that one foot in each world, if you will.

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SchemataObscura@reddit

I was thinking about that the other day and was starting to think i imagined it 😆

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DiscoLibra@reddit

Right?! Like a Mandela Effect *x-files music*

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hey-girl-hey@reddit

Millennial = Gen Y

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everythinghappensto@reddit

Gen Y, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha (or whatever tf they're calling it) are such lazy copout labels.

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bangobot46@reddit

Right, but the point is that we (kids born in 79/80) were told we were Y (now "Millennial.") Then in our early 20s they changed the cutoff to 81 and said we're actually X. A lot of us don't really fit in either.

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JsDaFax@reddit

Millennial =/= Gen Y. If it were, this sub wouldn’t exist.

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hey-girl-hey@reddit

Millennial and Gen Y refer to the same population. The term did not take off. You know how it's Gen X, then millennial, then Gen Z?

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ElectricSnowBunny@reddit

I always thought Y2K kinda killed the Gen Y brand.

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oflimiteduse@reddit

Generation why?

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subtractionsoup@reddit

Pretty sure this is the original designation for Millennials (Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z). We would still be in the cusp.

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JsDaFax@reddit

Millennial tends to be defined as the participant trophy, helicopter parented, emotionally coddled, internet-raised generation. It’s like, yes, we got some of that, but I also remember rotary phones, card catalogs, encyclopedia indexes, and curfews when the street lights came on. We truly are a lost generation.

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mordrath@reddit

I always hated being called the participation trophy kid. That didn't really start to happen until I was in high school, but more to the point, why is that the kids' fault? Were the children going out and buying these trinkets? That is just bullshit slander to say a child was spoiled without acknowledging that it was the boomer parent who made the precieved mistake. Like scolding a dog for peeing on the rug when they trained it to do so. Fucking wild.

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unweariedslooth@reddit

Boomers love condescending clichés. Anything that helps them feel superior and off load guilt onto somebody else. I know it's ironic and even cliché doing it to them but the trophy thing is something they created and keep alive by thinking about it constantly. The only remarkable part of this is that boomers lack the self reflection to see they can't see how they participated in creating the world they dwell in.

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dailyoracle@reddit

Damn! I think you really encapsulated (a part of) my boomer dad there.

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iroyalecheese@reddit

Thank you! This is the point I always make to boomers, they were the ones buying us trophy’s for everything, they were the ones treating us that way, and then they bitch about the things they did while they were parents

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VaselineHabits@reddit

Then they get amnesia and become the narcissistic teenagers from the 70s they've always been. They were perfect, it's all their kids and grandkids fault - they're lazy, unlike their *bootstrap tuggin* parents. Maybe it's just me?

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iroyalecheese@reddit

And that term was originally sarcastic, like there’s no way a person can physically pull themselves up by their bootstraps, so when it was used, it meant that the person won’t ever be able to do the thing they’re trying. I hate that term. https://uselessetymology.com/2019/11/07/the-origins-of-the-phrase-pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps/

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Doublejimjim1@reddit

Yeah, they buy the trophies just so they can ask why couldn't we do better. "You're so good looking, how come you don't have more dates? You're so smart, how come you don't do better in school?" Maybe because I'm pretty average...kind of like you.

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Xpandomatix@reddit

The kids haven't changed. Parents have.

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DreadedChalupacabra@reddit

They were giving us participation trophies in elementary school in the 80s. IDK why millennials got that monicker, X had it too.

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FionaGoodeEnough@reddit

I definitely wasn’t internet-raised. My first email address was at 16, and my first computer was in college.

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CallidoraBlack@reddit

We're defined that way because the generation that gave birth to ours is largely fronted politically and socially by a bunch of lead-addled, survivorship bias ignorant d-bags.

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Other_Waffer@reddit

Gen Y fits easily in the Xennial “age gap”. It was supposed to begin in ‘78.

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South_Dakota_Boy@reddit

I always liked “Generation Why” It evokes the antipathy felt by many in our subgereration, as we watched boomer Yuppies criticizing Gen X for being slackers while they themselves idolized Hippies but did nothing progressive with society, instead choosing to line their wallets.

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MaryOutside@reddit

Yes! I also remember the term "Echo Boom."

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Professional-Way5815@reddit

Also "The Nintendo Generation" I still mentally consider Xennials & GenY interchangeably as our microgen!

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

yes

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empteevessel@reddit

YES I do. I used to study sociology and they called our generation that at first. Then the beginning and end years were tweaked a bit to shift down a couple years. I’ve mentioned this to a mid-Millennial and they didn’t understand at all and chose to argue.

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Yojimboroll@reddit

I'd begun to wonder if I'd imagined it

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menunu@reddit

All my Gen X friends and family are pretty cool. But I dont think they are in that subreddit. I'm a true Xennial (born in 1982 but I dont have a lower back tattoo). We adapted to the tech and lifestyle like the Millenials but we remember card catalogs and recording songs on our tape players from the radio and being outside all day because our parents weren't helicopters. And we were old enough to be very affected by 9/11. I identify so strongly with this generation. We were coined The Jordan Catalano Generation by some blog back in the 2010s and I will never forget it. I turn 41 in 5 days. My knees hurt.

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Any_Ad_3885@reddit

But don’t have a lower back tattoo 😂 1979 and I certainly do have the lower back tattoo

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menunu@reddit

I need to get one honestly. I feel very left out. 😭

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Any_Ad_3885@reddit

Might as well. It helps us identify others in our age group in the wild 🤪

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KingDaddyM@reddit

I'm 1984, so I'm technically a millennial but that subreddit is clearly for folks 10+ years my junior. Here I feel home.

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Obi1Kentucky@reddit

I’m 83 and I’m definitely millennial as well but we are in the last moments of that transitional period between the two generations. So I identify with both in different aspect. Also having an older brother who’s most definitely Gen X helped meld my thought process to be more Gen X. Xennial is the proper term for us imo

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cleverdylanrefrence@reddit

Omg I just made the same comment above. 84 babies don't fit anywhere but I relate to so much to almost everything posted here

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missyanne1@reddit

I feel the same. I was born in ‘85 and didn’t have a computer until college. I never got a participation trophy. I don’t understand a lot of references on the millennial sub.

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Ornery_Adeptness4202@reddit

Same. And to the poster below me, I had free reign to watch/read whatever I wanted so I was in tune with Beavis and Butthead, MTV, Ren and Stimpy but also loved sponge bob, pepper Ann, etc. that’s kinda what makes Xennials. I feel like our parents didn’t quite know how to “police” us, so we were running rampant in AOL chat rooms, icq, etc and totally lying about A/S/L! I remember hacking our HS laptops to get AOL messenger.

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NotCanadian80@reddit

My wife argues that she’s not Millennial because she grew up in a place that was behind the trends. To me 1984 is the prototypical Millennial birth year.

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UnknownPrimate@reddit

Well it is all about the shared experience, which is why the ends are fuzzy.

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

"The future is already here--it's just not evenly distributed."

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Daddy_Milk@reddit

I'm 84' as well. I just found this sub a few days ago and it's great. Finally a safe space to talk Britney and Pokemon.

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ninrvana@reddit

Fellow 84 here and completely agree!

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

But how do you get by without the SpongeBob and Harry Potter references?

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setlis@reddit

Here’s the thing that’s really rough for us. It’s the idols thing. Like they LOVE all those boy bands and pop idols. I aged out of that before it started. Toy Story? Never seen it…Labyrinth tho’…. They’re not relatable.

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Athompson9866@reddit

Labyrinth! I still have my Jareth tshirt although it’s 4 sizes too small mow

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Its only forever.... its not long at all.

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CowboyAirman@reddit

It’s the Pokémon and anime I can’t identify with. No, dragon ball and pikachu were absolutely not cool and while it’s “fine” it certainly wasn’t our thing. (‘82)

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TheBr0fessor@reddit

I was born in 80 and definitely watched DBZ on channel 3 in high school. Show was great. Especially for mid 90’s, it was like ECW vs WWF

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CowboyAirman@reddit

Anime fans were social outcasts in my school. I also didn’t have cable so pretty much just watched the WB after school.

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Danbarber82@reddit

We're the same age, but I into anime in the mid 90s. At that point, it was still a very cult, underground thing. DragonBall was still fairly unknown and Pokémon didn't even exist yet. That being said, I never got deep into DragonBall Z and Pokémon came out when I was in high school and immediately struck me as stuff for little kids.

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Additional-Local8721@reddit

They both suck and as someone born in 84', they came out too late for me to care.

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menunu@reddit

Doesnt Xennial cut off in '86?

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Imaginary_Society411@reddit

Unless they shifted the years again, it’s sooner. When I first read about it years ago it was 77-83. I felt at home as a 78 baby.

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Danbarber82@reddit

I think it's 77 to 83. Millennials are 80-81 to 96, I believe

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kongdk9@reddit

No 83

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KingDaddyM@reddit

I mean, I thought so.

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Obi1Kentucky@reddit

Just out of curiosity because I’m new here. What are considered xennial years in this sub

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Unfair_Dragonfruit25@reddit

1979!!!!!! Where you at?

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TheCrowWhispererX@reddit

🎉🎉🎉

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Anustart_07734@reddit

GenXers I find are actually the real “boomers” meaning they are the Karens and Keith’s and assholes complaining about things

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psilosophist@reddit

I’m 47 but because I didn’t have kids I feel like I have more in common with someone in their mid/late 30s, except I can’t stay up as late and have to take cholesterol pills.

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jazzchilli@reddit

Same, 1976 but most of my friends are at least 8 years younger than me. The not having kids thing is key. We own our house but didn't get any money from our parents to help. I think people forget that late GenX in big cities like London were always dealing with ridiculous property prices. So in many ways in the same financial boat as millennials, just for longer.

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dailyoracle@reddit

Yes, I get that as well. I know my body is aging, but part of me still wants to hang out at Hit Topic and buy that Dark Crystal tee.

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Farewellandadieu@reddit

46, same here.

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ManateeFlamingo@reddit

I'm new to this sub and just browsing (1983!! Turning 40 soon, wow). Already saw a very boomer comment about Gen z/alpha not knowing cursive and how "they wouldn't survive how we grew up"...uh, yes they would have. Thats not really their fault, not knowing cursive. The adults in charge decided somewhere along the way to remove it from schools curriculum, which is how I learned cursive!! My parents sure as hell didn't teach me. I'm not here to bash younger generation for things that aren't their fault. Just hope that isn't one of the themes here. I'm here for the nostalgia/things in common.

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Yup. I miss the Xennial cutoff date by a few weeks but there is no way i am ever going to agree that punk rock is the most important music ever. I embrace the ethos, but that shit can really be hard on the ears. Tell this to an Xer and they look at you in disgust. I'm a fucking Xennial. I don't care if I was technically born in 76.

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psilosophist@reddit

76 and grew up in the NJ hardcore scene but now I mostly listen to jazz and the Grateful Dead.

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

I grew up not to far away in NY. I was an 80s pop music kid with a special love of the Police and Peter Gabriel. My older brother, a true Xer, went from punk to New Wave and till this day he lectures me about both. I marry my wife who has an uncle the same age as my brother and he does the exact same thing.

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

Wait--so they both dive into long monologues about Phil Collins like Patrick Bateman?

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Apologies, I'm not sure what your referencing. I have seen American Psycho yet I'm not clear as to who the two people monologuing is referring to.

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

I was just wondering if your brother's and uncle-in-law's lectures about music sound a little like Bateman's monologue re: Phil Collins.

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

LOL! Yes, kinda. A little bit more condescending if you ask me. I would have actually enjoyed talking to Bateman about Huey Lewis, because I loved their album SPORTS back in the 80s and feel very similarly about the band, as well as Phil Collin's work, as Pat did. Hopefully he would have spared me after the conversation. Im very much over talking to my brother and uncle in law about music. I often find it difficult talking about music to Xers, those conversation feel more like Bateman's ax frankly. ;)

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gooch_norris_@reddit

Back in high school I knew a girl Not too simple and not too kind We both grew up, but I heard she'd changed From a new wave fan to another kind She think's she's Edith Head But you might know she's not The accent in her speech She didn't have growing up https://youtu.be/Ag_wH8J6bKE?si=YzJyRilklNQYgR4A

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BorderlinePaisley@reddit

81 here, and I have the same musical taste. I like to joke that jazz is the gateway drug to the Grateful Dead, and the Grateful Dead are the gateway drug to jazz.

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Main-Promotion-397@reddit

‘76 too baby! Turning 47 in three weeks. I feel like my ‘80s childhood was Gen X and my ‘90s adolescence / young adulthood was Millennial so I got the best of both worlds.

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dailyoracle@reddit

That description resonates with me, too. Happy Birthday in three weeks!

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Main-Promotion-397@reddit

Thank you! 47 is hard to believe.

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Yeah I feel similar, but as an adult I feel like the kids who went to high school in the 80s were the true embodiment of X; like everybody in the old John Hughes movies. 1990 was my freshman year of high school. It definitely feels like a different generation. My Xer older brother cannot access grunge at all.

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dailyoracle@reddit

Agreed! My older bro was in that real Gen X age cohort, those who were full teens during the Hughes movies.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

you're definitely gen x

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Aaaaaand you are?

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

technically gen x , 1980

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

I see! That must be why you speak with such authority around here.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

Gen X , xennial or millennial absolutely doesn't matter . You are who you are and labels on birthdays shouldn't define you

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Labels clearly mean something to you. Otherwise you would not be on this sub running around labeling people.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

I didn't say they don't mean anything , I'm saying they shouldn't define you . You're fighting against being gen x because you feel it says something about who you are but all it signifies is a period of time you were born .

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

What a strange interpretation of anything I said on this sub. Do you always make redditors sit through such pedantic lecturing? Nobody is defining anything here nor are they fighting against anything. We are simply having shallow conversation on how we feel about where we fit culturally speaking. We are people born within a range finding solace in each other’s shared experience. You are the one running around labeling people and ruining the mojo. Everybody keeps downvoting your participation here. Take a hint.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

You just said you're not doing what I said you're doing , then you said that's exactly what you're doing . I'm not labeling anyone , you're obsessed with labeling eachother or scared of being mislabeled

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

“Im not labeling anyone” *goes and labels multiple posters as gen x*. GTFOH with that gaslighting.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

Btw I'm pretty sure it's just you downvoting me

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

Do I ?

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Last I checked this was a "generally adopted range" of years. Insisting I am gen x based merely upon the date I was born is silly and misses the point of the concept of a microgeneration. I fit all the prequisites for the exception of being born a few weeks before t1977 began. So whatever it is that powers your conviction - I think you are wrong.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

Technically I'm not but in the end , birthdates shouldn't define you

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Helpful_Champion_353@reddit

Me too. I’m august 76 but I relate to this group more than Gen-X.

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MrFurleysJumpsuit@reddit

Nov 76 and same

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Helpful_Champion_353@reddit

Bicentennial babies unite!

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jericho74@reddit

What specifically, out of curiosity, do you mean by “same as boomers”?

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sixfourtykilo@reddit (OP)

Reminiscing about periods of time that had no relevance to me, personality... Like for example, going on and on about like the breakfast club or 80s music etc. Like I grew up with a lot of those films but they didn't mean anything to me like those people act like they do.

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jericho74@reddit

Yes, I know what you mean. I was born in 1974, and maybe it’s because I have a younger sibling born in 1980, but I’m much more aware of the things this sub dwells on. Whereas what you’re talking about tends to make me think of my friends older siblings. I’m in some range where I don’t know about the Partridge Family or care much about the Breakfast Club, but 80% of this sub makes sense, and then I don’t know who Topanga is or care about Pokemon, so I suspect I feel Xennial, I think.

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marnie4544@reddit

Yes, older Gen Xers come across as boomers sometimes. Part of it is idolizing them for their music and pop culture. They kinda share the same ideas about work and finances. I have an older brother born in '69 and an older sister born in '71, and they can just be so conservative, while calling themselves progressive or socially aware or supporting civil rights. But they really aren't. And they absolutely suck up to their bosses, becoming their 'favorite' or their pet. Ugh.

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peteoneillbassnyc@reddit

I have nothing in common with folks born before 1978.

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dailyoracle@reddit

We both use punctuation at the end of sentences?

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peteoneillbassnyc@reddit

Oh yeah, you 77 folks are a-ok in my book!!

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Jefe710@reddit

You kids get off my lawn!!!

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dailyoracle@reddit

I want my two dollllaaaaars!

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dailyoracle@reddit

I enjoy both. But yes, I feel a bit matronly in this group and a bit like little sister in the other group 😄

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puddin_pop83@reddit

I'm currently 40. I'm an in-betweener. My siblings are all genx. I grew up in a rural area and did not have the luxuries of cable TV or internet until the end of high school. And at that it wasn't at my house as the services were not available to my area. But after 20 I was able to move and access the internet and stuff.. I know I'm an elder millennial. Sad, depressed, and never going to be able to retire.

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Former_Football_2182@reddit

Hey I'm 47. I don't think I have EVER known what nnial I am. Could you guys tell me so I know? What is my label here

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bonborVIP@reddit

Born in 1979 and I love our little micro generation 😊

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_flowerfox@reddit

48 here and I consider myself an elder xennial. I don't understand most other Gen Xr's.

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IcyCrust@reddit

I'm 1973, so should be firmly in Gen X but I identify much more closely with Xennials. My dad got our first computer (Commodore PET) in 1980 and then I got online (Prestel in the UK) in 1985, so I think that's left me with more in common with Xennial/Millennials who also got online around early teen years. The attitudes of some Gen X, including my younger sister, just seem worlds away to me. Weird.

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paulatwork@reddit

I actually think that's pretty key. Our micro-generation can be marked by early access to the internet, without it being part of our real life social lives. My wife is a core millenial and she used MSN messenger to talk to friends in her high school. She talks about how you would talk to someone online and have long conversations, but it would be awkward in person. Which was never a dichotomy for me, the internet was for random conversations with strangers on IRC, and real life was real life. I, somewhat sheepishly, remember my optimism for the internet bringing people together and removing barriers to the free flow of information. I thought it would bring on a new age of enlightenment.

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IcyCrust@reddit

>early access to the internet, without it being part of our real life social lives Wow, I hadn't considered that but it's exactly right -- Prestel was literally just a couple of hundred thousand very early adopters across the country. I didn't know anyone in real life that I could speak to on it, so it was all about just interacting with random other people who happened to use it.

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replicantcase@reddit

I wanted that too, but knew that when dumb was able to freely access the Internet, it would be over.

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MozzarellaFitzgerald@reddit

My husband is similar. He was born in 1972, but his parents were always early tech adopters. His dad had a computer to play chess in the mid-70s. First home computer in 1982 (TI-99/4A), first VHS player in 1981 (cost over $1000!)

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IcyCrust@reddit

>computer to play chess Oh wow, forgot about that -- my grandfather was a gadget freak too. He had a chess computer thingy around late seventies and was also the first person I knew to get a VHS, CD player, digital camera. He definitely influenced my tech childhood. I remember sitting down with him at my computer around '82 and I was showing him BASIC programming and explaining binary and he just picked it up immediately like he knew it his whole life.

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

My mother bought something called "CompuServe" in the late 80s. She tried to explain 'the net' to me, I didn't quite get it and I think it was because she didn't either. She found somebody selling DnD books online and bought me one. What is weird is I never heard about the internet again until the end of high school. It was SUPER niche in the 80s.

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ToBePacific@reddit

Yeah, the pre-web internet was super niche. It was the web that made it mainstream.

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TheBr0fessor@reddit

BBS gang rise up!

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replicantcase@reddit

Trade Wars in the house!

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Bitter-Preparation-8@reddit

Legend of the red dragon and food fight for me.

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TheBr0fessor@reddit

30 years later and I still think about clapping Violet for the first time

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Like, I don't even understand the difference between the two. What was CompuServe accessing?

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ToBePacific@reddit

The web refers to sites that use hypertext transfer protocol (http) and support hypertext markup language (html) and use hyperlinks that lead to other pages or other sites. Those links between things make it a web. The web became public in 1994. Pre-web internet was usually accessed using other protocols for bulletin board systems (BBSes), newsgroups, internet relay chat (IRC), and email. Mostly, you’d dial directly to the server you wanted to connect to. From there, you’d mostly browse text files. That form of internet was born out of ARPANET, which the military was already using in the late 50s and early 60s.

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The_Grinning_Bastard@reddit

Ah! Now that makes sense. Thanks for the history lesson. The years matchup because I dont recall hearing much about the internet after my little encounter with it in 1988, until 1994 when I was a senior in high school.

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menunu@reddit

We had compuserve! So many weird chat rooms. My gen x older sister and I would chat with internet strangers for hours. Ah back in the days when the internet was not trying to sell me stuff and collecting all my data.

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ViolyntFemme@reddit

I left the Gen X sub because it stank of boomer boot breath.

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SaltyPompano@reddit

I left the gen x group because I just don't identify with a lot of their shared memories. Everything here hits home.

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missinglabchimp@reddit

Bonus points if you can find a take there that complains criticism of Boomers (and their 80s attitudes) is ageist or an arbitrary range of birthdates, then dumps on Millennials+younger in the same breath. And FWIW: drinking from a hosepipe is nothing to be proud about! Do not drink warm dirt-adjacent water kids. The clorine in municipal water breaks down, and you can catch e.coli or some other illness that makes Fox News seem like balanced journalism.

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

Excuse me, but as someone who drank hot chlorine and plastic chemical component hose water, watching Fox News is like bathing in angry acid. #NotAllBoomers /s

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Rusalka-rusalka@reddit

I enjoyed a hot glass of crude oil while unbelted in my drunkard little brother’s used car. He was a miner and died when he was 7. But boy did he make a living!!

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

Only a Russian aluminum mining/smelting company could write this! I love it! (a.k.a. "username checks out") ...BTW, what are y'all gonna do about your FSB? Just curious.

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Rusalka-rusalka@reddit

How dare you!! I am as American as Apple Pie, my great grandfather came to this country from Europe with nothing but a piece of lint and a paperclip! He was a Republican from conception then joined the army and fought in 15 wars simultaneously! He also invented the post it note!

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

Sorry--I misread "Rusalka" as "Rusal Co."...

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missinglabchimp@reddit

😆 Glad you are still with us. It's [survivorship bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias) - only the survivors are here to say "See? I turned out fine"

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

Damn dude, linking to "survivorship bias" like my plastic-infused brain can't handle stats. I guess this is what it feels like to have the youngins race past... I guess I'm past due for learning Python. Well, Godspeed to y'all.

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krissym99@reddit

I was never even allowed to drink from the hose. I always remember the water coming out having a weird smell.

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missinglabchimp@reddit

You are unsullied 😆 Sportsteam initiations where newbies swallow a worm from the field: Just no. People get literal brain worms from that.

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DocBrutus@reddit

I’m a young gen-x, or so I thought I was. I’m mid 40’s and sometimes, I have no idea who or what r/GenX is talking about.

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Heart-of-Glass-1@reddit

Yeah a lot of us left that group for the same reason

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lovepeacefakepiano@reddit

Yes. That’s why I left the GenX sub. It has a very “get off my lawn” vibe. Much nicer here.

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jelloslug@reddit

Absolutely. Every Gen X group I have been a part of is just a bunch of boomers with Michael Jackson jackets. It's rather pathetic.

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NotISaidTheFerret@reddit

According to google I belong here which is kind of nice to belong somewhere. Being born in 80 I was always gen x around millennials but a millennial around gen x. Personally I don't really identify with any of it. As far as the question I think a lot of it has to do with what your priorities are at the time. A fair portion of gen x is looking at retirement so the issued that are important to them revolve around that stage of life.

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MamaJody@reddit

I’m the same! I’m technically not even a Xennial (born 1976) but I feel much more at home here. Completely agree that the GenX sub seems to devolving into boomer complaints about “kids today” and are often really mean spirited. I hope people don’t mind if I kind of lurk here. You’re much nicer.

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RupeThereItIs@reddit

I'm tail end of Gen X. The Gen X subreddit seems to be over representing the older half of the generation, honestly. They gate keep anyone born after the early 70s.

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vs1134@reddit

76 here, feel i’m too young for the Pixies and too old for Blink182 ( even though i was “23” when the song what’s my age again came out in 99.

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sixfourtykilo@reddit (OP)

What's your age again?

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Touch-of-the-Tisms@reddit

Most of you are to old for me. But we grew up with the same stuff. But the younger millennials don't know a life before internet, before google and before pay phones and phone books disappeared. 9/11 happened while I was in high school. Younger millenials don't even remember it. They don't know what the US was like before 9/11 and the optimism that was in the air. They don't remember the 90's or know the 80's.

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Danbarber82@reddit

Yeah, I was 19 when 9/11 happened. I very much remember what it felt like to grow up in that pre-9/11. Thinking about it definitely hit me right in the feels.

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Touch-of-the-Tisms@reddit

Right?!? America felt different before then.

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

Goddamn, man, your comment hits me in the heart. ...We really lost our way with the "War on Terror". :(

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UnknownPrimate@reddit

'79 here, and I have many older X friends. They can be grating sometimes as they all seem to be self congratulating contrarians, who fancy themselves to be that annoying kid in class who thought disrupting by asking endless silly questions was clever. The ones online seem to attach way too much identity to drinking out of a hose. I too drank from a hose as a kid. Hoses still exist if it means so much to them... They claim to not care about anything, right until you run into one of the MANY extremely specific and seemingly random things they're incredibly pedantic about. Ask them about music or sentence spacing... I feel like we're more middle child compared to the middle child generation. We just sit here shaking watching while they breathlessly declare how much they don't care.

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TrustAffectionate966@reddit

Yeah, the main Gen X cohort got co-opted into the Boomer generation. They're almost indistinguishable in some instances. 🧐🤔

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Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

Welcome to the party pal. 🤘 I figure in y2k I'd be part of the 'typical manager' group for the rest of gen-y (millenials). Instead I failed at life and a day's win is showering or eating properly. But yeah, born in '78. Quit smoking in '89/90. (it's a little fuzzy) 🤷‍♂️

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DiscoLibra@reddit

Yeeees. Most of my friends, where I live, are Gen Xers (50s and up) I'm 43 and I've actually been feeling lonely recently, even when I'm with my friends, bc I feel like I have nothing in common with them. Feels like I'm the little kid that got promoted to the adult table at Christmas.

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yukdumboobum26@reddit

I am 43. I have a cousin who is 61. We are NOT the same generation.

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sixfourtykilo@reddit (OP)

Thank you.

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unclejrw@reddit

I was born in 1976. I seem to relate to this group more than any other generational group.

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Strict-Ad-7099@reddit

Born in 79 - completely understand how you feel! Most Gen Xers are way older and less progressive. Millennials are too entitled to relate to completely. I feel like those of us in this gray area had it the best tbh.

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liliumsuperstar@reddit

I feel like Xennial is a state of mind for those of us on the cusps. I’m 84 but in middle school while my friends were into boy bands I was into grunge (a few years late). I roamed the streets on my own. I hate SpongeBob. Another reason I don’t fit in on the millennials is that honestly I wasn’t as screwed by timing as younger millennials. I bought a cheap starter house and got a career job in 2013. Lots of them never had a chance.

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Danbarber82@reddit

I think, regarding the first part, that's less about your age and more about your personal tastes. On the second part, I feel you there. I was able to buy my condo around the same time. This was after a prolonged time of living at my parent's house, saving money, starting in my min 20s on a new career path and later opening a small business. I think us Elder Millennials did better via a combo of perfect timing and dumb luck after the 08 housing bubble.

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Ready-Interview-9809@reddit

I Absolutely agree with this. High school senior during Columbine, state college was cheap back then so not still paying any loans, housing bubble 08= buying a cheap fixer upper that had been on the market for months in 09. Bought out of that by my first husband, and had enough for a down payment avoiding PMI on a smaller cheap fixer upper in 15’. It’s “worth” 3x the price now, and my mortgage is about half of rent would be without my dumb timed luck. ☘️

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FionaGoodeEnough@reddit

I can relate on not being as screwed as younger millennials. My college loans were very reasonable rates, and I paid like $100 a month on them until they were paid off. And also got my career job in 2013.

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Icy-Print3432@reddit

‘78 checking in. My older brothers are ‘62 and ‘69 and I’m definitely not in their “bucket!”

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toooldforthisshittt@reddit

I fit right in with Gen X, but I think being the youngest child has a lot to do with it. My older siblings pop culture was my pop culture.

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SashOfTopatoes@reddit

I get into fights with Gen X ALL the time. I had to leave.

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7thAndGreenhill@reddit

Yes. The old GenX people live to bash the younger generations. I find it tiring.

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OriginalBad@reddit

Gen X is so insufferable and in many ways just as bad or sometimes worse than Boomers on social media because they use it more. I’m an elder millennial and I’ve always identified more with millennials than Xers so it’s not shocking to me it’s turned out this way.

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ravingwanderer@reddit

Born in 1977, as a kid I watched the A Team, Married with Children and MacGyver, not Gilligan’s Island and Mash.

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Themoosemingled@reddit

You need to show some flair. When are you born?

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mommiecubed@reddit

I’m a ‘79. I never felt like I belonged to Gen X and the Millennial kids are obnoxious. I would have to say my high school was more like Dazed and Confused. I lived outside of Seattle so we, as the cradle for grunge, didn’t really have Clueless preppy kids. Lots of flannel and jeans. I think My so-called life was more accurate.

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aceshighsays@reddit

i'm a young xennial but i always looked up to older people, and my family was poor and didn't speak english so it's hard to connect with millenials because i didn't have the same toys/experiences as them... but because i looked up to genx folks i get their culture/references.

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Jbowen0020@reddit

Idk, I have a feeling we are going to start sounding like the hated "boomers" the older we get. I really think every generation looks down on the next generation, and vice versa.

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tourniquet2099@reddit

They keep moving the goal post! I was born in 78 and, when I was in high school, originally heard the last year to qualify for GenX was 77. Then in the 2000s, I heard it was 80. Since then I’ve seen it as high as 85. WTF?! When I first heard the definition of a Xennial (2010ish?), I was like that’s me! So happy I found this sub and found others with similar journeys.

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LadyAsharaRowan@reddit

You and me, BOTH!! I feel like I perfectly fit into this category, and all of the topics mentioned are relevant.

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JennyBoom21@reddit

My parents didn’t hit 30 until 1993, so growing up, we had a lot of the latest consumer tech and video games (with the exception of my dad hating the voicemail machine, and still hates cellphones), but my friends parents were all in their 40s and up, and looked older (unless dad was on his 2nd marriage, then the new wife would be closer to my parents age).

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KickAggressive4901@reddit

I follow the Gen X sub (born 1980), but ... the topics tend to segue into territory that feels largely irrelevant to me (e.g. bands and concerts).

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IDKHow2UseThisApp@reddit

My parents are technically Boomers, but born at the very end. So most of the Xers are closer to my parents' age than mine (parents are only 20yrs older than me).

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Imtifflish24@reddit

Oh God yes, I couldn’t stand it. I feel like early Gen X had a different experience entirely. I’m a 76er who grew up in California, and I can’t relate to them at all. I remember one topic there where they were all saying they had no idea who Kurt Cobain was when he died😂… like seriously wtf.. Nirvana was VERY in the zeitgeist of the time. They’re all Motley Crue and preaching about kid these days being weak— just horrible! Gen Z gives me hope, I don’t have kids of my own, but damn these Gen Z kids are amazing people.

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Imaginary_Society411@reddit

As a 78-born Gen Z mom (and whatever the next one is (Gen Alpha I think), I promise you that we are trying to raise them well. My son (19), my older daughter (11) and their friends are amazingly progressive kids. They’re witty, clever, pithy, self-aware, caring about the world around them, overwhelmingly antiracist, easily accepting of a constantly-changing environment and vowing to keep it changing for the better…I could go on forever. I know they’re not all fabulous humans but the California Gen Zs are doing just fine. I may wish they’d broaden their musical horizons beyond *only* rap but whatever.

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Wolfman1961@reddit

I’m a younger Boomer….but I could pass for a Millennial sometimes.

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jraa78@reddit

I agree, definitely a big difference between those born in '65 compared to like '77 or later. We definitely had more electronics growing up and can relate to the digital world we live in now much better than our elder x's and boomers can. I think that's why we make better managers now than the elders and boomers. They just don't understand that you can be a hard and productive worker without sitting in a cubicle for 8 - 10 hours a day 5 days a week.

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icroak@reddit

Yes same. Additionally I think most Gen Xers have older or adult kids now. My youngest is still little so I align more with millennials in that sense.

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canvas_can@reddit

I was born in 88. You guys are forever my friends’ cooler older siblings.

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shamashedit@reddit

Give it 10-15 years and you too will be just as shitty as Gen X is.

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menunu@reddit

Yeah this is true. There are a lotta Millenials already coming out the woodwork acting like Boomers.

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shamashedit@reddit

That gen x sub is basically just a recycle bin of shitty memes and email forwards from uncle dickhead. The amount of loathing about AARP is lol.

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

> uncle dickhead OK, I lol'd. Thanks for that! :)

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minibini@reddit

Very much yes. That’s also why I’m here now 😆

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19OregonTrailXer81@reddit

Aside from Xennial groups, Gen X crowds are the only people I can relate to, which makes sense since I’m an Xer myself. I don’t love the Boomer-ish antics of the elder Xers, but I still relate to the Gen X nostalgia whereas any Millennial nostalgia is reminiscent of my siblings’ childhoods. I go go the Gen X sub a lot because - frankly - where else would I go?

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SkepticlosFailed@reddit

I haven't really read "complaints" on this sub, or at least nothing sticks out.

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ElectricSnowBunny@reddit

We watched the analog era we grew up in die before our eyes, yet we embraced the early wild west of the digital age instead of pushing back against it, and then watched as it grew exponentially and became more sanitized and over-saturated. I think this uniquely set us up to understand and accept the cultural differences from Boomers to Gen Z, and we seem more laid-back and less willing to complain about stereotypical mores. Or, we are just too damn tired from the constant hits we've taken in the post 9/11 world.

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iroyalecheese@reddit

I feel you, but opposite (?) I’m a young xennial and the millennial sub is very centered around late 20s-early 30s and generally discusses things that don’t effect me, and references life/the world they lived in high school, but I was already 10-15 years past that phase. Luckily, we this sub

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TexansAreTacky@reddit

Yeah. We’re probably the same age and I feel the same way

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McCool303@reddit

Oldest millennial here 81. I don’t really identify with millennials all that much culturally. The only thing I identify with is the shitty hand we were dealt. I definitely indenting with with micro generation. But I don’t get along well with my Gen X older brother. Just two completely different experiences and world views. He’s also a super conservative.

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Foreign_Cat2278@reddit

Same! Born 78 and was hangin out on genX sub for a while and although I could relate to most topics, so far since joining Xennials a couple weeks ago, I feel most at home here! ✌️❤️

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Euphoric-Proposal-42@reddit

Welcome!! 🥰

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kg51113@reddit

I couldn't relate to a lot of things they said. A lot of them went to high school in the 80s and I graduated mid 90s. Once I found this sub, I felt so much more at home. Obviously experiences differ somewhat. Most things talked about here are things that I relate to.

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Weekly_Signal6481@reddit

last year for gen x is 80 , what year were you born ?

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Starr-Bugg@reddit

I was there too. They kept saying they where “old” which was depressing so I left, but I did agree with their complaints. I get along better with Boomers than with True Millennials and way more than Gen Z.

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nhranger@reddit

Yes, I’m 2 years older then the “cut off” age for here but I certainly feel more comfortable here.

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emozolik@reddit

Yeah. Born in 80 but I definitely identify more as a millennial due to my socio-economic status and political leanings. I just joined this sun, curious if there’s others like me

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NotCanadian80@reddit

I never identified with them and the obvious tell was music. I have some pushing 50 friends and it’s night and day. They all work in creative so that’s the same but when they go to concerts I’m like who the fuck are the Afghan Wigs?

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Delicious_Affect7099@reddit

My Gen X siblings have been giving boomer vibes for a while now. I get along with their kids better.

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Mirewen15@reddit

Yes. I was in the sub and didn't feel like I belonged. Then I found this one and left that one lol. So many posts in this sub are relatable and bring back happy memories.

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Hermes_Agoraeus@reddit

Yeah, I was into the (intense) nostalgia for a little while, but the aging willful blinders on racism and our other ills just made the sub...not fun. ...so, Hi! :)

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karaloveskate@reddit

Yeah I was on a gen x sub for a bit and had the same issue.

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