Are you happy with the generation that you were born into? Do you like and identify with your generation (e.g. boomer, Gen X, millennial etc)?.

[PutitDownandReadaBook]

I was born in the late 70’s , so I was on the tail end of Gen X. I completely identify with my generation, not just the things that many of us enjoyed at the time (ravesbritpop etc), but also I have heard us called the Peter Pan generation who never grew up. I really identify with that. I’m late 40’s and I have missed many of the milestones that most adults would have achieved by my age. Luckily there are lots of people around me, my age, who are the same age.

I think I would have been happy if I was born a generation earlier and was a boomer. They had a freedom that generations before them didn’t, and they had rock and roll. I also like the principles of the millennials, although I don’t think I would have fit into that generation very well.

what do you think about your generation? Would you have preferred to be part of a later or earlier generation? I’m happy that I was gen x ….but sometimes I really wish that I had the wisdom of the millennial generation, who seemed to know more about life than their age.

I hope this question doesn’t come across like stereotyping people. I’m just fascinated by how the times influenced people.

Yes thanks. I'm a boomer with two houses and a massive pension.👍

Edited to add that I worked since my first Saturday job at 13 until I finished at 59 with only 1 mat leave because we couldn't afford any more kids and my son lives in my second home at half the market rent before anyone starts berating me😊

Just wanted to add….most of my closest friends are a few years younger than me, so that makes them millennials. I do think that they are better at’life’ than I am. But I have recently heard the term xennials! Those born on the cusp of gen x and millennials .

ive posted this in Chat because I mean all of this in a light hearted way! I’m just curious!!

I was born within six months of the end of the boomer years, and I don't identify with that generation at all. They all seem to be way wealthier than me for a start, and I completely missed rock'n'roll.

I'm 33 so a millennial

All of the stereotypes apply to me 😭😭😭

I'm a liberal leftie with mental health stuff, otherwise known as a snowflake 🤭

Had a social media free childhood.
Perfect generation for me

I had no idea we were labelled the Peter Pan generation. I'm genuinely surprised at that.

Oh, I just thought I'm single and child free. I dare say some people might see that as refusal to grow up. But I'm nearly 50 and I did well in my career. I just didn't want marriage and children.

I don't think much about these labels, but I wouldn't want to be younger because I'm glad I grew up without Internet.

Friends who are just a few years older than me paid about 1/6 of what I paid for my first mortgage so there's always that difference, but at least I'm not facing current house prices. I tend to think any older generation than mine would have been problematic for women.

There are definitely things that are not acceptable in the workplace now and I'm so glad for that.

No it’s a load of nonsense in my opinion.

@Redrosesposiesif that’s true then that’s fine! My mum was a boomer. She has a lovely house in the countryside now….. but omg she actually had a really hard life before she reached her current situation. I know boomers get a lot of hate, but I know that my mum grew up with a lot of difficulties and challenges that my generation and the ones after me would never have to face. My mum is financially secure and benefited from a secure council home, but women of her generation sacrificed so much. I’m glad that she is doing okay and is happy now, even if I never reach that point of financial security. But I’m gen x, we never took anything to seriously anyway. I don’t want this thread to turn into a war between boomers, millennials etc. I’m just curious about how people relate to their own generation. I feel completely connected with gen X.

These are just American marketing demographics with a broad sweep description.

Generation X was a punk band.

I'm technically a millennial but don't identify with my generation (the way it's pictured at least) at all. I chose a radically different life path than every one of my schoolmates, for instance (they are very representative of millennials). As a teenager, I always said I was born ten years too late because I was very much into Gen X music and culture in general.

Nowadays I identify with the late medieval period, though.

I don't even think about it, who cares.

I’m just relieved I’m not a Boomer as they get so much hate. Despite the fact if I was born 2 years earlier I would be classified as a Boomer so I’m pretty sure the labels are meaningless.

Same! Although I get bloody irritated by those that do witter on about it, sticking erroneous apostrophes in everywhere. "1970's" "40's". FFS.

I'm the same age as you and fit all the stereotypes of general x completely 🤣😆 Ive heard the Peter Pan label before and often think it describes us perfectly. We had a lot of advantages growing up the generations both before and after us never had and I'm grateful for it. For one I'm so glad I went through my younger years without social media and camera phones!

erm…. If you could afford 2 homes and to retire at with a massive pension at 59 then you could have afforded to have a second child…🥴🥴🥴🥴

#JustSayin’

I'm a millennial by a few years but my soul is 💯Gen X

I'm your age and I'm a fully functioning adult! 'Never grew up' is not a compliment.....

Maybe choose a thread that’s not about something you don’t even think about and don’t care about? 🤨

Not sure I have any thoughts on being happy with it (millennial), but I have always joked that I’ve hit every millennial crisis going:

• had uni fees
• post-recession collapsed grad job market
• Property values sky-rocketed in the first few years of my career, meaning I couldn’t buy until early 30s
• Missed entire period of low interest rates as a result - so just have high prices which higher interest rates
• Escalating childcare costs
• New childcare policies but then earning too much to be eligible
• Managed to grow salary etc but hindered by huge tax rates
• Still can’t afford to upsize house due to high costs / stamp duty situation
• Child reaching school age as private school fees reach total unaffordability so that’s probably off the table
• Ways precious generations made money like BTL probably off the table due to increased tax (right decision - but, doesn’t stop those who already own them!)

The current phase of ‘millennial issue’ I feel we are in, is that tax thresholds etc haven’t changed for basically our entire working lives, meaning accruing any kind of capital / trappings of a middle class lifestyle are becoming more difficult.

I’m very fortunate compared to most, but I do feel like every time I inch forward, some government policy is there to cut me back down again.

I’m Gen X, heard it being called the “cool generation “. I identify with that 😁
I think I grew up…I have a good job, I bought a house when I was 21yo, I’m married. I don’t know what other growing up I need to do.

I liked the fact we had a tech free youth with a lot of freedom to be out playing, I was a total latch key kid. I love the music and films etc of my youth. I liked the fact that technology/internet took off when I was a young adult so felt like I was the right age to embrace it (I’m sure older people managed too). I still “keep up” with stuff like TikTok. So in that way I feel I’m more “with it” than what my mum was in her late 40s. Is that what it means by not growing up? That we haven’t got boring?

Hmm that comes across like you are judgemental about older generations.

I don't think your mums generation were necessarily boring either, despite not being able to keep up with stuff like TikTok.

Gen X and yeah, we're the best 😉

Seriously though, I increasingly feel much more comfortable with people of my own generation. Millennials are just not relatable for me quite often. GenZ are the generation i teach and increasingly feel like another species. One was wearing a band T-shirt of a tour I saw when I was a teen. I don't even think he liked the band... just wearing the t shirt. Was non plussed when I attempted a chat about the band.

I am at the very tail end of being a Boomer. I have worked, all my life but don’t have much as my career was put on the back burner for my ex husbands career and we moved a lot. Sadly he was a spender and not a saver. However, I got to grow up with fabulous music, no internet so all the stupid stuff I did was not immediately shoved up on Facebook. I am generally happy with my lot and have decided that I might as well go back to studying and have a later life career.

I’m a millennial, in the middle of the generation. I’m not really sure how millennials are viewed now we have grown up and are in our 30s with kids of our own. I’ve heard the snowflake millennial comments, but actually lots of us are resilient, have responsible jobs that we’re good at, managed to get on the housing ladder and have families of our own. We have had some difficult times, first high tuition fees and student loans which many of us are still paying off, The financial crash when a lot of us were at uni, first jobs or graduating making it hard to get jobs and then austerity during most of our adulthood. Covid when we were had young Dcs or having DCs. Sharp rises in house prices making it a struggle to get into the housing ladder. But lots of us have done fine, and we didn't have some of the struggles that the next generations are facing now. So I think I identify with my generation but not the snowflake part.

Millennial and I do think we have had a lot to deal with collectively. Sure there was a meme going round during Covid about

~ We watched 9-11 happen at school and then subsequent invasions etc in high school

~ Were told University was the key to everything then graduated into recession

~ House prices rocketed and wages stagnated during our early careers

~ Covid hit when we had young children

I do think we’re reassessing everything as a result and we’re quite a specific generation.

Ha snap!

I'm an Xennial, kind between generation X or millenial. I def haven't done very well mentally and grew up poor and still not very well off. I do identify with a lot of stuff growing up as a teen oin the 90s though. First mobile at 17. No Internet till 19, no social media etc.