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.

Gosh I don’t even know what I am. Just scraped into 70s by two months. I feel like a more defining characteristic of my life is rural living. Used to live in a city and it’s really changed my lifestyle. I own a chainsaw, am forever gathering wood, a bouncy lab and an aga type thing.

Solidly Gen X here.
If there was supposed to be a financial advantage, it passed me by, as stayed home with 4 kids (one disabled) so no fat pension here.
BUT I had a childhood of freedom, my teens were 80s music and life was good. I got my first phone in my early 30s and even my kids managed to miss the toxic social media...I think they were the 'my space' generation and the internet was still dial up!

I'm a millennial but on the older end as my username suggests! I do identify with my generation but I think I have some of the traits of older generation. I do not have the snowflake traits that younger millenials supposedly have and I'm obviously not as good with tech as the younger ones!

Another millennial here. I think we have had it fairly hard in that nothing we were “promised” as children has come to pass - like others have said we were told to go to uni then hit with tuition fees, graduated into the recession, Tory government and austerity for basically our whole adult lives, then Covid when we had our babies.

The generations that have come later have probably at least been more aware of how bleak things are and perhaps made different choices, whereas I feel like stuff has constantly been snatched away from me, with people even just 5 years older having materially better lives.

Saying that, very pleased that I had a social media and smart phone free childhood and university experience (well, we had early Facebook!).

Possibly. I suppose I look at my parents and their friends and how boring they all were but I accept that maybe I just had boring parents and other people of her generation were doing more exciting stuff.

I’m sure some individuals were doing more exciting stuff, but seeing as we’re generalising generations that would have been my impression of her generation. From their mid 40s onwards they just seemed to watch tv, do a bit of gardening and go to garden centres 😁. They seemed happy enough I guess.

Maybe it’s just how younger people view older generations. Probably my Dd thinks I’m a boring person but I’d disagree 😁

Generation X here...if nothing else I think we had the best childhood /teen / young adult culture and music!!

I'm a boomer but only got a small house so no, not really.

Gen X er. Very happy with that, last generation to go through teenage years without internet/smartphones. Lots of freedom (maybe too much at times) BUT also casual sexism was rife, wolf whistling at women on the street etc was still accepted.
Would hate to have been any of the following generations. Think we are more resilient mentally due to not growing up with social media etc.

I'm a millennial (late 30s), I think we were quite unlucky in terms of world events/the economy but at least at secondary school everyone only had brick Nokia phones. I feel bad for gen Z who grew up with social media in their pockets/Internet bullying.

My own DC are gen Alpha and young enough that I think smart phones will be banned for kids by the time they are old enough to need a phone for secondary school.

I'm an older millennial the X ones, I think we are very special & I do fit it 😆

Gen X - very happy with that. I think I am fairly typical of it too. Pretty much brought myself up as both parents worked full time plus and had very active social lives

Gen X will often inherit from the boomers too. We were pretty lucky really. It's all downhill after that.

I think this is the difference between gen x and millennials. I don't think we felt entitled to or promised anything. People of gen x tend to get on with it.

I was raised during recessions, minor's strike, threat of nuclear war....and had.semi neglectful parents. Horrible sexism ..... We just had cool music and went down the pub as our therapy 😁

Also had children late and had them young during covid etc.

Realistically Gen X were the first generation where lots of their mums went out to work. There was a huge opening for women to get into the workplace in the 70's and 80's, sometimes in professions that hadn't been open to them before.
I appreciate that this is a massive generalisation, but I think that our mothers being mothers as equality finally got legislated did affect Gen X, in a positive way.

Are they? I wondered who thought of these categories which can be quite divisive and encourage a lot of resentment.

i always get annoyed that i am classed as a boomer. (tail end) I do not live the life younger people think all boomers do.

It’s only recently that I’ve fallen within the definition of boomer, the boundaries have changed quite substantially. That really annoys me.
Also I think it’s an excuse for ageism.

I was going to say exactly same thing. The stereotypical boomer got to retire young too whereas I will be 67 if I am lucky.

I’m one of those odd people who was born on the cusp ( ‘Boomer’ years & Gen X ( born in 1964 ) had my children in the late 80’s ( not sure what gen that is? )
Their lives have actually been very similar to mine. However, my son born in 1999 seems completely different to all of us in his outlook on life. He seems far more jaded for someone in his 20’s.

I think these terms are a load of rubbish!!!
Far too many generalisations. You can't stereotype a generation.

I’m not sure it’s very helpful to apply broad generalisations so personally.

Other generations didn’t have it “easier” they just had different challenges.

I would not have wanted to be born in my Mother’s generation and my children will have different challenges that I had but challenges nonetheless.

I also do not feel that those of us born in the early 60s were promised anything which was lucky as we came of age in the years of strikes, unemployment and then high mortgage rates. Very few went to university then either and businesses were going bust because of high business rates. No wrap around childcare either so working was quite tricky once kids arrived. So for us late boomers the label we are given feels very wrong usually.

I'm a Gen Xer and I suppose I am quite pleased/proud of that! Silly, really. But I am very tribal by nature, football, politics.

Was a massive indie kid, so loved the 1990s, looking back now, the sexism we put up with at work was terrible and I'm pleased to see how things change. Ditto homophobia. I think gay marriage moved the dial on that, about the only thing I'll ever give the Tories credit for.

We're comfortably off, benefitted from no uni fees, good graduate job. Bought a house at 29 in 2006, thanks to a 105% mortgage. However, pay has stagnated since 2008, no doubt. Didn't have a pay rise (private sector) for years. So, have a lot to be grateful for. Materially (wealth) things could be better, but from a happiness, contentment point of view, things are good. I'm mentally resilient and making the most of all the wellbeing literature to understand my DM's life and why she does what she does (being the generation whose fathers were in WW2 has left many scars). Grateful for that.

I fall just outside the boomer years. I've never met any of the stereotypes. Every generation has it's good and bad points.

I am the same age as you. I feel like we are the "sandwich" generation, rammed in-between two era's. The generation above where they never knew what it was like not to have technology such as the internet etc, and the more traditional time of the generation before, I think it makes us have a bit of an identity crisis.lol. We are like lost sheep.

I hate all this naming and stereotyping of generations. Never heard of it before the internet.