To say shoot me now if I ever refer to myself as Gen x

[Notouchingmybhuna]

Or Z or a millenial or a boomer.

WTF is happening? I’ve just attended a professional study day where speakers introduced themselves with this bollocks as if it was relevant.

For full disclosure I have no clue which Gen I am actually supposed to be 😎

Everything has to have a bloody label on these days - I remember when people HATED being labelled as anything (but then I’m old and Gen X 😬)

That's such a genX thing to say

Oh, I mean, I might add it to the conversation if it becomes relevant - but I can't imagine leading with it as part of introducing myself.

What other criteria do I need to check myself against? Is there a guide?

I really hate hearing Gen 'Zee' from anyone who isn't American.

It sounds ridiculous.

It's for people that have an 'identity' rather than character.

I'm Gen X, have no idea about which ones in which order after that. They're all 'too young'.

You sound gen x or boomer. It depends on your birth year.

Says who? Where has it come from? And most importantly WHY?

I think it's a fair enough cultural reference frame. I'm Gen X. My parents (1946) are boomers, because quite literally after the war ended, there was a baby boom. Not sure why describing people with reference to the era in which they were born is a problem? It's factual and sometimes useful.

I do feel that people are idiotic when they use the insult "boomer" aimed at middle aged people, rather than actual boomers.

It's just based on birth year. Things change in the world and so people come from different eras and different childhood reference points. It's not rocket science.

For what purpose though? What specific cultural characteristics does it include? Apart from age? Which we already refer to as.’age’

This. But I like being Gen X. It’s a useful shorthand.

Your gen is defined by your birth year only.

What’s changed? What relevance does it have when you’re presenting in a professional context.

Lots of comments about what it is so if it’s not rocket science would love to hear more specific details about how and why it’s emerged?

It’s a perfectly reasonable shorthand to indicate dominate cultural influences as you grew up. Gen X had an analogue childhood and generally adopted digital technology as they were young adults / in the workplace. I’m from one of the last years of GenX and got my first mobile at 18 and an email address at university.

Because it’s an indicator of eg tech fluency

😂 And in what context is that information useful? Ageism? Because that’s generally what it seems to be used for.

I find the labels useful, and fascinating. I (late X/Xennial) was brought up on the cusp of the analogue/digital changeover, at the end of the Cold War etc. My Gen Z kids were brought up in a post 9/11, internet age. The generational labels are useful in this context.

So in terms of the event you attended, was it explained why you were asked to add what Gen you’re from? What was the event about?

Are you actually asking?
Because social generations seem to have emerged as a concept from mannheim's essay "the problem of generations" and has been used fairly widely in demography.
Growing up I think I first heard about it when there was a film described as a gen x film called reality bites, in the mid nineties.

People ascribing personality traits onto people from particular generations based on social media discourse is a bit newer though. But it does make a difference whether e.g. you grew up with easy access to the Internet.

So sweeping generalisations and ageism. Have I nailed it? ( Hoping ‘nailed it’ is still trendy bro ) 😂

Geriatric Millennials are in the weird place of being a press shorthand for 'young' still yet also in our mid 40s and decidedly middle aged!

As someone said the Boomers were the generation born after the war.

Gen X, were mostly defined and called that commonly as a result of the Douglas Copeland book. A generation of people a bit aimless, working in dead end jobs and with rising technological changes all around.

So where does Gen x come in? What sociological essay is that based on?