Over the past few months, I’ve been seeing more media articles about the struggles of Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980). I also shared the article from the New York Times (“The Gen X Career Meltdown”). However, I think this negativity is getting to be too much and does not give enough credit to the spirit and adaptability of Gen X (or at least the people I know).
The odds seem stacked against us, especially those of us who started out in the media line in the 1990s and 2000s:
The Economist: “Gen Xers have also done a poor job accumulating wealth. During the 1980s, when many boomers were in their 30s, global stockmarkets quadrupled. Millennials, now in their 30s, have so far enjoyed strong market returns. But during the 2000s, when Gen Xers were hoping to make hay, markets fell slightly.”
Independent: “It’s no surprise that Generation X – aged between 45 and 59 – are the least satisfied age group at work, with 16 per cent believing they do not have a “good” job, according to hiring platform Indeed. Not only are their “talents” often no longer needed in a world where AI is fast replacing copywriters, photographers, and designers, but those still in place often experience age discrimination (around 80 per cent, according to a 2022 AARP survey).”
NYT: “Talk with people in their late 40s and 50s who once imagined they would be able to achieve great heights — or at least a solid career while flexing their creative muscles — and you are likely to hear about the photographer whose work dried up, the designer who can’t get hired or the magazine journalist who isn’t doing much of anything.”
It’s all true, I’ve lived through these things. So have many buddies. But I would encourage these article writers (mostly Gen X themselves) to revisit the movies and TV shows that shaped our psyche. Reality Bites. Fight Club. Terminator. Star Wars. Transformers. The X-Files. Mission Impossible. The Matrix. Love Actually. Friends. Seinfeld. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Dirty Dancing. Pulp Fiction.
Embedded within these shows is the spirit of Gen X – “We’ll figure it out.” Every generation has their pain points. We’ll deal with ours in our unassuming Gen X way.