Life from a Gen-Xer’s Point of View
Gen X grew up during rapid technological change and was forced to be tech-savvy. I went from thinking the upgrade from a rotary phone push button was so amazing to thinking a cell phone could only be used in the far future. Then I got to experience “the brick” and thought life couldn’t get any better.
Now we can practically use a cell phone to run a small country. That is what I use to mostly run my business, my household, and my life. I saw the introduction of the PC with a Floppy disc and now see people living the laptop life. There wasn’t the wonderful Google machine growing up for me to find an easy answer, I just figured that shit out.
Besides the tech industry boom, there were also huge advances in medicine (just to name one, let’s think about how little we hear about AIDS/HIV these days compared to the 80s/90s scare of this disease and the treatment now), and renewable energy sources.
We no longer have to carry around that boom box with 6-8 D batteries. We can plug up a playing device and take it just about anywhere with no need to buy replacement batteries every week.
This dude was NOT from my generation. We wouldn’t wear headphones. We wanted everyone to hear what we had to jam!
I’m pretty sure Gen X invented how to be boss babes by watching our moms.
Women born later in the Boomer generation showed us how to be a boss before that was a phrase people threw around like confetti.
(Now, we did say “boss” when something was awesome so it’s only fitting that I became The Boss. 😀)
My generation grew up with working moms who ran the house, took care of the kids, and either worked a part-time job down the street so they could pick up kids from school or started their own companies to allow the same ability to pick up kids and take care of the home. They were exhausted.
Entrepreneurial spirit and the drive to find a better way were instilled in the kids. This helped me and a ton of others start all kinds of small businesses. Driven by a desire for a different kind of independence than our mothers had and the ability to control our own destiny, we got to work. Kicking ass and taking names along the way.
Some of us with single parents or both parents working a full-time job became the original latchkey kids. It was a safer time and I’m thankful for that. Coming home to an empty house taught me and others independence early on.
It looked different for all of us but we did our homework and chores, made dinner, and only rarely got into mischief. And if we are being honest, most of the mischief happened at the bus stop or on the way home from the bus stop.
I think I can speak for everyone of this generation by saying “Thank God there was no social media or cameras on our brick phones back then.” We made a lot of questionable decisions…fashion and all!
Ultimate multitasker and expert procrastinator all in one!
Who can scroll through their phones, watch TV, and ignore their kids all at the same time? This Gen X mama! (Just kidding on that last part unless they are on my nerves!)
I’m pretty sure we created (and maybe with enough feedback to Netflix to stop asking “Are you still watching?” can perfect) the art of "just one more episode" before getting anything done. But when the motivation kicks in…holy moly! Just sit back and watch us knock out that to-do list like nobody’s business.
Due to that procrastination tendency, I now only watch TV on days when I do nothing. A total veg day on the couch with a few naps and all the cats is how I recover when I’ve pushed myself too hard. Other than that, I’m multitasking and miss half of a show so I rarely turn on the TV when home alone.
While we like to think we are THE Nostalgia Kings and Queens waxing poetic about the good old days of mixtapes, Blockbuster rentals, and Saturday morning cartoons, it’s really an updated version of “Back in my day we could go to the drive-in, get a coke to share, and a candy for a quarter.” Funny they never mention how hard they worked for that quarter. 😀
There was something in the ability to grow up with such rapid technological changes, views on the world, and believing anything was possible for us.
Of course, not all those that grew up as Gen X-ers have these traits or use them in the same way because at the end of the day, we are unique individuals. And that is what makes us all wonderful…not just Gen X 😉
We are self-made techies that can MacGuyver anything.
Entrepreneurial OGs were developed in this generation.
Gen X produced multitasking geniuses and expert procrastinators that make you wonder if we will meet the deadline but then amaze you with the outcome.
We are thrifty, nostalgic, independent, and family focused. Pure perfection in my opinion.
Peace and love,
Teresea
Photo credit: Jens Mortensen for The New York Times (brick phone), Unsplash
