Not everyone puts much stock in generational research, and that makes sense. While some people fully relate to the stereotypes and lived experiences of the cohort they belong to, others don’t at all. This is particularly true for those born on the fringes of the generational range.
Generational experiences exist on a continuum; those born in the early years of a generation will not necessarily have much in common with those born in the later years. And of course, there are those on the cusp, born in the years as one generation gives way to another.
Naturally, there are transitional phases from one generation to the next, and often those born during these transitional years will in some ways relate to the generation behind them and in other ways relate to the generation ahead of them. But most of all, they tend to have much in common with each other.
These cusper groups sometimes form a micro-generation – a small segment of years that signal the switch and share their own commonalities. Generation X is bookended by two micro-generations, Generation Jones and Xennials.
Generation Jones
Members of Generation Jones were born between 1954 and 1965. They are the youngest of the Baby Boomers and the very oldest of Generation X.
They missed much of the optimistic “high” that followed the end of World War II. They were reaching adulthood during the 70s and early 80s as opposed to the 60s like the older boomers. Rather than Woodstock, they grew up with Watergate. The free love age ended with the rise in awareness of HIV/AIDS. Single-family incomes, cute little houses with picket fences, and long, pension-driven careers were replaced by high mortgage rates, stagnant wages, mass unemployment, and self-loaded 401Ks.
The name “Generation Jones” comes from the concept of “keeping up with the Joneses”, a term for the desperate desire to keep up, at least in perception, with the prosperity of one’s neighbors. Alas, Generation Jones was born into the optimism and economic prosperity of the Baby Boomer age, but just as they were about to get their turn at the table, those tables were turning. Reality failed to meet their expectations and left them jonesing, so to speak.
Xennials
Xennials is a mashup of the terms “Generation X” and “Millennials” and they were born between 1977 and 1983, making up the last couple of years of the Gen X generation and the first few of the Millennial generation.
Xennials are sometimes called The Oregon Trail Generation, referring to that old computer game we used to play in elementary school once a week. It was an exciting school day when we would walk single-file to the computer lab that boasted ten Mackintosh computers with 7-inch screens that we would huddle around, four to a computer, trying not to die of dysentery.
This secondary name is apt because Xennials grew up without a lot of technology, but they saw it coming from a mile away. They learned the Dewey Decimal System and wrote reports in the library surrounded by encyclopedias, but they had the internet for their college research papers. They had 25 phone numbers memorized in middle school but in high school, they could use dial-up internet to meet their friends in a chat room. They had a roll of stamps in their desk drawer for letter writing, but it wasn’t too long before they were sending emails, even if they were mostly forwarded jokes.
Xennials were looking toward a future that had an anticipatory brightness to it, and optimism was making a comeback.
When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Xennials managed to be less impacted than either Generation X or Millennials, having reached some stability and experience in the workforce, but having yet to build up much savings. They also managed to get through their school years pre-Columbine.
Generation X
If the Generation Jones era was the slow slide down from the Baby Boomer good times, and the Xennial years were the climb toward the optimism and expectation of the new millennium, it’s easy to see where that leaves Generation X: Deep in the trench.
Jones had their expectations dashed while Xennials had them lifted. We Gen Xers never had any expectations. We thought we’d have to work really hard without recognition, carry school loan debt our whole lives, and always struggle to afford medical care. We don’t rely on the government’s help and we take pride in never being wrong.
It’s not that we don’t see the world as an evolving and improving place. But we see ourselves as the short-stickers. We are just a little too cynical to believe we will benefit from the improvements ourselves.
It’s not all bad, though. Check out this post about why the hardships faced by Generation X have put us in a position to reap big rewards.
Interesting Fun Fact: The Volkswagen Beetle was a popular car during the heyday of Generation Jones, and made a comeback during the early driving years of the Xennials, but was mostly unpopular for Generation X. Coincidence? I don’t know, what do you think?
Will we ever have a Generation X President? Read here.