Thanks for the comment. You're an honorary Millennial! Just kidding. I didn't mean to exclude Gen-X, and could have phrased that line better—perhaps "my generation between" or "that generation" or something else entirely.
In my original draft, I had a section about living my teenage years in the shadow of Gen-X teenagers I remembered from TV and comparing my high school years to the ones I'd seen years before. I dropped it because I felt the point wasn't quite strong enough and I didn't have the full perspective. My tendency is to think of Xers and older Millennials as having fairly similar childhoods, though with different cultural touchstones. But that's shaped by two things: One is that my older brother is on the cusp of Gen-X and Millennial, so I grew up with a lot of his references influencing me. The other is the fact that the internet is such a stark cultural dividing line, that it's easier to see a connection between generations that grew up on the old media than it is with generations that grew up steeped in the social internet.
No worries - I was mostly joking. It’s pretty funny how often Gen X gets skipped. My sense is that we don’t mind all that much? The discussion of generational differences is fascinating and also funny. I was born way the hell back in the sixties (!) when it wasn’t really a thing. We all thought our parents were old and that was about it. I’ve been putting together a piece about the invention of generations - it’s fascinating. Obviously the internet has amplified the concept. Anyway, I liked your piece! Those childhood tropes and touchstones are deeply ingrained for sure.
Yeah, there are actually TWO generations between Boomers and Zoomers. I'know we're forgettable to the rest of you, but Gen Z is still alive. :)
Thanks for the comment. You're an honorary Millennial! Just kidding. I didn't mean to exclude Gen-X, and could have phrased that line better—perhaps "my generation between" or "that generation" or something else entirely.
In my original draft, I had a section about living my teenage years in the shadow of Gen-X teenagers I remembered from TV and comparing my high school years to the ones I'd seen years before. I dropped it because I felt the point wasn't quite strong enough and I didn't have the full perspective. My tendency is to think of Xers and older Millennials as having fairly similar childhoods, though with different cultural touchstones. But that's shaped by two things: One is that my older brother is on the cusp of Gen-X and Millennial, so I grew up with a lot of his references influencing me. The other is the fact that the internet is such a stark cultural dividing line, that it's easier to see a connection between generations that grew up on the old media than it is with generations that grew up steeped in the social internet.
No worries - I was mostly joking. It’s pretty funny how often Gen X gets skipped. My sense is that we don’t mind all that much? The discussion of generational differences is fascinating and also funny. I was born way the hell back in the sixties (!) when it wasn’t really a thing. We all thought our parents were old and that was about it. I’ve been putting together a piece about the invention of generations - it’s fascinating. Obviously the internet has amplified the concept. Anyway, I liked your piece! Those childhood tropes and touchstones are deeply ingrained for sure.