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Why does generation X stop in 1977?

[Generation X] 
38K views 110 replies 54 participants last post by  karlpalaka 
#1 · (Edited)
Why does generation X stop in 1976?

Generation X is by far the smallest in terms of time period. Wouldn't it make sense for it to go until 1979 or 1980? So it would be more even? Why did it stop at 1977, and what do you think would be appropriate in terms of what years the generations are? Do you think Jones and X should be combined? What say you? (Yes I know I'm generation Y, please don't yell at me, mom.)
 
#2 ·
Depends on who's criteria you're going by. Some say 1961 to 1981 others say 1965-1981. 1964 to 1977 is common too. Personally, I just go by the 1961 to 1981 range with 1961-1964 being the oldest gray area Gen Jones/ Xers and 1978 to 1981 as the youngest Gen X/Y folks. If you were born in the late 1960s and early 1970s , you're definitely in the meat and potatoes of Gen X.
 
#3 ·
I am "generation jones" (born in 1956), and I would say that we are not quite baby boomers but not gen x either. We are the Left Out and Forgotten Generation. *weeps*
 
#15 ·
Hmmm...Baby Boomers were born around 1946 after WW2 when the GI's returned home from Europe and the Pacific to start a family (Baby Boom). You were born around the 10th year after 1946. That's still in the Baby Boom generational range. Most people agree that a generation has to be at least 20 years in birth year range. Gen X = 1961 to 1981 (20 years) or 1965 to 1981 (15+ years). I always thought that Gen Jones were born around 1958 to 1964(famous entertainers like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice,Tom Cruise, Whitney Houston, and etc). Look at it this way, you would have been drafted before the Vietnam War ended(1975 and you would have been 19 years old) or you could have been a Hippie hanging around Haight and Ashbury. Most people agree that Baby Boomers were in service age when the Vietnam War dominated the headlines. Gen Jones were still trying to get their drivers license during the Vietnam War. Then again, Wikipedia has Gen Jones born around 1954 to 1965...So what do I know?
 
#14 · (Edited)
FlightsOfFancy, I don't know if I can agree with your views of Gen X . 10 years is a lot of space between you and the youngest Xer (An Xer born in 1981 would only be older than you by 4-5 years). Even my younger brother who was born in the late 1970s would probably agree with me. I was born in the early 1970s. I would have been around 13-15 years old when you were born. Kinda hard for you to relate to my life experiences by the time you were born and you would have to be around 7 years (1992 ish?) old to even have a miniscule inkling as to what I went through back in the 1970s and 1980s. My younger brother could relate to my experiences in the 1980s because he was already like 7 when you were born.

Just saying. On a side note. When I was 7 years old, I didn't go home until it was dark outside or when BattleStar Galactica (the original series) and the Incredible Hulk (Lou Ferrigno)came on during prime time. When you were 7, I'm pretty sure your parents kept you home before you got shot outside for wearing the wrong colors.
 
#5 ·
According to this forum, I'm Gen Y... born in 1977. Do I identify with anything Gen Y related? No. Can I remove this stupid Gen Y label off my profile? No. Are they correct on the cut-off on this forum? NO!:dry:
They cut off Gen X at the very least, 5 years too early.

emographers, historians and commentators use beginning birth dates from the early 1960s to the early 1980s.
Jon Miller at the Longitudinal Study of American Youth at the University of Michigan wrote that "Generation X refers to adults born between 1961 and 1981"
The Harvard Center uses 1965 to 1984 to define Gen X
I'm NOT GEN Y! :angry:

FIX THIS FORUM!
 
#6 ·
What would you think of the generational labels simply being removed?

According to this forum, I'm Gen Y... born in 1977. Do I identify with anything Gen Y related? No. Can I remove this stupid Gen Y label off my profile? No. Are they correct on the cut-off on this forum? NO!:dry:
They cut off Gen X at the very least, 5 years too early.




I'm NOT GEN Y! :angry:

FIX THIS FORUM!
 
#10 ·
Well, I'm not sure about the INXXs being the coolest personality type (SFP is far cooler!!!) but Gen X is definitely the coolest generation... we should have a GenX wanna-be forum, lol.
 
#17 ·
Generation X is by far the smallest in terms of time period. Wouldn't it make sense for it to go until 1979 or 1980? So it would be more even? Why did it stop at 1977, and what do you think would be appropriate in terms of what years the generations are? Do you think Jones and X should be combined? What say you? (Yes I know I'm generation Y, please don't yell at me, mom.)
I agree. I'm just going to go by 1961 to 1981 and save the hassle. Anyone born in those years is an Xer.
 
#39 ·
Ok if we go by the Electric Company test I'm Gen X. Any time anyone compares me to Gen X, I can only fathom we share public television and an affinity for an edgier and less politically correct Nickelodeon.

That's always what I think of when someone says I'm Gen X now. Public television, it's an early important link that is not terribly commercial.
 
#22 ·
Grunge and alternative rock were the theme of my highschool years therefore I am Gen X. I am so NOT a Millenial. Apart from the use of tech, I have nothing in common with them.

I've seen some studies that have Gen X including babies born as late as 1983/84. I definitely agree that 1977 is too early a cut-off point. I was born in 1980 and have far more in common with children of the early 70s than I do with children of the early 90s.
 
#29 ·
i was born 1978 and i do NOT want to be labelled as gen y either. i relate to a couple gen-y things, but overall i feel i am more strongly gen X, which i think should end in 1982. my boyfriend was born in 1969 and i consider him the essence (or as GenXer said "meat and potatoes") of gen-x and know that i am younger/cuspy gen-x but STILL gen-x :p
 
#31 ·
I kind of like the idea of Gen X going until 1981/2, If you graduated HS in the 90's I think you ought to be a gen Xer. I always thought
"My So Called Life" was Gen X, but if you use 1977 as a cutoff the younger kids like the protagonist Angela would be Gen Y.
I myself think that if you started HS in the 90's but graduated in the early 2000's your kind of in between generations, you would have still graduated before myspace & facebook, and be old enough to remember NES, Cassettes and VCRs ect.
 
#42 ·
Do you think My So Called Life is Gen X? Because I was the right age for that. Young enough I clearly remember preferring Ray Anne over Angela, and that I like Jared Leto as a grown up instead (he was a very young, baby faced Jordan Catalano at 20)...but that show was targeted to people about my age, give or take a few years...honestly I feel like it's early Gen Y or cusp: Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy, Jennifer Love Hewitt in everything, Katie Holmes in Dawson's Creek, the beginning of the horror revival and the electropop, I believe this is all early Gen Y. The way I define it in my mind I feel it's all early Gen Y, as in Avril Lavigne. Like the younger sister or brother of Gen X, needing to find its own identity. I still kind of like to seen Jennifer Love Hewitt, or Katie Holmes in things (like Ms.Meadows) ..I kind of feel a kinship to women around that age for very good reason. Did you know Avril Lavigne almost died recently? I will always like the horror revival new scream queens as well, for no apparent reason. 😐😃
 
#32 ·
Per wikipedia:

In a 2012 article for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, George Masnick wrote that the "Census counted 82.1 million" Gen Xers in the U.S. The Harvard Center uses 1965 to 1984 to define Gen X so that Boomers, Xers and Millennials "cover equal 20-year age spans".[15] Masnick concluded that immigration has filled in any birth year deficits during low fertility years of the late 1960s and early 1970s [15][16]
 
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#33 ·
ancestory dot com has ''generation'' defined as 24 years
from the point of being born to giving birth, honestly i don't know who coins the generations
but it does not seem scientific or accurate
how can boomers be 24 years while others [x] be 13, did i miss something?
i don't consider myself [ circa '62] to be any generation but only human
 
#35 ·
I think Generation X is 1965-1980 give or take a few years. I think those born from 1981-1984 (& even 85' & 86' to a certain extent) are sort of on the cusp between X & Y since they grew up in the Late 80s/Early 90s before the explosion of the internet so that sounds pretty Gen Xish.

However at the same time they were some of the first to use computers very early in their lives as computers became mainstream in the late 80s/early 90s so thats pretty Gen Yish.

So if you ask me: XY Cusp:

1977-1984

September 1976-August 1980 - XY Leaning towards X: Famous Examples - John Cena, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shakira, Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, John Legend, Heath Ledger, Kourtney Kardashian, Channing Tatum, Jessica Simpson


September 1980-August 1984 - XY Leaning towards Y: Famous Examples - Kim Kardashian, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Lil Wayne, Seth Rogen, Carrie Underwood, Mila Kunis, Katy Perry, Lebron James

What do you guys think?
 
#46 ·
I'm glad I had it. It opened my mind to my own actual generation, especially since I suffer some of the TV emotional rape of X.

I just know I'm not Moby or Rob Zombie, even if I look up to them. I think one of the reasons I love Lana del Rey is because she's actually speaking for the older aspects of my generation, so is MIA.

My leaders are mostly musical. The voices of each generation, the advice and social norms, reach me through music. Literature even feels dated, except for Gillian Flynn, and tv is not my life, even film is so much an arbitrary schema. Harmony Korrine was supposed to speak for me I think, and he did WAY EARLIER about hook up culture and AIDS (my ESFJ ex was terrified)...but I'm too funny about movies, like I just don't care about year, but the message itself. ..music is the only thing throughout Thalassa's Life that spoke from day zero until now, which is why I will accept Gen Y.

That and my own disgusting commercial childhood. Gen Y children love branding, junk food, etc. Gen Y men always knew porn and it affected their personality, it made them unapologetic in objectification, or very desirous and wanting human connection, like "don't make me watch porn, talk to me or send me pics of you, a real girl. "
 
#52 ·
Generation X is by far the smallest in terms of time period. Wouldn't it make sense for it to go until 1979 or 1980? So it would be more even? Why did it stop at 1977, and what do you think would be appropriate in terms of what years the generations are? Do you think Jones and X should be combined? What say you? (Yes I know I'm generation Y, please don't yell at me, mom.)
It depends on who you ask. Some folks say GenX goes to 1981.
 
#54 ·
Generation X is by far the smallest in terms of time period. Wouldn't it make sense for it to go until 1979 or 1980? So it would be more even? Why did it stop at 1977, and what do you think would be appropriate in terms of what years the generations are? Do you think Jones and X should be combined? What say you? (Yes I know I'm generation Y, please don't yell at me, mom.)
gen x is officaly cattogrised as the 80s .
 
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