Gen X Strikes Back

The rumors of a generation's demise have been widely exaggerated.

Don’t mess with Gen X.

That was the message heard loud and clear after I posted my snarky response to the New York Times article about Gen X going the way of candlestick makers in the age of electricity.

When I sat down to write the missive, I figured a few people might click the heart button. I’d feel self-righteous for about 25 minutes. And then life would be same as it ever was. Same.as.it.ever.was.

What I didn’t expect was:

• Over 500 likes

• 5500 views

• 200 hundred new subscribers

• And more melancholic rage than a Cure album.

And that was just on Substack. Over at Facebook—where Gen X still lurks, mainly to check up on old crushes—the After Magazines group reacted to the story with a Happy Meal of praise and fury.

If I'm getting this kind of response, I can only imagine what the inbox of poor Steven Kurutz, the author of the original Times piece, looks like.

But, world’s smallest violin—the dude tried to write Gen X’s obituary, and now he’s paying the piper.

Quick Recap

For those keeping score at home, The New York Times ran a story suggesting that Gen X was past its prime. Dead on arrival. Roadkill.

The suggestion was that while the world was racing forward, we’d been caught napping with our pagers still in hand.

The angst the story captured was real. If you’re not anxious about the current economic state of affairs, you’re either in a coma or Kylie Jenner.

But the suggestion that Gen X is the generation most left behind is wildly inaccurate. And shows a fundamental misunderstanding of who we are.

What You Said

Gen X readers are fully aware of what is going on in the world. In fact, we built this world.

Google? Gen X

Amazon? Gen X

The internet that makes this post possible? You’re welcome.

So don’t act like our heads are buried in tattered issues of Spy Magazine.

Serena writes:

“We’ve been quietly adapting, freelancing, building second careers, and upskilling for twenty years. If Gen X is a casualty, it’s not from inaction—it’s from being constantly expected to do more with less.”

But lessness, as Douglas Coupland put it in his seminal book, Generation X, is what we’re all about.

Since popping out of the womb, we’ve been dealt a less-than-optimal hand. The forgotten middle child sandwiched between the much bigger and louder Boomers and Millenials.

The Jan Brady of generations.

But like Jan Brady we were always the best looking ones, quietly holding the damn family together, while the others fought and squabbled.

Here’s Vicki:

If we could ride the waves from vinyl to 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, iPods, and streaming…

If we leveled up from Monopoly to Atari, to Nintendo, Wii, Xbox, and Switch…

If we stored our memories on notepads, then 5¼” floppies, 3½” disks, LAN drives, and now the cloud…

We can handle this.

Resourceful AF

Many R-words came up in the comment section to describe Gen X, and all fit like a snug pair of Underoos.

Resourceful

Reinvention

Relentess

REM

As Kelly wrote:

"I graduated with a degree in print journalism. It says 'print' on my diploma, LOL. I went into newspapers just as they were collapsing, then freelanced, moved into content marketing, and now I ghostwrite for execs. The Times missed a big piece of the Gen X story: our resilience."

Denise, who came up with me in the booming 90s magazine industry, laughs at suggestions that she’s obsolete:

I lost my last full-time magazine job in 2004, and I've been freelancing ever since. Pivoting and adapting is what I’ve done for 20 years. I’m 58 and tired as hell, but somehow I feel like I’m at the peak of my powers."

That willingness to pivot despite being exhausted by constantly having to pivot is kind of what makes us who we are—and what pisses us off about other namless generations who pull stunts like quiet quitting or never quitting.

Says April:

Having 5 different job titles used to make me feel unfocused. I now realize: I am a MASTER pivoter just rolling with the crazy times.

So it was particularly cruel when the Times branded us passe, analog, and thus unhirable. We know in our core that this is entirely untrue and unfair. But we also know that many people looking at our resumes buy into this narrative. And this article won’t help.

What the Times Left Out

Karen, an executive interviewed in the original story, took issue with me calling her grumpy (I apologized for that, although, in all fairness, her name is Karen), but she also believes the story’s author missed a major point.

Ageism is real. Pivoting or finding new sources of revenue is great -- but it doesn't stop ageism. Talking about it does. Just like it helps fight sexism, racism, and every other kind of ism. When people talk about those things it can sound whiny, grumpy, whatever...but people who think that often times have never been on the oppressive side of an -ism. Steven focused a little more on our skills being "obsolete" - which I disagree with, and he didn't really talk about ageism that is rampant in the industry. If we don't solve agesim soon, Millennials and Gen Zers will be hit hard with it. We don't want that. Oh, BTW, I just reread my comment and thought - "dammit woman, you sound grumpy!"

Most of you agreed with my take. Gen X needs to start thinking of themselves as multi-hyphenates, trying lots of things, and creating diverse sources of income.

But some didn’t think my prescription went far enough.

Wrote Toddy:

I’m already a multi-hyphenate, dipping my arthritic fingers into varied pies. The idea that we just iterate our 'already selves' is hopeful, but it misses the bigger picture. This moment needs more than personal reinvention. It needs a political reaction

Fair enough. Take it to the streets. Hands Off!

And Now... a Podcast

I had so many thoughts after all this feedback that I recorded a conversation with Dana DuBois, co-founder of the GenXy newsletter and podcast, on my podcast, Write About Now.

We covered the Times piece, the backlash, the burnout, and the strange superpower of being totally underestimated.

Dana brought sharp insights and some serious Smells Like Teen Spirit pom-pom energy with her. If you want more honest talk about how Gen X got here and how we survive, give it a listen.

And please keep sharing your thoughts. I love them so much.