Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally
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Boomers
Socially: They definitely raised the bar with feminism (the actual, "I want to work and vote, too" kind) and integration. Good job.
Economically: definitely a bunch of "head to the grindstone" motherfuckers. Hard workers, but in the traditional way: pick a practical career, keep your head down, don't take sick days, do what you're told, don't job-hop, get your pension.
Culturally: Stephen King said "they had a chance to change the world and opted instead for the Home Shopping Network." I think that pretty much sums it up. Some of the best music, movies, and books were written during their adolescence. Which they all promptly abandoned. Deadhead stickers on Cadillacs indeed.Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Millennials
Socially: racism, doxxing, class warfare, cancel culture, vilifying criticism. Fuck you, Millennials. At least fewer people are getting fired for having Asperger's or Tourette's, I guess.
Economically: Work more hours than Boomers. Popularized side hustles. But spend their money very differently. Instead of houses and Chinese-made shit at box stores, they rent and buy farm-to-table crap at their local artisan eatery. Not necessarily bad or good, just different.
Culturally: This one's a weird one. Hipsters brought knitting, analog photography, quilting, screen printing, leatherworking, vinyl and a whole bunch of other stuff back into popularity. They only half-understand this stuff as it is, but it's all probably good on balance.Gen Z
Socially: Plenty of 'em are even more batshit than Millennials. Hopes are not high here.
Economically: Too early to tell. Too young.
Culturally: Their greatest cultural contributions appear to be ridiculing every other generation's while simultaneously championing music no one listens to, clothes no one wears and NFTs. Joke.@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Gen X gave you the commercial Internet, which arguably does quite a number on all things social, economic, and cultural.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Gen X gave you the commercial Internet, which arguably does quite a number on all things social, economic, and cultural.
@Axtremus said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Gen X gave you the commercial Internet, which arguably does quite a number on all things social, economic, and cultural.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the other most major contributors to the internet were Boomers, not Gen X. Ask Copper.
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@Axtremus said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Gen X gave you the commercial Internet, which arguably does quite a number on all things social, economic, and cultural.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the other most major contributors to the internet were Boomers, not Gen X. Ask Copper.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Axtremus said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Gen X gave you the commercial Internet, which arguably does quite a number on all things social, economic, and cultural.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the other most major contributors to the internet were Boomers, not Gen X. Ask Copper.
I wrote the “commercial Internet”, that comes after the underlying technology has been invented by the likes of Cerf, Khan, and Benners-Lee. Look up Jerry Yang, Larry Page, Sergei Brin, Jeff Bezos, Jack Dorsey, et al.
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I’ve always been amused by the fact that Billy Idol is a boomer
Admittedly, I’m very easily amused
I was only joking
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@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Axtremus said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Gen X gave you the commercial Internet, which arguably does quite a number on all things social, economic, and cultural.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the other most major contributors to the internet were Boomers, not Gen X. Ask Copper.
I wrote the “commercial Internet”, that comes after the underlying technology has been invented by the likes of Cerf, Khan, and Benners-Lee. Look up Jerry Yang, Larry Page, Sergei Brin, Jeff Bezos, Jack Dorsey, et al.
@Axtremus said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Axtremus said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Gen X
Socially: Meh. Didn't do nothing, didn't do a lot. Didn't screw things up too badly.
Economically: Took them a long-ass time to get started, but they got into the fold just like everybody else.
Culturally: Hangout sitcoms, D&D, new kinds of Sci-Fi, made video games the medium it is today. They did their part.Gen X gave you the commercial Internet, which arguably does quite a number on all things social, economic, and cultural.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the other most major contributors to the internet were Boomers, not Gen X. Ask Copper.
I wrote the “commercial Internet”, that comes after the underlying technology has been invented by the likes of Cerf, Khan, and Benners-Lee. Look up Jerry Yang, Larry Page, Sergei Brin, Jeff Bezos, Jack Dorsey, et al.
I'll look them up once you prove you know how to have an actual discussion.
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I’ve always been amused by the fact that Billy Idol is a boomer
Admittedly, I’m very easily amused
@Doctor-Phibes said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
I’ve always been amused by the fact that Billy Idol is a boomer
Admittedly, I’m very easily amused
His new single is actually pretty dope.
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Outstanding, Aqua!
I'm curious: were you being reflective when you wrote it, or pissed off?@Rainman said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Outstanding, Aqua!
I'm curious: were you being reflective when you wrote it, or pissed off?Little of both.
Usually when people speak of generations, it's in the context to one-liners. Boomers are boomers because they prefer cable to streaming. Millennials are millennials because they buy fair-trade.
That level of analysis is pretty low-resolution, so I thought it'd be a good mental exercise to try to flesh things out a little more. Some things about that list do indeed piss me off.
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I was born in 1963, but I self-identify as Gen X, since all my friends and wife are. I'd rather be a millennial, but even I can see that would be pushing it.
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I was born in 1963, but I self-identify as Gen X, since all my friends and wife are. I'd rather be a millennial, but even I can see that would be pushing it.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
I was born in 1963, but I self-identify as Gen X, since all my friends and wife are. I'd rather be a millennial, but even I can see that would be pushing it.
Okay, boomer.
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Aqua's list is good, but as with any generalization, it's a 50,000 foot view.
Wonder how much overlap exists?
@Jolly said in Judging each generation: socially, economically, culturally:
Wonder how much overlap exists?
That was kind of my point - all the cultural stuff for Gen-x'er's is pretty much exactly what I do. And it certainly took me a long-ass time to get started. Now I'm having a little rest. I know people my age who definitely fit the boomer description, but I know a fair few who don't. You're only as old...
And nobody has ever referred to me as having my head remotely near a grindstone.
