Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future

by Jean M. Twenge

Boomers and Gen X’ers were instead raised in the fast-life strategy era: They roamed their neighborhoods freely and were often told to “come home when the streetlights come on.” If you want Gen X’ers to come out of the woodwork on social media, all you have to do is post something about your unsupervised childhood. “If you’re wondering why Generation X is the way it is, it’s because millennial/GenZ had parents constantly googling, ‘best parenting strategies for your growing miracle,’ and ours were like, ‘You can play with a knife in your room just don’t smoke weed in the kitchen,’ ” a Twitter user named Mikel Jollett wrote. A stream of similar takes from Gen X’ers followed. “I think people who didn’t grow up in the late 70s and early 80s have absolutely no idea how neglected we were & how socially acceptable dangerous ass shit was,” agreed Shannon Foley Martinez. “Parents had literally no idea where their kids were or what they were doing like 90% of the time.” Many Gen X’ers revel in the untrammeled independence they had as children and teens, believing it helped them learn valuable lessons for adulthood. One Gen X’er wrote, “We just figured things out. It was both terrifying and exhilarating, the total freedom we had, and the absolute vulnerability we weren’t yet aware of.” Another said, “I roamed far and wide from age 4 onward.… I wasn’t neglected and I’m thankful my parents didn’t hover over my life as if I were made of glass.”