My kid just started college about 800 miles from home. He's kind of spoiled the way that I think most middle class suburban Gen Z kids are kind of spoiled, but so far I think he's doing a decent job of managing his own life. We talk once a week and text one another occasionally, but I'm trying hard to give him credit for having a brain unless he demonstrates otherwise.

A lot of the other parents, though... I haven't seen social media helicopter parent bullshit like this since these kids were all in middle school with masks on and plexiglass dividers between the seats. There's a FB group for my kid's freshman class and every day there's some new "outrage" that parents are losing their shit over.

The shower curtains in my kid's dorm are mildewy.

The dining hall ran out of chicken strips.

Every kid on my kid's hall is sick.

Have you seen this arrest report from the town police blotter?

Did any of these people ever live in a college dorm??? Yes, the bathrooms are kind of gross, yes, the dining halls run out of shit sometimes, yes, respiratory illnesses run through a dorm like wildfire and yes, college kids do dumb shit and sometimes the police get involved. None of this is a scandal or a national emergency. What ever happened to the generation that was always like, whatever?

I remember watching the reel to reel film of this in elementary school, somewhere around 5th grade I want to say?

Apparently, there are more of us out than the younger set.

I was born in 2005 so Happy Days was way before my time lol. My dad introduced me to him because I really like The Outsiders. I know that Joey from Friends is meant to be Fonzie for the 90s, so that was my first introduction to a character like Fonzie. I personally find the aesthetic of greasers to be very cool and edgy. Unfortunately the whole show isn’t available on streaming so I’ve only seen a handful of episodes. Also when watching the show in the 70s and 80s, what did y’all’s parents think of Fonzie’s character? I’ve read from people who grew up in the era (50s and 60s) and former greasers that realistically speaking the Fonz was too squeaky clean. Also read that Henry Winkler wanted the Fonz to be a good role model so he didn’t want him to smoke.

I liked computers but didn’t have one at home for most of the time I was growing up. I took typing in high school because I needed an elective. I turned out to be good at it. I didn’t consider the possibility that keyboards would be everywhere one day.

Not for nothing but is it weird for any other older GenXers when posters are always referring to the 90’s? I mean the 90’s were good but I was in my 20’s and working my ass off during that decade. When I think of GenX I always think of growing up in the 70’s and 80’s.

Just weird how we can have different memories even though we all belong here together.

Edit - 69er here. Thanks for comments!

I’m a teenager today and I’ve realised that in shows/films people are often depicted sneaking out and lying to their parents. As far as I’m aware this is super uncommon amongst my generation so I was wondering how common it actually was?

Those images of the animals stuck in the plastic is burned in my brain forever. I still cut these up before throwing them away.

coming from a 14 year old, were the 80s summers as magical as they look in the movies? did you ride your bike to your friends house and come home when the street lights came on? yall are so lucky btw 😭😭

Im 48, and I still walk around in the world like Im a kid in my late teens or early 20s. I still have the same sense of humour, Im still interested in dumb shit, I still play video games and watch cape shit and build lego. But worse, I see young women and think "not bad" and then have to remind myself, no, no, youre not the same age them, dopey. Luckily I was always into older ladies, phew. But I was looking around facebook the other day, and everyone else seems to have had a full life while Im stuck. One of my friends is now a grandpa, and hes younger than me. All my exs have kids that are in their teens now at least and, they all just have families, and pictures, and lives that are the full experience.

Meanwhile, Im still here. In the late 90s/early 00s like a fucking vampire unable to change. I bought a house. I have a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a garage, 3 bathrooms 3 bedrooms, a back garden, and I still spend all of my time in my bedroom like Im still at home lol.

I just never grew up. I never had that moment of, "well, Im an adult now. I have to start doing adult things.". Am I the only one? Am I weird? And if I am, do I even care? Do you? Probably not, but fuck it. POST!

Well, shit. This got more than the 3 upvotes and single comment calling me a pedo that I expected lol. Thank you to all the replies, getting so many different yet comfortably familiar opinions and life experiences back was pretty cool. And Im low key jealous of all you fuckers who found your life partners at 20, and spent 30 years not growing up together.

I wish you all a happy Saturday night, full of mini pizzas, weed, and maybe some sex. Just keep the pepto and pain killers near by lol. I love you all. Enjoy your night, your weekend, and every day from here on out.

Oh, man, it's goatees, isn't it?

Edit: No! I forgot about the soul patch! Nothing screams "douchey" louder than a soul patch. We have a winner!

Her books are not for the faint of heart but they are so good.

It’s 6:24 PM and I am settled in for the night because it’s pitch black and may as well be midnight. I am wearing an adult onesie with attached feet and ready to put a movie on so I can enjoy my new surround sound system while sipping some Eagle Rare. My somewhat newly divorced friend just texted me telling me “let’s go out”. I could not be less interested in getting out of my pajamas or leaving the house. Go out where? To sit in a bar with a bunch of annoying 20-year-olds who are going to wonder why the old people are there. I have to wonder, am I just officially old and lame, or are my fellow single Gen Xers hunkered down for the winter, perfectly happy with their footed pajamas and at home bars and entertainment setups?

I'm 52 years old and my first job was at the Cineplex Theaters making $4.25 an hour which is minimum wage back then in 1993. (From Bay Area, CA)

Update: I'm amazed how much everyone makes hourly. so far the most Gen X made back then was $11 ph. I was happy making at least $100 a week haha

Lately, if I buy clothes, they have to be mostly cotton. I’m fine with a little elastane or something similar for stretch, but I’ve really started to dislike polyester and other synthetic fabrics.

Part of it is fit. I strength train, and cotton shirts just seem to fit and drape better on me. But mostly, I’ve realized I just want to be comfortable. I don’t care nearly as much about what’s trendy or fashionable anymore. Give me a soft cotton T-shirt or polo that fits well and I’m happy.

I’ll actually look at the fabric tag now before I buy something. If it’s mostly polyester, there’s a pretty good chance it’s going back on the rack.

Is this a Gen X/getting older thing? 😂 Have any of you gotten way pickier about fabrics and comfort as you’ve gotten older?

I'm a hard-core Gen Xer and believed #4 chewing gum in my stomach, I was frequently told I'd get arthritis for cracking my knuckles, we all heard #9 although I'm from Chicago so they said Sears Tower, I believed #10 and #14 too. I swallowed enough watermelon seeds to know there aren't any watermelons growing in my stomach.

So 1969’er here. ok while others were in college or military or starting careers I basically F’d off in the 90’s took a few college classes, dated and spent every dollar that I earned. I wasn’t a total bum I was always employed but never really worked towards a career until my late 20’s. So now I’m married my kids are in college, I finally have a career and I’m maxing out my 401k contributions but I am so tired of working i don’t want to go anymore. I just can’t wait to retire I wish I could retire right now. It’s like a race to the finish line when I don’t want to be in the game.

I don’t know many of us in Gen X, who have tattoos. Is this just the people that I happen to know? Or is it a Gen X thing?

As the title suggests. Myself and a few others responding in another post started a debate. I thought we all had silent gen parents, so now I’m curious.

EDIT:

I have tallied the responses and will continue to update the numbers as more people reply. Parents by Gen:

(1901-1927) Greatest: 452

(1928-1945) Silent: 4322

(1946-1964) Boomer: 1866

(1965-1980) X: 3

I included all spouses/significant others mentioned-thank you. Some responses had the wrong gen for their parent(s), so I fixed the stats. More of you have/had Greatest Gen parents than you thought! Lots of cool stories and fun facts in these responses.

EDIT 2: Thank you for the award!

My wife is my rebound from my high school love. My HS sweetheart cheated on me. We broke up. I met my wife, moved in with her, got her pregnant and married all within 5 months. We were 20 in 1991 when we married and had our first kid. We had a 2nd kid 3 years later. Now we're about to go on a cruise with 4 of our 6 grandkids.

Posted this in the ask Reddit and was suggested to ask here as well.
I was born in the 70’s. And my parents and their adult friends drank coffee all day. Think coffee pot/ Folgers etc. some also smoked while drinking their coffee. Just wondering if anyone here has that too? I live in a diff state than where i grew up and people say they didn’t experience this.

Gen X here, in our 50's, adult children grown and flown, my husband and I have found our bedtime routine keeps getting earlier and earlier. I mean, we make an excuse and say it's just because we want to watch our series on TV, but honestly its not unusual to be in pajamas, in bed at 8pm, then asleep by 9:30pm. What happened? There was a time we wouldn't even get into bed until 10:30 or 11:00. Are we now officially old? Geesh, how early will bedtime get by the time we're 80?

When I post in the Genex section, it seems like everybody is at least 10-15 years younger than me. I have the joy of being right at the beginning of the Gen X crowd and the right at the end of the baby boomer cloud, so no idea where the heck I fit in. I feel like there is no one in their 60s. Also, no one in their 60s. That still have adult children living with them due to this wonderful economy. Which means I can’t afford to leave on their own. I know that was a lot. Sorry if it was a little bit erratic, but this has been something. I’ve been struggling with this. I reach out to find some sort of support community.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! Thank you for any kind responses in advance. Mean or cruel responses. Please scroll past.

I sure remember, I got it once in 1at grade and again in 7th grade.

I know when I was a kid, we didn’t have a water bottle with us everywhere. The only source of water in school was the drinking fountain. During the summer when we didn’t come in until the street lights came on, we didn’t lug around a water bottle. Even when my kids, who are in their early 30’s, would go to summer camp, we just made sure to have a drink in their lunch. Now, here I am, 57 and attached to my water bottle like it’s another child that goes everywhere with me.