Generation X: Understand the main characteristics

Several sociology scholars have determined the characteristics of Generation X. Most of them agree that this generation is made up of people who were born between 1960 and 1980. Currently, these people are between 39 and 55 years old and represent around 20% of the Brazilian population.

This generation succeeded the Baby Boomers, people born between 1940 and 1960, and who received this designation due to the increase in the number of baby births (“baby boom”), mainly in Europe and the United States, shortly after the end of the Second World War.

To try to understand the behavior of a generation, it is necessary to know the differences between the previous and the next generation.

Therefore, before understanding the behavioral characteristics of Generation X, it is necessary to know more about their parents, the Baby Boomers.

Today, boomers, as the predecessors of Generation X are also called, are between 55 and 75 years old. Because they are more conservative in some aspects of life, they raised their children in a slightly more rigid way.

They witnessed the emergence of television and had their youth peak in the 1960s and 1970s, being the founders of the hippie movement. Today, they are the grandparents of Generation Y, who succeeded Generation X.

Children of Generation X

Generation Y , also known as millennials, is made up of people born between the early 1980s and just before the start of the 21st century, around 1995. They are descendants of Generation X.

This generation emerged during a period of profound technological transition, from the analog world to the digital world. Millennials saw, while still in childhood or adolescence, the world become completely urbanized, technological and connected to the internet.

It is currently the largest generation in modern history, representing 50% of the world's workforce. This number is expected to increase to 75% by 2025, according to forecasts.

Members of this generation are fully integrated into new technologies and have mastered computer skills. They quickly became the focus of the market and marketing.

This has led to Generation X being known as the “forgotten generation,” as they are often not targeted by advertisements or consumer marketing strategies.

Generation X: the origin of the term

The term emerged in the 1950s, in England, after the Hungarian photographer Robert Capa referred to one of his photo essays, which showed boys and girls who grew up after the Second World War.

With this expression, the photographer wanted to convey the idea of ​​a generation that was still unknown, that was yet to come, with an uncertain future ahead, therefore, the crux of the matter.

The name gained strength after a series of interviews with young people carried out by British journalist Jane Deverson for a magazine, but due to her discoveries, she only became public in a book entitled "Generation X", written in partnership with another British journalist, Charles Hamblett.

The book showed that some of the young people of this generation did not believe in God, did not like Queen Elizabeth II, waited until marriage to have sexual relations and contested several rules of previous generations.

In the 1990s, the release of the book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, by Canadian writer Douglas Coupland, popularized the use of the term “generation X”.

In the work, the author portrayed, through a novel, the lifestyle of young people in the late 80s.

Coupland is often called the “spokesman of the generation” because of his book, which was very popular, especially in the United States.

Characteristics of Generation X

People of this generation grew up influenced by television programming and amid changes in the family environment, such as, for example, the increase in the number of mothers entering the workforce.

This increase was driven mainly by the economic instability experienced in the post-Second World War period and the continued search for financial stability.

In the midst of this, people of this generation grew up, seeing both parents go out to work, having more independence and responsibility within their homes.

Therefore, Generation X is considered more practical and focused on seeking a balanced life inside and outside the home.

People of this generation seek individuality and independence without losing group coexistence.

It is a more mature generation, which chooses quality over quantity, which seeks more for its rights and is more concerned about future generations.

Generation X in Brazil

In the national context, this group was born in the midst of the period of the Military Coup; censorship, institutional acts that strengthened the dictatorship, the crisis in the Brazilian economy, with the implementation of economic plans to try to contain inflation.

And also to the Diretas Já movement, which sought to guarantee direct presidential elections; to the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution; to the first direct election for president of the republic after the Military Dictatorship, which elected Fernando Collor de Mello, the impeachment of this president after allegations of corruption and the launch of the Real Plan.

These were just some of the main events that this generation experienced during their childhood, adolescence and youth.

Perhaps because of this, or despite this, Generation X is often resistant to change. These events have also contributed to this group being very concerned about work and worrying a lot.

Generation X and technology

Although the Internet already existed in the 1980s, it was only used by banking and financial networks. It was in 1990, when the English physicist and computer scientist Tim Berners Lee created the World Wide Web (www) system, that the computer network became navigable for the general population.

However, the internet and computers were not accessible to everyone, so some of Generation X did not have immediate access. Furthermore, technology at the time was still under development and was considered precarious compared to today.

This superficial use, at least at first, was a determining factor in Generation X's relationship with technology. Unlike millennials, who use tablets and smartphones more, Generation X tends to prefer computers, for example.

While Generation Y tends to communicate through social networks and messaging apps, Generation X still uses and/or prefers to use email and the telephone. The use of networks is usually only for entertainment.

More features of this generation

This is a generation that is more concerned about health, but that doesn't mean they are healthier . In fact, studies show that this group tends to have more chronic diseases and high blood pressure than the previous generation, the Baby Boomers.

Additionally, Gen Xers are more likely to have diabetes, circulatory diseases, and be overweight. Although this group of people has a longer life expectancy, experts say they will have fewer healthy years.

This means that these are people who tend to live longer, but who will live a greater part of those years, compared to previous generations, with illnesses.

Science says the reason is likely linked to diet and a decrease in physical exercise. Another factor, according to researchers, could be the increase in social inequality over the past few years.

Perhaps that is why there is a greater interest in seeking health. Furthermore, Generation X is also the one that is most informed, follows the news and seeks to know what is happening in the world.

Stressed and anxious

As a generation that broke paradigms and moved the economy in ways never imagined, this generational group was the first to experience stress and anxiety in a more pronounced way, both in the professional and personal spheres.

This, according to studies, happens because this was the first generation that believed they could succeed in all fields, because they had opportunities that previous generations did not have.

There was an incentive for good education, for growth in the job market, an active and interesting social life, in addition to being a generation with greater autonomy for decisions such as getting married and having children.

Generation X today

Generation X has a high purchasing power and seeks to take advantage of their economic situation in the most intense way possible.

This group is more concerned with achieving a balance between personal and professional life. But they also have a tendency towards entrepreneurship, with many of its members wanting to be their own bosses.

A recent study found that the Covid-19 pandemic caused Generation X to incorporate values ​​from other generations and begin to move between different generational groups, such as Generation Y.

Many Gen Xers today are concerned about the success of their children and the world they are raising them for. They also have concerns about seniors today and their future after retirement.

As consumers, this group is not one to take risks. For Generation X, trust is vital. Its members are known for their intensive use of social media to share experiences and form opinions about products and companies.