Underemployed and overeducated, Coupland's Gen X archetype became a staple of '90s culture, appearing again, for example, in Ben Stiller's 1994 film ' Reality Bites,' starring Gen X icon Winona Ryder. Coupland may well have been inspired by David Gross's 1990 cover story for Time magazine: ' Twentysomething.'īut the phrase actually dates back much further, to a 1964 UK paperback named 'Generation X' coauthored by Jane Deverson and Charles Hamblett.

Unlike Gen Z, though, they subsist afterward on 'low-pay, low-prestige, low-benefit, no-future jobs in the service industry' while pondering their uncertain futures. In the context of 2021, it bears similarities to the attitudes of Gen Zers about the labor shortage and the 'Great Resignation.' Coupland's three antiheroes all quit their jobs in their hometowns in a quest for a more meaningful existence. It's left them juggling more debt than other generations and unprepared for retirement.Ĭoupland's book focuses on characters born after 1960 who don't identify with the baby boom. It's a prime time for buying big ticket items, like cars and houses, and with larger than average households, Gen X spends the most on consumer goods and services. This life stage means that Gen X is in their prime working and earning years, with the typical Gen X-led household earning more than any other generation. Now turning ages 41 to 56 this year, America's 'middle child' is in the middle of it all - mid-age and mid-career, juggling jobs with taking care of both children and aging parents. They came of age as 'latchkey kids' and, as adults, experienced three recessions and a technological transformation from the dot-com boom to social media. But Gen Xers are part of a resilient generation that's expected to outnumber boomers in 2028. If you haven't heard much about Gen X, it's because they're known as ' the forgotten generation.'īorn between 19, Gen X has fallen to the wayside of the media darlings they're bookended by - millennials and baby boomers. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

Generation x coupland