'Gen X' Parents

January 25, 2002 9:32 AM

'Gen X' Parents would like to see a return to more traditional standards inside their newly-purchased homes and impart to their children the value of hard work, according to a new study in American Demographics. Could it be that we 'Slackers,' are more motivated than the moniker suggests?
posted by keith (23 comments total)

...whatever
posted by asok at 9:35 AM on January 25, 2002

i'm not generation X.
my parents are older than boomers...pre WWII babies.

i'm generation X-Wing.
posted by th3ph17 at 9:40 AM on January 25, 2002

If true, this is a good thing. I've written a couple times on here that a lot of our current social problems can be laid right at the feet of "our parents" permissive post-60s nature with the "If it feels good, do it" mentality. The danger is becoming too restrictive, like "our grandparents" - which started the cycle.
posted by owillis at 9:48 AM on January 25, 2002

Well, my son hasn't worn flannel yet...but he has slept in past 7:30 AM from time to time...
posted by adampsyche at 9:53 AM on January 25, 2002

I think you've got a good point there, owillis. On both counts. Restrictive might not be so bad, but the blanket intolerance of 'our grandparents' is not a good thing.

And I do think it is true. For lack of a better phrase, I am a Gen X parent, and it was creepy to read how easily, and handily, I fit into that demographic box.
posted by keith at 9:54 AM on January 25, 2002

First you get the toys...
Then you move out...
Then you want the new toys...
Then you work your ass off so you can buy all the new toys...

We're still slackers, but we work hard to afford our slacker lifestyle.
posted by kfury at 10:07 AM on January 25, 2002

...it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing--Richard Nixon, State of the Nation Speech.
posted by Postroad at 10:14 AM on January 25, 2002

The whole article sounds like various ad agencies took polls in shopping malls and made gross generalizations based on the data they collected that fit their preconceived notions. (of course) I'm a Gen-Xer - all of my friends from that era have parents who are NOT divorced, and I'm certainly not urban and hip and I stopped watching MTV a long time ago. (No wonder they didn't ask ME any question - LOL.) The "urban, hip" idea is the image that marketers are EXPECTING and presenting as what everyone wants - and I think marketers might just be starting to believe their own rhetoric. Problem is, if they took "REAL" polls, they wouldn't come up with any kind of focused marketing scheme at all, and that would put them out of a job. heh heh. Nothing new I suppose
posted by thunder at 10:18 AM on January 25, 2002

I personally don't think the whole slacker thing ever held water to begin with so I'm not surprised at all. My parents worked hard, I work hard, I know a lot of people my age who know that in order to get anything you have to work for it, too. The slacker thing really just seemed like a media stereotype from the start and people swallowed it right along with the rest of the early-nineties pop culture hype.
posted by Hackworth at 10:26 AM on January 25, 2002

Thunder - the only Gen X trait that I ever saw that had any consistent resonance was the idea that Gen Xers reject the idea that they can be classified. Always have and probably always will. Judging by what you've said here, you seem to conform to those expectations perfectly. Ironic no?
posted by willnot at 10:44 AM on January 25, 2002

The 'slacker' label was applied to us in the first place by the self-absorbed baby boomers whose view of the world has always been so 'me-centric' that they found it unfathomable that those younger than them might have some ideas about how to do things better. While the boomers were busy snorting coke and clawing their way to middle management, we were busy starting our own companies and doing things our own way. While they were busy bankrupting Social Security, we've been busy establishing financial security for ourselves. I know thousands of Gen-X'ers, I only know a handful of slackers. The only thing funnier than how stupid the label was in the first place is the fact that every once in awhile a boomer notices that they were wrong, and they consider the fact that they were wrong to be newsworthy.
posted by spilon at 10:48 AM on January 25, 2002

I consider the fact that a baby-boomer would admit to being wrong newsworthy.

(Sorry Dad!)
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:57 AM on January 25, 2002

spilon, I salute you.

To that I'd only add that it makes sense that we have a focus on our children and are steeped in family values as so many of us were raised by the WWII generation. The boomers were finding themselves, by the time they found themselves, they were broke. They needed their parents to watch us while they became immersed in their careers and lives once again.

Now, we find ourselves embracing what they rejected... I hope it galls them.
posted by Dean_Paxton at 11:13 AM on January 25, 2002

I thought it was kind of ironic that the so-called slacker generation was also blamed for starting and perpetuating the early-to-mid 90s "dot-com" startup culture where people worked 100 hours a week, slept under their desks, had tattoos of company logos, etc. Every gen-X-er i knew during that period was killing him/herself to be the next Internet millionaire. One of my friends even had his personal mantra - "Sleep is for babies" -- posted in various places in his office. (I have it in mine now, but it's meant in the rueful, bitter sense...)
posted by lizs at 11:17 AM on January 25, 2002

So is the era of the "overly cool mom/dad" over? Are we (I'm 24, so peripherally an X-er I believe) gonna be "the man"?

My dog doesn't even listen to me.
posted by owillis at 11:19 AM on January 25, 2002

willnot - LOL - exactly. Staunchy individualistic, just like everyone else. ;-)
posted by thunder at 11:26 AM on January 25, 2002

The 'slacker' label was applied to us in the first place by the self-absorbed baby boomers whose view of the world has always been so 'me-centric' that they found it unfathomable that those younger than them might have some ideas about how to do things better.

Beautiful. Well said.
posted by adampsyche at 11:32 AM on January 25, 2002

Problem is, if they took "REAL" polls, they wouldn't come up with any kind of focused marketing scheme at all, and that would put them out of a job.

Well, I dunno. If McDonalds, the world's largest resturant chain, has had soft sales in the US for 5 consecutive quarters (if not more), can't you assume that people aren't buying as much McDonalds food? If Starbucks became a massive company during the 90s, can't we assume that our culture is digging expensive coffee more than before?

I hate being classified too, but come on. There are undeniable market trends. I took a market survey once and the woman told me "About 99% of the people that come in here all like the same general stuff. It's a little disheartening."

I hate to rain on this "yay genX" parade, because I think we're under-rated. But still : there are things that connect us, and about 80% of the population *can* be pinned down with general surveys like this.

And meanwhile, everyone thinks they're the remaining 20%. ;) It's like telling someone they "sold out" in the early 90s -- the sooner we get over our similarities, the better.
posted by jragon at 11:58 AM on January 25, 2002

It's the little things that make us unique.

How we approach raising our children may differ, but in the end, we want the same things for them. Happiness, good health and success in life are on my list. Even in my rapidly reproducing group (5 babies born in last year & 3 on the way), these little differences and general similarities are evident.

We're not our parents. We'll make decisions based upon our experiences. Nothing wrong with that.
posted by onhazier at 12:15 PM on January 25, 2002

I hate the "our" thing. I'm a borderline GenXer by some modern accounts, by the accounts I read in my '20s firmly in the bracket - born in '66. My parents were in their early '30s when I was born and never very palsy kinda parents. Some of the most prototypical Gen X people I know had very conservative or older/very parental parents. There are also reams of conservative Gen X children of divorced parents. Generalizations are pretty silly in the first place; thinking that they make you a part a "we" is even sillier.
posted by raysmj at 1:27 PM on January 25, 2002

jragon: I hate being classified too, but come there are undeniable market trends. i took a market survey and the woman told me about 99% of the people that come in here all like the same general stuff. it's a little disheartening. Of course they all like the same stuff - like attracts like. *grin* The thing the market surveys do NOT include are anything that falls outside what they consider to be THEIR market, and despite the presentation of a survey as 'accurate' or 'complete', they are hardly inclusive. Drawing conclusions based on a very narrow customer base that's seen or presented as inclusive of a GENERATION? By marketing companies? Just more marketing of course - it's self perpetuating -LOL.

raysmj:Generalizations are pretty silly in the first place; thinking that they make you a part a "we" is even sillier. All generalizations are false. *grin*
posted by thunder at 2:30 PM on January 25, 2002

Wow! This thread contains the biggest boatload of stereotypical, whining my-parents-fucked-me-up crap I've ever read in any one place. Congratulations to all who contributed!
posted by groundhog at 2:36 PM on January 25, 2002

real Gen Xers dont have kids, yet.

we're still being self centered cynical slackers waiting for MTV to show us something good and something to replace Ecstasy and broadband and as the primary reasons to have a disposable income.

children may be that reason, but if it didnt seem to make Madonna less bitter, why would it work for us?
posted by tsarfan at 2:40 PM on January 25, 2002