Talk:Generation X
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Semi-protected edit request/ Question about lede
Hello. I have a question concerning the lede of the page, especially with the sentence "researchers and popular media often utilize the mid 60s as the... and the late 70s as the ending birth years". If 1980 is commonly cited as the last year of Gen X, would this mean that the previously mentioned sentence should say "and the early 80s as the ending birth years"? There are even other citations in the body that mention other multiple early 80s end dates. I wanted to ask if the sentence could be updated, or if this was purposely done to prevent people from including birth years that are generally considered Millennial, such as 1981-1983? However, as I've mentioned, 1980 is pretty much definitely considered Gen X throughout the article. 2601:940:C100:8890:2C00:985F:96F5:41ED (talk) 23:16, 22 August 2025 (UTC)
- Yes, this was a mistake. I've fixed it. Thanks, Dan Bloch (talk) 02:09, 23 August 2025 (UTC)
Generational labels are arbitrarily defined by various marketers and don't have official beginnings and endings
Wikipedia, please PLEASE stop promoting determinism and pseudoscience by pretending they do with infographics which purport to show the "official" beginnings and endings of arbitrary generation labels, which people see on Google and take to think are official and objective fact. This is damaging to society as a whole. ~2026-17541-2 (talk) 04:45, 9 January 2026 (UTC)
- Hi " ~2026-17541-2 " ,You have made this same discussion on Talk:Generation, Talk:Generation Z, and Talk:Millennials, Please stop trying to cause ruckus or useless flame wars on purpose, especially on Wikipedia. This is probably flamebait, since these are your first discussions on Wikipedia, may I ask why you're trying to cause useless internet arguments? ★ Campssitie (msg) (contribs) 🧋🏖 09:06, 29 January 2026 (UTC)
- RE: "Please stop trying to cause ruckus [etc]". But the OP is correct. Generational labels _are_ little more than marketing concepts, and terms used in popular discourse. If you disagree then please do go find us an example of any respected academic such as Jacques Derrida, Fredric Jameson, Pierre Bourdieu—or any other cultural theorist, sociologist, anthropologist, ethnologist—who has used Generational labels other than in their conversational English. We'll be a while waiting...
- Also, pointing out this article is significantly flawed (as well as being heavily US-centric), is hardly an example of "trying to cause useless internet arguments". — Preceding unsigned comment added by ~2026-29769-36 (talk) 07:04, 25 July 2026 (UTC)
US-Centricity
I feel that this whole article is extremely US-centric yet it is completely unacknowledged. Gen X is also used in many other countries to describe the same demographic — Preceding unsigned comment added by ~2026-50233-1 (talk) 14:45, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
- Quite so – and the section on punk music feels both excessively detailed and excessively US-centric. But also largely irrelevant since the eldest members of this demographic cohort were 11 when punk started (in the UK!) Djewesbury (talk) 16:16, 22 March 2026 (UTC)
- Feel free to add your own well-sourced commentary on your country/region's information reguarding Generation X. ~2026-16718-14 (talk) 10:57, 22 April 2026 (UTC)
Attribution needed for Generation X date range
This appears to raise a concern under WP:NPOV. The current phrasing (“generally defined as people born from 1965 to 1980”) presents a single definition of Generation X as standard without attribution, thereby creating a misleading impression of scholarly consensus. Reliable sources indicate that generational boundaries are inherently contested and vary across institutions.
When wording such as:
“…generally defined as people born from 1965 to 1980”
is used, it risks presenting one specific range as the default. In practice, this range is most commonly associated with the Pew Research Center. By presenting it as “general” without attribution, the text may:
• implicitly treat a specific source as authoritative
• downplay alternative scholarly definitions, which vary across studies
For example, different institutions define Generation X differently. While some frameworks place its birth years from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s or early 1980s, others propose slightly different cut-offs. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that generational boundaries are debated and lack universally agreed cut-offs. Similarly, McCrindle Research and McKinsey & Company use comparable but not identical generational frameworks, further illustrating the absence of a single standard definition.
This may raise concerns under WP:NPOV and WP:UNDUE, as presenting a single range as standard without attribution can give undue weight to one framework (see also WP:ATTRIBUTEPOV).
To maintain neutrality, the sentence could be revised as follows:
Generation X, often shortened to Gen X, is the demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding millennials. Definitions of Generation X vary across sources, with researchers and popular media commonly placing its birth years from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s or early 1980s; for example, the Pew Research Center defines Generation X as those born between 1965 and 1980, while McCrindle Research places Generation X between 1965 and 1979. By these definitions and U.S. census data, there are 65.2 million Gen Xers in the United States as of 2019. Most Gen Xers are the children of the Silent Generation and older baby boomers, and many are the parents of Generation Z. Sivaragam (talk) 04:08, 1 April 2026 (UTC)
- There is already a major section (with multiple subsections) on just this topic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X#Date_and_age_range_definitions
- The word "generally" is sufficient for the lead IMO. At the most, we might consider expanding the lead to "generally defined by major organizations as people born from 1965 to 1980, though scholarly definitions vary" Michaelmalak (talk) 17:47, 1 April 2026 (UTC)
Semi-protected edit request on 30 April 2026
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According to National Geographics 5 part ser1es in 2016 those between 1961-1981 are generation x not 1965. ~2026-26343-98 (talk) 06:19, 30 April 2026 (UTC)
Not done. It's not clear what changes you want to make, but if it's anything like what it seems like you're suggesting, just read the old talk page archives first. –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 17:09, 30 April 2026 (UTC)- The whole section is strangely in denial about the historical development that the concept of a Gen X played in creating the modern slew of generational descriptions. The removal of Gen Y as a descriptor was part of this process. And the complete disconnect between the initial idea of describing a post Baby Boom cohort/s and how that then evolved in modern discourse. The removal of the core group within the book from the generational period and the eventual inclusion of persons born in 1979 - who are the very definition of coming of age as a millennial - makes the discussion ludicrous. ~2026-26716-25 (talk) 00:21, 2 May 2026 (UTC)
Semi-protected edit request on 2 June 2026
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Nicku202 (talk) 12:41, 2 June 2026 (UTC)
Change from “ [Most Gen Xers are the children of the Silent Generation[8][9] and older baby boomers,[9][10] and many are the parents of Millennials and Generation Z”.] [To Most Gen Xers are the children of the Silent Generation[8][9] and older baby boomers,[9][10] and many are the parents of Millennials, Generation Z, and older members of Generation Alpha”.] Here is my reliable source [1]
- Not done: The website of a random marketing agency is not a reliable source. Day Creature (talk) 14:47, 2 June 2026 (UTC)
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