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calliope720 t1_j8ykomy wrote

Reply to comment by happyrabo in In 2025, Gen X will have their first elderly person. by [deleted]

*during their formative years. That's the distinction between generations, the experiences during formative years prior to adulthood.

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happyrabo t1_j8yls1p wrote

I see. So you’re arguing that “rotary phones and rabbit ears to the internet” is a smaller technological change than “dumb cell phones to smart phones”.

You might be right about that, but I think it’s debatable.

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calliope720 t1_j8ypa6k wrote

I literally just said during their formative years. Older generations didn't go from rabbit ears to the internet (at least at-home internet for regular use) during their childhood and teenage years. Millennials were the first to experience change while growing up rather than as adults.

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Writeforwhiskey t1_j8yzfsi wrote

It depends on the year for GenX, that's why there's Xennial (1977-83/85). My siblings and I (2 Xers and a Mil) grew up with rabbit ears, then cable, by high school, some households had internet or we used it at the library.
In the span of my high school years, I looked up info in an encyclopedia and printed my papers on Dot Matrix paper from a Word Processor to asking Jeeves, and laser printing from a computer by senior year. It was a weird moment in time because I had to fill out my college apps and FAFSA by hand but check out colleges websites for information. Many baby GenXers went through this.

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happyrabo t1_j8zy5er wrote

Some GenX literally went from rotary phones and rabbit ears to home internet during their formative years. I know, because I was there. I am describing the years between grade school and late high school for me. My formative years.

> Millennials were the first to experience change while growing up rather than as adults.

Now you’re just being silly.

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calliope720 t1_j905fm4 wrote

I mistyped, I was trying to say "experience this change."

But at any rate, you're picking an argument with the wrong person. I'm not defending the definition, I'm explaining what the definition is. I don't have a strong stance on this either way, I'm just clarifying why in popular culture the lines are drawn the way they are.

If you feel the lines should be drawn differently based on your experience I have no issue with that at all. It just isn't the way it's commonly defined. I don't make the rules

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[deleted] OP t1_j90cx76 wrote

[deleted]

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calliope720 t1_j93mirq wrote

Man, I'm not sure you understand either, but I can't be arsed. Like I said, you're arguing with nobody. I was in the thread earlier to clarify the common delineating landmarks that are used broadly to define the generations. I do not have a stake in your personal opinion of them.

Do you just need somebody to validate your personal experience? Cuz I can do that. I believe that you are telling the truth. Rotary phones to bedroom internet! Wild! What a ride! An experience you have in common with, in general, some proportion of gen X and some proportion of millennials. A single person's experience doesn't necessarily represent the average of a population, but if you just need to be told you're included in the data set, I'm probably the wrong person to ask but I'd say yes?

Anyway, sorry for making this confusing for you. Don't shoot the messenger.

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happyrabo t1_j94jngn wrote

So, great. Glad we got that out of the way. I accept your belabored concession that millennials don’t have anywhere near exclusive claim to “the most technological change during their formative years”. Which is what this whole conversation was about.

I’m still not sure why you brought up the delineating landmarks used to define generations, which I never expressed an opinion on, but that misunderstanding is behind us now that this conversion is over.

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