Can you name the generation that was born after the Baby Boomers but before the Millennials? I’ve asked Gen Z-ers and Millennials this question and they usually can’t answer it. Most of them don’t think there is one. Even Boomers leave us out of their marketing strategies and estate planning pitches. Gen X-ers are the forgotten generation and we’ve mostly been fine with that. Let the Boomers and Millennials fight things out. It doesn’t matter to us.
But lately I’ve been thinking more about the generations, and I wanted to know what contributions Generation X has made to the tools and activities of of everyday life. Baby Boomers invented the internet, Microsoft Windows, and the iPhone. Millennials invented Facebook, Instagram, and Airbnb. What about us?
Frustratingly, when I googled “What did Generation X invent?” I only got articles on what Gen X-ers made big. Gen X was instrumental in integrating video games into daily life, but we didn’t invent them.
It took some digging, but I eventually came up with this partial list.
Created by Generation X:
- YouTube
- What’s App
- LinkedIn (!)
- Free web-based email service (Hotmail)
- Amazon
- Blogger.com (same guy who started Twitter)
- Medium (same guy who started Twitter)
- Juul
- PopSockets
- And, of course, South Park.
Those apps have changed the lives of people all over the world and they came from the generation that gets forgotten. Mmhm.
And some R.I.P. inventions of Generation X:
- MySpace
- Napster
- Yahoo
That is NOT a short list. Generation X didn’t produce Bill Gates or the Snapchat guys, but we’ve got our own. How’s that for a bunch of slackers?
Gen X were outside the box, which is a good thing. Music, culture, and our day to day was heavily influenced by each other, also outside the box. We raised ourselves, parents weren’t home. What did we invent? Self-reliance, independence, work ethic, and to be adaptable. We’re go-getters no matter what people say!
Thank you, Adam. Few generations have had to do for ourselves as much. Someone once asked me about being spoiled and I said, “Spoiled? Who would have spoiled me??”