Gen X

It's a term that people have become accustomed to hearing, even if they are not quite sure what it means. If you are aged between 20 and 40 you are a member of the X Generation, but do you know what this is? Did you even realise you were an X'er? Or did you just think it was a phrase coined for Pepsi's 'Generation NeXt' advertising campaign?

By the sound of it, Generation X is a generation we should be proud to belong to. It has that ice-cool ring to it, so important to today's trendsetters, where image is everything and who you know is far more important than what you know.

But the term 'Generation X' has far more negative than positive connotations. It's not just a fashion statement. It describes the (rather large) generation born between 1961 and 1980, but particularly those unfortunate enough to be born in the 70's, when parents were too busy dealing with the fact that the swinging sixties had subsided to a mere sway, free love was now being regulated and the fashion trends were far from acceptable. It's no wonder that Generation X'ers have had it tough: so would you if the first thing you saw as you entered the world were your doctor's huge sideburns, bell-bottom trousers and lapels which would have been better used on a light aircraft.

Generation X grew up at a time when family life was facing its toughest test, women wanted careers, men wanted wives reminiscent of their mothers, and kids just got in the way.

Attitude. That's the word which best describes Generation X. They have attitude and they believe that it is the fault of the Boom Generation, the one before X. Generation X will be responsible for the care of the largest population of senior citizens the world has ever seen, and they feel slightly aggrieved that they will be culpable for the care of the people who let them down so badly as they grew up.

There is a feeling of scepticism running through the veins of the X'ers, more so than in any other generation. A scepticism which has witnessed the X'ers coining their own phrases to explain the myriad of emotions that have been developed specifically by their generation - their legacy if you will. Where else in history is there a generation of people who felt the need to explain themselves with words like '101' (the tendency to pick apart, often in minute detail, all aspects of life using half-understood pop psychology as a tool), 'Black Holes' (a generation sub-group best known for their possession of an almost entirely black wardrobe), and 'Clique Management' (the need of the generation to see the next generation as deficient, to bolster its own collective ego).

There is an almost obsessive need to be surrounded by a 'cool' environment, with an exaggerated liking for black and white art photography in over-sized frames, simplistic furniture, and low-wattage ambience lighting. It's as if, to explain how much you have you put as little on show as possible. Less is most definitely more for this generation. The establishments that X'ers frequent must adhere to the same strict guidelines to avoid the derision of this generation. In X circles, it is referred to as 'Conspicuous Minimalism', a lifestyle tactic leading to the non-ownership of goods flaunted as a token of moral and intellectual superiority.

Amongst the X'ers there are innumerable lifestyle tactics, each one as obvious as the next, but all unique. The 'Denison Pre-emption' facilitates the refusal to go out on any sort of emotional limb so as to avoid mockery from peers. The ever popular 'Diseases for Kisses' (Hyperkarma) allows the deeply rooted belief that 'the punishment will somehow always be far greater than the crime' to be widely accepted.

Marriage is another focal point of Generation X and the Neo-ism's. The 'Divorce Assumption' reassures people in the knowledge that if they do decide to get married or make a life-long commitment, and it doesn't work out, everything will be OK, because you can just get a divorce. The divorce has probably been brought about because of 'The Emotional Ketchup Burst', where the bottling up of opinions and emotions by one or more partners causes them to explode at once, shocking everyone around because they thought things were fine.

There also tends to be a 'Fame-induced' apathy amongst this generation, leading to the attitude that no activity is worth pursuing unless you can become famous by doing so. This has led to the generation either being frequently unemployed or expert career hoppers in the hope of that 'lucky break'. Generation X doesn't seem to know if it's coming or going.

As Generation X rolls on, grows up and gets ready to fall apart, it's interesting to think that this generation is the largest one ever produced. Given that the generation suffers from 'Opinion Paralysis' (the tendency, when given unlimited choices, to make none), one wonders what the next generation will make of it all, and how it will affect them. It is a generation hell-bent on destroying itself through over-indulgence and constant self-analysis, everyone wanting to be seen as an individual, yet yearning to be just like everyone else. Everything depends on where you live, what you do, and who you know. No one cares who you are, what you like, and what you want to do.

Generation X, maybe Pepsi got it right after all - Generation NeXt…please!