Not at all zetka or boomers. Here is the most unhappy generation
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality,” said Seneca. The philosopher's words can be referred to generations today. Members of the Z generation, born between 1997 and 2012, claim that social media ruined their childhood. Millennials who were born between 1981 and 1996 complain that they cannot buy a home. Baby Boomers, born in 1946–1964, complain that they are waiting for uncertain pension.
Many people forget about generation xto which people born in 1965–1980 belong. According to searches on Google, the world is interested in it much less than millennials, zetics and boomers.
There are few podcasts or memes about generation X. Apart from Douglas Coupland's novel “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture” [“Pokolenie X: Opowieści o przyspieszonej kulturze”]which was published in 1991 and popularized this name, there are few books on this age group. In Great Britain, representatives of the X generation less often than members of other age groups know which generation they belong to.
Generation X may have no place in social imagination, but unlike Seneca, he really suffers. This is both because It is in a difficult age, and because the group itself is cursed.
Curve
The last study conducted by Ipsos in 30 countries shows that 31 percent Generations X claims that he is “not very happy” or “is not happy at all”which is the highest percentage of all generations. David Blanchflower from Dartmouth College has found that all kinds of negative emotions, from unhappiness to anxiety to despair, reach a peak at the age of about 50 years.
This is in line with the theory of the “curve of life”, which suggests that People are happy in their youth and old age, but unhappy in middle age. The generation of the demographic boom passed through this, and the millennial generation will soon pass through it.
The phenomenon is partly due to the fact that they begin to appear in middle age chronic health problems. People also realize that they will not achieve everything they expected in the field of professional career. In addition, generation X often has to look after both children and parents.
In the US, 5 percent Expenses are allocated to the care of people under 18 or above 65, while in the case of a generation of the Demographic Deer, it is only 2 percent. In Italy, the percentage of people aged 18-34 who live with their parents have increased over the past two decades from 61 percent. up to 68 percent In Spain, this growth is even more dramatic. Which generation does most of these parents belong to? To generation X.
Nowhere can it be seen better than in San Francisco. The idealistic youth of this city believes that they will set up another large company dealing with artificial intelligence, and are ready to endure high costs of living and crime. Boomers who have been successful live in huge houses in Pacific Heights and sit on the management boards of companies.
Generation X, located in the middle, has neither an idealistic approach nor lucrative positions. According to a survey conducted in 2022 by the local newspaper “San Francisco Standard” only 37 percent. They are satisfied with life in San Francisco, compared to 63 percent. generations of Z.
Loser generation
Although the X generation will come out of the crisis over time, in other aspects he will remain a loser. Let's consider income. Generation X earns more after taking into account inflation than previous generations – this is a continuation of a long historical trend, which is also used by millennials and the ZE generation. However, their progress is slow.
In the latest article by Kevin Corinth from the Think Tank American Enterprise Institute and Jeff Larrimore from the Federal Reserve System [Fed, bank centralny USA] American household income was estimated, divided into generations, after taking into account taxes, government transfers and inflation. In the age of 36 to 40 years of real household income generations X was only 16 percent. higher than in the case of the previous generation of the same age, which provides The slightest increase among all age groups.
According to research, many people from generation X are dealing with a crisis
Perhaps this poor increase in income is a consequence of the stereotype confirmed by a number of psychological tests: Generation X is reluctant to undergo corporate routine, putting more emphasis on the balance between professional and private life and autonomy.
It is no accident that in 1999, when the X generation was in the prime of age, two extremely popular films appeared, in which the characters freed themselves from life restrictions. In the production of “Matrix” Thomas Anderson, a computer programmer, discovers that the world is an illusion simulated by intelligent machines. In the film “Underground Circle” an office worker joins a secret association, whose members are beating each other. All this is of course very exciting, but it is unlikely to help your career.
Lost decade
I must admit that generation X was in a difficult situation. Earnings usually grow rapidly at the age of 30-40, when people take managerial positions. Unfortunately, for generation X the labor market turned out to be weak because of the global financial crisis of 2007–2009. For example, in 2011, the median nominal earnings of the British at the age of 30 increased by only 1.1 percent. The increase in earnings in Italy, which were strongly affected by the euro crisis, was equally weak. In Canada in 2011–2017, the real median of earnings of people aged 35–44 did not increase at all.
Generation X could not do well with collecting assets. In the 1980s, when many representatives of the Baby Boomers generation were 30 years old, global stock markets increased four times. The millennial generation, currently thirty -year -olds, has so far enjoyed high profits. However, in the first decade of the 21st century, when the X generation hoped for quickly enriching, the markets fell slightly. This period was a lost decade, especially for American actions. It took place after an online bubble and ended with a financial crisis.
And what about having your own home, the final symbol of intergenerational injustice? In the universal narrative, millennials renting apartments permanently contrast with the generation of the Demographic Deer, which enjoys their own four angles with several bedrooms. However, data on having houses in the United States, provided by Victoria Gregory from the FED branch in St. Louis, they undermine this widespread opinion.
In fact A large decrease in houses It took place between the generation of the Demographic Born and the X generation. From the late 1930s and early 40. The X generation at a given age had similar chances to have their own home as the millennial generation.
Poor perspectives
The reluctance to have your own home is in some cases the result conscious choice. Generation X could assimilate a fragment of Coupland's novel: “When someone tells you that he had just bought a house, he might as well say that there is no personality anymore.”
Again, however, the circumstances are probably more influenced. At the age of 30 to the early 40th, when many people enter the real estate market for the first time, generation X felt the effects of the financial crisis. Obtaining a mortgage has become difficult. Some of those who already had him lost their homes and returned to renting apartments.
Statistics reflect all these trends. Jeremy Horpedahl from the University of Central Arkansas tracks the average property of individual generations. He discovered that at the age of 31 a generation of millennials/generation Z has about twice as much of the X generation at the same age. Based on the survey of the European Central Bank, we have found suggestive evidence for similar trends in Europe. In the years 2010–2021 millennials in the euro area tripled the nominal net value, while the X generation reached an increase by less than half.
The situation of generation X may not significantly improve in the coming years. People from this group may suffer the first to suffer from the fall of pension systems. It is expected that the American Social Insurance Fund will be exhausted by 2033 – that is, when generation X begins to retire – which means that the benefits will be reduced by 20-25 percent, unless the Congress takes appropriate actions.
The next time you meet a person in his fifties, at least smile at him.
