" redact a twenty into the change machine at the mall arcade felt like dropping a theatre defrayal on a Vegas salamander board . "
When it comes to online discourse about generations, millennials and boomers are typically on the frontlines. But it was FINALLY time for Gen X (aka the forgotten generation) to shine when Reddit userRuffffianasked,“What is THE most Gen X thing?”
1.“Gen X is old enough to remember (and appreciate) life before the internet and cell phones, but we’re young enough to transition into that world without a hitch.”
2.“My sister and I would call the local rock station to request a song, then we’d sit there with a tape at the ready to hit record as soon as they played our song. Repeat that about ten times, and you’ve got a nice mixtape.”
— HoopOnPoop
" Or they talked over your birdsong , and you had to call back later on . "
— ClassicRedSparkle
3.“Finding porn in the woods while BMXing.”
4.“Columbia House collect notices.”
— Additional - Olive-405
5.“Crank calls.”
6.“Hair crimpers and getting your hair permed. Riding bikes with no helmets. Buying smokes for my dad at the shop.”
— Master - Cricket9906
7.“Arcades. No other generation claimed them like we did. Before Gen X, graphics weren’t good enough. After Gen X, you’d play the games on your own home console.”
8.“Putting a twenty into the change machine at the mall arcade felt like dropping a house payment on a Vegas poker table.”
— AtlEngr
9.“Breakdancing.”
10.“Looking at scrambled soft core porn on cable has gotta be up there.”
— Fthewigg
" I think I saw part of a boob for a 2nd there ! "
— sir_grumph
11.“Putting baby oil on and sun-baking (we were LITERALLY baking ourselves).”
12.“Being the last generation to have to walk across the room to change the TV channel or fix the TV by pounding on it the right way.”
— Anonymous
13.“Record stores.”
14.“Never getting mentioned in the news. It always goes from Gen Z to millennials to boomers.”
— my_eternal
15.“Swatch watches.”
16.“Doing whatever I wanted for hours after school by myself because my parents were still working. Being allowed to roam the streets until dark.”
17.“Massive CD collections that were neatly stored in binders for easy access.”
18.“Claiming shotgun in the car so you could play DJ for the night with all your friend’s CDs.”
— TikTokTinMan
19.“Grunge music. I work with a handful of Gen X’ers, and the only music they can consistently agree on is the Pearl Jam station.”
— coderedmountaindewd
20.“Trapper keepers.”
— Mostly_Overrated77
21.“Blockbuster on a Friday night.”
22.“Being the last unreachable generation. There were hours where no one knew where we were, and our parents had zero ways to contact us.”
— nakedreader_ga
23.“Parachute pants. The noise was deafening in the halls between classes!”
24.And finally, the most on-brand Gen X reply of all time: “Whatever.”
— D!ckyMcGrumpy
" I ’m 46 and will take my jaded apathy to the grave , give thanks you very much . Now everybody leave me alone ‘cause everything sucks . "
— GozerDGozerian
H/Tr/AskReddit
Some replies have been edited for distance and clarity .
