The forgotten generation are taking a stand – and speaking up

They’re tired of being ignored, of their contribution not being insufficiently acknowledged. Perhaps it’s an awareness that time to make an impact is running out.

The message is clear: Xers have had it with being overlooked. And they’re not going to take it anymore! Picture: istock

For years I thought I understood the mindset of Generation X, born 1965-1983 and who in 2025 are aged 42-60. This generation fits between the boomers (1946-1964) and their offspring the millennials (1984-2002). To me this lot always seemed bored by the incessant bickering of their generational neighbours.

But I have either misunderstood the Xer genus or there has been a shift in their world view – which is entirely possible given the fact Xers now sit squarely across middle age.

My columns are now often met with exasperation, indeed sometimes an impassioned cri de coeur. Why do you never mention the Xers? It’s always all about the boomers and the millennials and whatever letter of the alphabet we’re calling young people these days.

The message is clear: Xers have had it with being overlooked. And they’re not going to take it anymore!

Xers all over Australia, now is the time to put your case, to mark your territory, to curtail the cultural encroachment of massed millennials. Picture: istock

Years ago I was a believer in generational theory; that cohorts experiencing harsh times adopt similar traits, like frugality. But over time I have mellowed; it’s life experience that shapes values and human behaviour. And even then, in Australia where up to one-third of the population was born overseas, the collective reminiscences of 50-somethings living in Sydney and Melbourne today are just as likely to be shaped by childhoods spent in Mumbai and Shanghai as in, say, Bondi.

Nevertheless, by their late 40s and 50s most Australians have had the common experiences of partnering, of saving for and buying a house, of raising children, of starting a business, of building a career. And also of having to rebuild after a calamity of some sort. The vast majority of 50-something Australians have a story to tell about the good times and the bad.

By the life cycle’s middle stage there is the realisation time is limited, family and

friends are critical, health is everything. Perhaps there is a rising imperative that it’s now time to speak up, to correct injustices, to stop putting up that with that which should not be put up with.

I hear you, Generation X!

Xers all over Australia, now is the time to put your case, to mark your territory, to push back against expansive boomers, to curtail the cultural encroachment of massed millennials. Xers today inhabit the sunny uplands of middle age; but they will soon start their inevitable primal trek towards retirement and the abyss beyond.

Maybe my original assessment of the Xers as a generation largely disinterested in generational battles is correct, and there has been a recent (more muscular) shift in Xer sentiment. They’re tired of being ignored, of their contribution not being insufficiently acknowledged. Perhaps it’s an awareness that time to make an impact is running out.

Perhaps Xers are going through what everyone goes through later in life. Initially there’s a struggle to carve out a niche, to push back against the conservatism of middle age. But later you wonder, have I been too polite, too accommodating, too trusting of others to acknowledge my legacy, to the point that my contribution is overlooked or claimed by others? I always thought highly of Xers for just getting on with it. Perhaps the lesson is there’s a balance to be struck later in life between being polite and protecting your legacy.

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