What's Next, Gen X?

CHAPTER ONE

Shaping Generation X

Your Teen Years

Nobody likes to be pigeonholed. But there’s a reason you’re called Generation X, broad as that reason maybe. By definition, a generation is a group a people who, based on their age, share not only a chronological location in history but also the experiences that accompany it. These common experiences, in turn, prompt the formation of shared beliefs and behaviors.

Many of our most powerful and lasting beliefs are formed when we are teenagers, when we first shift our focus from tangible objects and begin to wrestle with the values and ideas in the world around us. What we see and hear—and the conclusions we draw—influence for our lifetimes what we value, how we measure success, whom we trust, and ...