At the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2005, Generation Xers will start to turn 40. The generation that followed the post-World War II fertility boom that ended in 1965 is about to cross a threshold that doesn’t jibe with the slacker stereotype that the mention of Gen-X still brings to mind for many marketers. Indeed, these 55 million Gen-X consumers have long challenged marketers.
Gen-Xers have never been willing to accept things at face value, a skepticism rooted in the generational experience of coming of age during an era of widespread cynicism and distrust of institutions and traditions. While other generations have been able to hold out hope for the ideals they were raised on, Gen-Xers had no such fallback position. All bets were off for the generation weaned on deconstructionism and tabloid TV.
In response, Gen-Xers developed a sense of savvy that they have used to navigate their way through the last 20 years. Gen-Xers want to know what’s behind the curtain. They believe that appearances are misleading, so it takes savvy to see what’s really going on.
Different generations have grown up with different formative experiences about the value of information. Baby boomers are the Watergate generation
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