About a week ago, I came to you guys trying to figure out how I was attempting to figure out 2026. One of the dilemmas facing me was the overall tone of the content. Being a member of Generation X, I have seen a lot of stuff that has happened before. Of course, there is a lot of stuff that has brought us into uncharted territory. Knowing how the internet is about older generations, I didn’t want people to immediately be turned off because of my birthday. I, also, didn’t want older people that solely understand what I’m saying. Finding the voice of this content was a medium that won’t make older people happy.
As someone that doesn’t wear a certain color hat or believe that the kids today are soft, I think my generation’s view of themselves is a bit bullshit. We were not the last great generation, nor were we the last childhood that had a great childhood.
You see it online when people post “Gen Z would never understand”. Recently, I saw someone posted an image of a video rental store and made that same claim. Someone shared it with the caption “we literally grew up with this shit.” Gen Z starts in 1996. I was still going to video rental stores in the early 2000s. That is part of their childhood.
Finding a Voice Isn’t Always Agreeable
I replied with “this is Boomer/Gen X BS exceptionalism. A myth that we had it great before and now it all sucks. It all sucks now and it ain’t because we don’t have arcades or record stores.”
It is a previous generation exceptionalism. I have boiled it all down to “it only seemed awesome because we were kids, we didn’t know better.” However, I can guarantee that not every Gen X thinks their childhood was awesome. It was this train of thought that I led me to the voice I wanted to use.
This doesn’t mean that older voices are not useful. They can be. As long as they are designed to help people. For free. Not coming along with a course for you to buy. Or teach you how to make passive income. I do believe that Covid really screwed up how we all think. Many grifters saw it and manipulated it to their means.
Going forward, I will use my experience and knowledge in how I discuss things. For the longest time, I always believed they had to stay separate. With all the podcasts coming, they will reflect my age but will encompass support for the coming generations. Assist them in ways that my generation, and previous, rolled over to have their belly scratched by capitalism, xenophobia, and classism.
I support kids that want their own identity. Beating up old MAGA should be encouraged. Older people say they don’t get a say, but they should. They will inherit the world you left for them. As well as taking control of the world while you are in the senior center. Remember when old people say, “I fear the future run by these kids.” Yeah, they do. Because the kids will show you it could be better and bootlicking wasn’t the way.