You Might Be Part Of Gen X If You Instantly Recognize These 15 Nostalgic Things.

People talk so much about millennials and baby boomers that it’s easy to forget the “middle child” generation, but that’s okay. We’re used to it!

Generation X is defined as anyone born between 1969 and 1984. We’re the last generation to grow up without the internet, but the first to grow up with personal computers at home. We’re the latchkey kids who subscribed to Columbia House to build our CD collections, invented grunge music, and made flannel shirts cool. On Reddit, people are sharing “THE most Gen X things,” and we relate to every single response. Here are some of our favorites.

1. Before iTunes or Spotify, we didn’t have “playlists.” We made mixtapes the hard way.

2. We spent a lot of time hoarding quarters so we could play Ms. Pac-Man and Q*Bert.

"Video arcade. Before Gen-X, graphics weren’t good enough, and after Gen-X, you’d play the games on your own home console. No other generation claimed them like we did." — Reddit

3. We were all pros at winding tape back into cassettes. It was an art form!

Always having a pencil in the car for the cassettes — Reddit

4. Don’t forget putting tinfoil on your rabbit ears to get better TV reception.

Pong, space invaders, being the last generation to have to walk across the room to change the tv channel, being able to fix the tv by pounding on it the right way, getting the brown box for the tv and there only being 3 stations. — Reddit

5. First there were Cabbage Patch Kids. Then, there were…

6. You either had one of these, or you desperately wanted one. There were no other options.

7. We’ve got to blame M.C. Hammer for this one.

Parachute pants..the noise was deafening in the halls between classes!! — Reddit

8. Some of us maaaay still have these gathering dust in storage somewhere.

Massive CD collections neatly stored in binders for easy access. — Reddit

9. The first time we heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was transformative.

Grunge music: Working with a handful of Gen-Xers and the only music they can consistently agree on is the Pearl Jam station — Reddit

10. Most of us were in our early 20s when we got our first mobile phone, and we thought we were so cool. (Because we were!)

Being old enough to remember (and appreciate) life before the Internet and cellphones but being young enough to transition into that world without a hitch. — Reddit

11. As latchkey kids we kind of always did just go with the flow.

The fact that they are always left out in the war between millennials and boomers — Reddit

12. We were all required to memorize “Rapper’s Delight.” No exceptions.

I said-a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie To the hip hip hop-a you don't stop the rock It to the bang-bang boogie, say up jump the boogie To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat… — Reddit

13. These days, we can barely remember our own numbers, but back then we could rattle them off with ease.

14. It was time to go home when the street lights turned on.

Being the last unreachable generation. There were hours where no one knew where we were and our parents has zero way to contact us. — Reddit

15. The 80s kid starter pack:

Sun-In for hair. Feathered bangs. Blue eyeliner. Loves Baby Soft. Jellies. — Reddit

Fellow Gen Xers, we don’t know about you… but we finally feel seen! We may not make as much noise as other generations, but we are an essential piece of the puzzle. Fun, capable, resourceful. What’s not to love?

Share this list with other proud members of Generation X.

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