People Raised In The 70s & 80s Are Way More Empathetic & Intuitive For 10 Odd Reasons
Serge wild plants / Shutterstock Despite sometimes being referred to as the forgotten generation due to their smaller numbers, sandwiched between the much larger baby boomers and millennials, Gen X developed some pretty wonderful superpowers.
Now in mid-life, people raised in the 70s and 80s tend to be far more empathetic and intuitive than others. These traits lead them to show a special kind of appreciation for life that only people who matured early tend to master, but the reasons they turned out to be that way may seem strange to people who just don't understand.
People raised in the 70s and 80s are way more empathetic and intuitive for 10 odd reasons
1. They had to fend for themselves
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Despite being incredibly stressed now, people raised in the 70s and 80s have grown through challenges that seriously shaped their resilience. In fact, part of the reason they can accept stress and throw themselves into challenges is that they have the resilience to protect themselves and grow.
As kids, they were often left alone in the house to manage their time and work through problems without much parental guidance. Even though it was often rough for these kids, it still might bring. up some resentment in the light of younger generations’ family dynamics today, at the end of the day, they care more for others and recognize their own intuition all the better for it.
2. They had to care for their siblings
Especially if they were part of big families, many Gen Xers were responsible not only for caring for themselves, but also for their siblings. Eldest children had the most responsibilities, taking on the role of a third parent when their own weren’t around to solve issues or watch all the kids.
Even if this did require them to grow up quickly and, in some cases, be parentified, they also learned a great deal of social awareness. They had to know when their siblings weren’t okay and how to solve the issue. They had to sense the household's energy and solve problems when their parents weren’t around.
Although they’re not the caretakers of their siblings today, they still have a heightened sense of awareness and intuition within their families and workplaces that other generations tend to lack.
3. They felt excluded and overlooked
When all you want is attention and quality time with a parent, as most kids do when they’re growing up, being forced to fend for yourself can be disappointing. Especially when that alone time also comes with a ton of responsibilities and obligations that the average kid today doesn’t have to even think about, of course, many kids from this generation felt overlooked.
According to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, many people dealing with isolation and loneliness are more likely to develop empathy for this reason. They know what it’s like to feel overlooked, so they can easily put themselves in the shoes of someone else.
4. They spent more time people-watching than scrolling
While Gen X has adopted and adapted to technology in the modern age, including for distraction and entertainment, as kids, they had to deal with their boredom without it. They spent their free time observing people and the world around them or playing outside, without being distracted by a phone screen.
They understand people and can relate to them because their entire childhoods were defined by watching and learning from them, even if it was just being around neighborhood kids and playing outside together.
5. They navigated silence and awkwardness
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Young people today, coping with social anxiety from too much screen time and isolation, often fear brief, awkward pauses in conversation. However, when Gen X was the same age, they were thrown into practicing these kinds of interactions headfirst.
Their social resilience and practice are just a few reasons why unstructured play was so powerful for them as they grew up, compared to the overly scheduled and supervised “play dates” of the modern world. Instead of being coddled by parents who wanted their kids’ lives to be easy, this generation of kids was expected to manage challenge and discomfort on their own.
6. They faced conflict directly
Instead of having access to the convenience of a screen or anonymity to hide behind on their phones, Gen X kids had to get comfortable solving problems and resolving conflicts as they grew up.
Nearly half of U.S. teens have been bullied online. While kids were still bullies and mean to older generations at the same age, at least they had the chance to learn how to manage conflict and stand up for themselves in person. That’s how everyone, including kids, grows. They had to deal with real-life challenges, figure out how to manage them, and keep moving forward.
7. They had to trust their instincts
Many great intuitive skills come from self-trust. Kids from the 70s and 80s weren’t intentionally crafting self-trust to be intuitive psychics or to listen to their gut instincts. They were just figuring it out on their own. However, all that good practice of listening to their gut instincts and being curious about things is what shaped their adult identities today.
They know how to make better decisions and assess risk as adults because they’ve honed this incredible sense of inner intuition from childhood until now.
8. They had to validate themselves
Gen Xers were the least parented generation of them all. While we often think about that in tangible terms, like not letting their boredom go unchecked or fixing their tangible issues at school, it also involves all kinds of nuanced emotional experiences.
For example, this generation of kids had to validate and motivate themselves. They weren’t getting constant praise from their parents for doing their chores or finishing their homework, but that didn’t mean they weren’t doing it. They had to connect internally with their own desires and needs and, in many ways, figure out how to meet them to thrive.
9. They didn’t have pressure to perform online
While peer pressure still definitely caused Gen X to feel a need to fit into certain boxes, they, at least, didn’t have the added stressor of social media early on. At their most impressionable ages, they didn’t have to think about curating their social media feeds or convincing people they were cool online. They could just live.
They could grow into themselves, their interests, and their character traits through practice, setting themselves up for a sense of intuition and authenticity that most young people are still lacking today.
10. They had to wait for what they wanted
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Instead of growing impatient with instant gratification while growing up, Gen X had to wait for what they wanted. They weren’t often given an allowance for doing chores, and certainly weren’t getting every toy they wanted at the grocery store, especially in their economic climate growing up, so they had to practice patience.
They had to work, save, or hold onto what they wanted for more than a few fleeting moments, creating value and meaning over time. They had to instinctively understand themselves to know what was worth leaning into and what was better left alone.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
