11 Reasons Gen Z Thinks Gen X Had The Saddest Childhoods
Gen Xers therapy was a walkman and a landline.
Gladskikh Tatiana | Shutterstock Every generation looks back at the one before it with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief, but when Gen Z peers into the childhood of Gen X, their reaction is one filled with genuine sadness and sympathy. Gen X grew up in a vastly different world from Gen Z children, where they had to play outside without the internet and fed themselves when they got home. This led to several social and cultural issues where their parents' parenting style came into question.
To Gen Z, open discussions about feelings and having access to digital resources were luxuries compared to the bleak reality of Gen X's childhood. From emotionally distant parenting to playgrounds that doubled as injury traps, the experience that once seemed normal now strikes younger generations as unnecessarily tough. To Gen Xers, they would rather bring back things from their childhoods so younger people could enjoy them just as much as they did.
Here are 11 reasons Gen Z thinks Gen X had the saddest childhoods:
1. They had no internet
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Gen Z wonders what older generations used to do without technology, but the truth for Gen X is that they loved being outdoors. They were either outside playing with their friends or even going as far as building tree houses and forts. If they wanted to find out information about a topic, they needed to visit the library, as computers and search engines were accessible to everyone.
To younger generations, they find this sad because they couldn't imagine living in a world without their smartphones, game consoles, or laptops. However, Gen X feels differently about this. A survey by Harris Poll and Fast Company found that 77% of Americans around Gen X's age would prefer to return to a time before widespread internet access. Who could blame them, considering a lack of technology meant we were more connected as a people due to socialization.
2. Cartoons were once-a-week events, not on-demand
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Gen X were the original adventurers and entertainment from their time explored these elements. Shows like Thundercats and Inspector Gadget were all about going on missions outdoors. Gen X also couldn't watch these shows whenever they wanted to. They either had to wait till they got home from school and flipped through the channels to see what was on. Most of the time, these cartoons were broadcast during the weekend mornings for children.
Technology has always played a role in how children are raised. Many people argue that Gen Z was raised as tablet children, but fail to realize that the generations that came before them were raised by both the radio and television. Waiting for a weekend to watch your favorite shows taught you patience and acted as a reward or treat. A concept that feels incredibly restrictive to Gen Z.
3. Everyone knew about stranger danger, but no one seemed to care
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Gen Z views Gen X's childhood as uniquely challenging because of the very real dangers of strangers approaching them while outside. Parents warned children about the dangers of talking to strangers without parental supervision, especially when they played outside until the late evening. In the 1980s, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) teamed up with Kraft Foods to print the face of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who was abducted from Lower Manhattan on May 25th, 1979, to spread public awareness and hopefully receive tips regarding Etan and several other children to authorities.
This led to the infamous Missing Children Milk Carton Program in the United States, where the faces and information of missing children were printed to solicit tips from the public. The program would later cease once the Amber Alert system was created in the late 1990s. It was also criticized because non-family abductions are the rarest type of case and only make up 1% of the missing children cases, according to NCMEC. Which means children are often taken by people whom they know.
Some may want to teach their children to speak up about strange behavior rather than simply telling them that all people are bad. However, many cases often go unreported and unsolved because people are capable of deception. We are not all lie-detecting beings who can differentiate between a good person and a bad person. The easiest way to keep your children safe is to keep a constant eye on them. This doesn't mean hovering over them, it just means not to lose sight of them.
4. Seatbelts were optional (and sometimes just didn't exist)
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Seatbelts were optional during Gen X's time. Even the school bus seatbelts were either damaged or non-existent. They were taught to hold on to the seat in front of them for support. Sometimes it was because there were too many people who had to fit in the back seat, and not enough seatbelts for everyone to go around. This mortifies Gen Z, who always buckles up.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 1977 to 1985, all 50 states passed legislation requiring the use of child safety seats or safety belts for children, resulting in a reduction in injuries among young children of 8% to 59%. Despite this, vehicle crashes remained the leading cause of disability and death among U.S. children. This lack of safety precautions reflects a broader cultural attitude that allowed kids to be given more freedom but less protection.
5. Every photo was a gamble
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Every picture that Gen X would take ended up being a mystery to them. They wouldn't know if they had blinked in the photograph or looked weird until they went down to their local Kinkos or Fotomat to print their photos out. It was a matter of luck, and in some cases, they would ruin their pictures and have to retake them. Unlike Gen Z, who mastered the art of the selfie, Gen X took more candid photos with friends and family. For them, it was about creating a memory rather than getting likes.
Gen Z has developed a taste for the aesthetics of vintage cameras, thanks to social media trends. According to a survey by Global Growth Insights, 57% of disposable camera sales in 2023 came from consumers aged 16 to 34, indicating the growing popularity of disposable cameras among Gen Z and Millennials. Hopefully, now that Gen Z is experiencing what Gen X did with their photos, they will develop a new appreciation for how pictures were once curated.
6. Gym class was like a survival game
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With little adult supervision and an obsession with competition over inclusion, Gen X struggled when it came to gym class. If they weren't being bullied, they were being injured during dodgeball. Teachers rarely stepped in unless someone was physically hurt. It was all about survival of the fittest for them, and if you weren't athletic, then you were often targeted.
Unlike today's emphasis on teamwork and body positivity, Gen X's gym class thrived on humiliation. Kids who were picked last were ridiculed for their lack of skills. There was no concern for emotional safety, unlike Gen Z. While bullying is present in every generation, Gen Z's new age has imposed stricter guidelines on what is allowed to be done or said on school campuses.
7. They were raised with tough love
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Gen X was raised under the philosophy of tough love, which meant that they had to be extremely independent and emotionally restrained at a young age. This avoidance of discussing their emotional vulnerabilities ended up costing them when they got older. A study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that children who perceive their parents as emotionally neglectful and controlling were at an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders by the age of 15.
From Gen Z's perspective, Gen X was forced to grow up too fast without the emotional support that they needed. Gen Z values empathy and emotional intelligence. What other generations thought was normal is something that Gen Z is now challenging because they find these methods unnecessary and cruel.
8. They had incredible music, but listening to it was work
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Gen X arguably produced some of the greatest music ever made, featuring artists like Prince, Madonna, and early hip-hop groups like Run-D.M.C. They would listen to cassette tapes on their Walkmans as they walked around the neighborhoods. Gen Z can't fathom the idea of carrying all of that stuff around just to listen to some tunes when they grew up with Spotify on their phones.
Mixtapes were a labor of love that took time to make for someone. One thing is sure: if you ever approach a Gen Xer and ask them which decade they would go back to, they would immediately say the 1980s. According to a survey by GWI, 65% of Gen Xers are nostalgic for media from the 1980s, while only 21% of Gen Zers want that time period back. The 1980s were an unforgettable time, and they will continue to be.
9. Calling a friend meant risking an awkward convo with their parents
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Gen Z never knew the awkwardness of calling your friend on a landline phone, only for their parents to pick it up, and you were forced to speak to them until your friend came on the line. There was also no guarantee that the person you called would be home. Not only did Gen X have to deal with awkward conversations, but the family also had to deal with the limitation of only one person on the phone at a time, as well as the astronomical bill that followed.
Long-distance charges were a significant concern for Gen X, particularly when making calls to friends or family in other states. Rates varied depending on the time of day and the carrier. According to The Spokesman-Review, in the mid-1980s, it cost approximately 41 cents per minute in the evening to place a call from Washington, D.C. to Spokane, Washington, while a day rate could be as much as 60 cents per minute. While Gen Z knows the struggle of paying a high phone bill, many don't remember that they used to charge all of us per minute and per picture message that we sent or received.
10. Their toys were dangerous
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While Gen Z's toys tend to be more technologically based, Gen X had some gnarly gadgets like Easy-Bake Ovens and Skateboards. These extremely hazardous toys were designed for the self-sufficient era, where people cooked for themselves and skated wherever they wanted to go. Not everything was peaches and cream when it came to playing with this stuff. According to the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, nearly 350 thousand hospitalizations in children were the result of toy-related fractures.
While some might argue that this rough and tumble upbringing built character, Gen Z views it as proof that no one was watching out for these kids. To them, it's not just that the company sold dangerous toys, it's the fact that no one seemed to care if they did. Still, ask a Gen Xer what they think about these toys and watch their faces light up with glee.
11. They were raised by Boomers
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No one criticizes the Baby Boomer generation more than Gen Z with their moniker "Ok, Boomer." So, they go a little easy on Gen X because they know the Boomer generation raised them. It doesn't matter what generation you are in; if society deems it necessary, they will criticize your generation's cultural style.
Society was critical of Gen Xers' cynicism, while Millennials were criticized for being too lazy. Gen Z is often criticized for being overly sensitive, while Boomers are blamed for many of the wrongdoings in their countries. As we head to Gen Alpha, they are already being criticized for spending too much time on screens. The moral of the story here is that each generation has its strengths and weaknesses. It's what you choose to do with your knowledge and experience that matters. There's nothing sad about that.
Sylvia Ojeda is an author who has over a decade of experience writing novels and screenplays. She covers self-help, relationships, culture, and human interest topics.
