11 Things Gen X People Still Seem To Believe That Are Just Not True Anymore
Gen X believed these things would stick around, but society had other plans.
voronaman / Shutterrstock Generation X has long been known as a skeptical generation, but when it comes to certain things, they are long-time firm believers. They pride themselves on being adaptable and independent, and yet many still feel as though they've been slighted by society in some way.
The simple fact is that many of the things Gen X was raised to believe, and that many Gen X people still seem to believe, just are not true anymore. Technology and society have shifted so quickly that some people can't seem to keep up, no matter how rad or rebellious they may believe they are.
Here are 11 things Gen X people still seem to believe that are just not true anymore
1. Going to college guarantees a high-paying job
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Gen X was told that if they went to college, there would be high-paying jobs for them as soon as they graduated. Unfortunately, this didn't always happen. Now, many of them are thousands of dollars in debt from predatory student loans they signed up for as teenagers.
While many might argue that their tax dollars shouldn't be used to pay off another person's loans, the same argument could have been made during the 2008 Financial Crisis or for PPP Loan borrowers. People are more than willing to pay off their loans if they can stop the interest and only pay what they owe.
As graduates enter the workforce, they often find job fairs with no actual job openings. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2025, those with a high school diploma earned around $930 working full-time, while those with a Bachelor's degree earned $1,543. Neither is enough to handle the average rent prices in most states, and many are finding themselves working jobs that they don't even have degrees for.
2. You need to own a home to be successful
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For Gen X, owning a home was considered the fulfillment of the American dream that proved to others your success in this country. As of 2023, around 78% of Gen X owned homes. However, equating homeownership to success ignores the reality that not everyone can or should own a home. Success is determined differently from person to person. While owning a home might be seen as success in this country, giving up the entirety of your income to invest in one might not be worth it in the long run.
The economic landscape today is vastly different, and in certain areas it's far less expensive to be a renter than a homeowner. For instance, in Salt Lake City, the typical rent in the metro area is $1,673 while the typical mortgage payment is $3,161. People also often overlook the devastation caused by natural disasters to their homes and are not equipped to spend large amounts of money on repairs when their insurance companies refuse to help pay.
3. Working your way up in one company over decades is the smartest career plan
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Back in the day, workers were determined to prove their loyalty to the companies that they worked for. However, staying loyal by putting in years of work and slowly moving up in ranks is no longer the stable path. Companies are not expected to have the same devotion to their employees, even if they try to show it through their employee benefits.
Gen X was taught to believe this by their Baby Boomer parents, who worked with this mentality. Now, workers don't feel that it is necessary to stay loyal to a company or work beyond their means. Many don't even feel the need to send in their two-week notice, as companies tend to retaliate when they do.
Most of Gen X just wants to do their jobs, collect their checks, and go home. This simple strategy keeps things straightforward. It's all about adaptability, and most workers don't stay at the same company for long anymore.
4. Everyone watches cable television
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For a long time, Gen X believed that cable television would be around forever, and while they may have been right, they never could have anticipated the power of streaming services. For them, cable television was an experience, and the only time they paid for something other than their bill was to watch something on pay-per-view. When they did want new things to watch, their generation would head down to video stores like Blockbuster to rent new or upcoming entertainment.
Now it seems fewer people have cable television than they have streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. A Pew Research Center survey found that 83% of U.S. adults use streaming services, while only 36% currently subscribe to cable or satellite television. This is staggering, considering that if you added all the different streaming services together, they would cost just as much as cable.
Not everyone watches cable as much as they used to, and while Gen X might miss this with the way streaming is increasing prices for consumers, the day of going back to physical media is on the rise. If only we could all share the same appreciation for the classics as Generation X.
5. Talking about mental health is taboo
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The idea that you could talk freely about your struggles with mental health was not plausible for older generations like baby boomers and Generation X. Gen X, in particular, tried desperately to get the adults around them to see their plight, but to no avail. The negative stigma surrounding mental health talk was taboo in the family dynamic.
Around 68% of Gen X in the U.S. believe there is still a significant stigma around seeking mental health treatment, which is higher than how millennials and Gen Z felt. Living through decades of life-altering events can change perspectives, and all it took was for younger generations to open up the discussion. Now, everyone goes to therapy, but no one wants to talk about how older generations made it through without it.
Surprisingly, there are several ways that older generations worked through their mental health problems without the need for therapy. Writing and journaling were key hobbies that helped them process their emotions better. Writing something as simple as a thank-you note can improve your mental health.
6. Privacy on the internet is possible
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Gen X wasn't prepared for how the World Wide Web would grow to become so vast that companies would monetize pretty much every aspect of our lives. However, they may have expected it, as they are a particularly anti-establishment generation.
What made the internet so special when Gen X was younger was that it was a virtual world where you could be whoever you wanted to be. People could post on forums and chat rooms anonymously without fear of being caught or held accountable for their comments. Now everyone has their personal information, including their name and pictures. This isn't stolen data, either. We all willingly gave it away to these companies in exchange for using their online services.
Fast forward to 2025, and privacy on the internet is nearly impossible. Gen X's view of the internet has changed more than they could have imagined. Only time will tell if people are still willing to give up even more of their personal information to companies just to access the online services they love so much.
7. You should dress appropriately for work
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Gen X was instilled with a sense of decorum when it comes to entering special places. Going to church on Sundays meant dressing up, and going to work meant the same thing. Dressing casually for work is a relatively new phenomenon. While some workers are forced to wear uniforms, other places like offices are willing to bend the rules nowadays.
Today, many successful professionals show up to work in jeans, sneakers, or even hoodies. For these companies, it's all about what the worker brings to the table rather than how they look. However, not all offices are built the same, and some have gone as far as reprimanding employees who go against the company’s dress code.
While Gen X is all for being comfortable, they can't help but feel like younger people have it way easier than they did. Resentment will do that, even though the blame should be placed on the high standard of society at the time.
8. Your credit score is safe if you don't use credit
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Gen Xers' rule for keeping their credit score low is simply not taking out credit, but this can be particularly challenging for those who don't have a credit history. It would seem to make sense to believe that if you never owe anything, and are therefore never late paying anything, or you never fail to pay anything off, that your credit score should be solid. However, that isn't how it works.
People with no credit have a type of credit file known as a thin file, which can make it harder for them to get approved for loans or credit cards. As Investopedia explains, "A thin file can make getting approved for credit or a loan challenging because it gives lenders very little information with which to judge a person’s creditworthiness."
9. Landlines and voicemail are still a thing
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When they were younger, Gen X believed that all of the technology that they were introduced to would stand the test of time and that everyone would use it. However, technology, like most things, evolves with the times. While some call centers still use old landline-style phones, this is a rarity, and most call centers speak through a phone on their computers.
Voicemails are still used by some, as well, but not as much as they used to be. No one has answering machines anymore to pick up missed calls because we all have smartphones that we carry with us. We can all see who we missed calls from, and most people simply send a text when the person they were trying to reach didn't answer the phone.
While the days of Gen X bragging about the technology they used continue, the world is still shifting. With more people returning to listening to music on physical records, Gen X may be the ones to lead us back to a less technology-heavy era.
10. You can avoid technology and be fine
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Speaking of technology, Gen X paved the way for us to do some pretty incredible things with it. Since they were the first generation to really experience tech for the first time, they learned on their own how to grasp it. Things like vinyl and cassette tapes paved the way for online music streaming.
Setting these technological trends led to higher sales, fueling a multi-billion-dollar industry. Keeping themselves away from newer technologies has hindered Gen X. Instead, they should revive their curiosity and wonder that they had as children when they first experimented with a record player.
Avoiding technology like cellphones now is nearly impossible unless you want to live off the grid. Everyone is online, and everyone has a cellphone, even if you hate it.
11. Retirement at sixty-five is the norm
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There was a time when retiring by the age of sixty-five was the norm, but now our government expects us to work until our seventies. The excuse often used is that this is necessary because we are all living longer. However, while many Gen Xers grew up watching their parents retire around this age, they would rather retire younger.
While the oldest people in Gen X are currently only 60 years old, many would love to retire already if not for financial constraints. With housing costs skyrocketing and benefits being slashed, most workers in this age group no longer have the freedom to make that type of decision. Instead, they are still focused on paying their monthly bills.
Many people wonder why they should spend most of their lifespan working only to enjoy ten or twenty years of it later. Retirement is no longer something to look forward to when there is little money left to show for all of your hard work.
Sylvia Ojeda is a screenplay writer and journalist who covers self-help, relationships, culture, and human interest stories.
