The phrase “Gen X” refers to the group of Americans who were born between the middle of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s. They number about 65 million and are in the middle of the baby boomer and millennial generations. Douglas Coupland’s 1991 book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture is the source of the term “Gen X.” Because kids were frequently left alone at home after school until their parents returned from work, Generation X is sometimes referred to as the “latchkey generation.” Being positioned between baby boomers and millennials, it is known as the “in-between” generation.
