The Lost Generation: 1979-1982 Babies

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Babies born between 1979 and 1982 belong to what some call the Xennial generation. We are mentioned in various contexts—Generation X, Generation Z, Generation Y, Geriatric Millennials, and the Oregon Trail Generation. Yet, none of these labels seem to fit perfectly. Like the lost generation Gertrude Stein described to Ernest Hemingway, we too feel adrift, searching for a place in a world that can’t quite categorize us. We’re caught in a peculiar space: too young for TikTok and too old for pagers.

Reminiscing About A Different Time

In 1992, when I was eleven, a family friend stopped on the road to make a call. To our astonishment, he revealed a bag phone—an actual working phone in the car. We watched in awe as he dialed. This was our reality, witnessing the gradual evolution of technology.

We carried quarters for payphones, and I can still recall my best friends’ phone numbers from high school. Long-distance calls meant extra charges; one friend lived just far enough away to rack them up, leading to constant reminders from their parents.

I remember getting lost on my way to a friend’s house. My mom unleashed a torrent of curses because it meant driving home to call and figure out our mistake. I had maps—real maps, creased and torn—detailing everything from my town to the whole state.

In school, we had computers but no internet. Our “computer classes” revolved around playing Oregon Trail, where we had to ford rivers, and yes, our oxen would die. We also had collections of cassette tapes, a concept foreign to today’s kids.

Witnessing the Digital Shift

Then came the internet! I had a Hotmail account that I could only access at school: sparky6965@hotmail.com. We emailed each other stories, and the dial-up connection meant my mom would yell at me for hogging the phone line. The thrill of AOL chat rooms, asking “a/s/l?” (age/sex/location) was a rite of passage.

Research was done via card catalogs, those tiny cards organized by author and title. We printed papers using Word on a blue screen, and then came the era of cell phones—those early models were revolutionary. Many of us had StarTACs and were thrilled by the ability to program preset numbers. We connected our tape decks to our Discmans, jamming to Everclear, Bush, and Nine Inch Nails.

Embracing the Future

College introduced us to Ethernet cables and Napster—music at our fingertips, albeit for free, despite Metallica’s protests. Our MP3 players held a mere ten songs, but technology advanced rapidly, and soon we had smartphones that outperformed the computers used during the Apollo missions.

The difference between us, Gen X, and Millennials is stark. Gen X navigated the tech landscape post-college, while Millennials were born into it. We, the lost generation, have had a front-row seat to the tech revolution, adapting seamlessly to both analog and digital worlds.

We cherish the original Star Wars trilogy while enjoying new installments. We taped songs off the radio and now stream music on Spotify. Our parents faced fierce competition for Cabbage Patch dolls.

We don’t fall into neat categories—we’re not “geriatric millennials” or Gen Xers. We’re a unique blend, navigating the worlds of both analog and digital technology, truly a lost generation.

For more insights about home insemination and pregnancy, you can check out this related article here. For those interested in at-home options, Cryobaby offers authoritative resources. The CDC also provides excellent information on pregnancy and home insemination that you might find helpful here.

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Summary:

The generation born between 1979 and 1982, often referred to as Xennials, stands as a unique group caught between the analog and digital worlds. They experienced the transition from payphones to smartphones, from cassette tapes to streaming music, and from card catalogs to online research. This article captures their distinctive journey through the evolving landscape of technology while emphasizing their unique position as a “lost generation.”


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