Gen X continues to be 'the forgotten generation' as Millennials take the heat in strange phenomenon

I'm just going to say it; Millennials are the scapegoats for everything and everyone. Boomers, Gen Xers, and now Gen Zers have joined the chorus blaming Millennials for things we have little control over. Whatever is going wrong, I can guarantee you, it's our fault. All of it.

I know, it's not really our fault, but leave it to online publications and news broadcasts, Millennials are at the helm of nearly every major economic catastrophe. According to some reports, Millennials are lazy and spend all our money on avocado toast. Other outlets say we're hogging the job market and buying up all the homes.

Now Gen Z is joining in by claiming Millennials are refusing to leave jobs, which makes you wonder how old they think Millennials are... The younger generation continuously comes online to tell us how uncool we are while simultaneously wearing the same clothes we once wore in high school. We're blamed for cancel culture by Boomers, but are being scolded by Gen Z over "social media etiquette." Millennials created social media.

We are somehow the cancelers and inventors. This strange paradox of multiple things that shouldn't exist at the same time, yet somehow we became Schrodinger's Millennial. Most of us are in our thirties and forties with serious responsibilities. We're stressed about paying our rent and student loans while the world is seemingly on fire, like every other responsible American.

The last time Millennials were out partying for spring break was a solid ten plus years ago. Yet, we're still being accused of behaving like irresponsible teens from older generations and making things unaffordable for the younger generation. Why won't the world forget our existence, like Gen X, who is often left out of this conversation? We can't be both irresponsible and buying up the housing industry.

Millennials aren't borrowing money from our parents to invade the beaches of Cozumel. We aren't stealing jobs from old people and gatekeeping them from young people. We're helping Boomers and Gen Xers navigate the company chat or the move from Word to Google Docs. Millennials are not twisting their hair around their fingers while chewing bubble gum. We're adults. Many of us are entering perimenopause while our teens navigate puberty.

Generation X is known as the forgotten generation. They're often left off of lists when the media is comparing generational differences. Gen X were latchkey kids who babysat the neighborhood at 12 years old, and mastered the art of not answering the door no matter how loud someone knocked. It's a running joke among Gen Xer's that they're forgotten, but they remain apathetic about their obscurity because they've become accustomed to it.

Millennials, on the other hand, you're the opposite. Millennials are the unforgotten generation. The ones who are getting the blame for our younger counterparts. The ones who keep yelling that it's not us doing all of the things, but we try to take it in stride. We roll our eyes at the headlines and keep pushing through, because there's no time to argue. We have to go to work and shuttle children to activities.

One day, the world will stop blaming Millennials for seemingly everything, or maybe it won't. The trend seems to be that no matter how old we get, the media will still portray us as young and irresponsible, so keep shaking things up. Pull your low-rise jeans out of the closet for your teen while she laughs at you for still rocking skinny jeans and ankle socks. It's silly to get caught up in generation wars, but someone had to say it.