I’m just curious since I never hear an issue with the fact that Gen X is 3 decades long (spanning from the Mid 1960s to Early 80s) while the Millennial Generation is generally shorter (spanning from the Mid 1980s to Early 90s). Putting that into consideration Gen X were kids during the entirety of the 80/70s, while Millennials were kids mostly in the 90s.

We’re the 80s and 70s more similar to eachother then the 90s and 2000s in terms of growing up ?

I cannot answer this for I was not a kid during the 90/2000s.

I cannot answer this for I was not a kid during the 90/2000s.


This question is aimed more at people who were kids during those eras or know enough about them to answer

I’m just curious since I never hear an issue with the fact that Gen X is 3 decades long (spanning from the Mid 1960s to Early 80s) while the Millennial Generation is generally shorter (spanning from the Mid 1980s to Early 90s). Putting that into consideration Gen X were kids during the entirety of the 80/70s, while Millennials were kids mostly in the 90s.

We’re the 80s and 70s more similar to eachother then the 90s and 2000s in terms of growing up ?


Gen X spans from the early 60s to the mid 70s. Gen XY spans from the late 70s to the mid 80s. Lastly Gen Y spans from the late 80s to the mid 90s.

To answer your question, the 70s and 80s were similar in a lot of ways for us children of the 1980s. Saturday morning cartoons were everything to us. The most important event of the weekend, even! In the 70s and 80s, children collected stationery supplies in addition to using them. The only difference between the 70s and 80s that I could think of were the weekday afternoon schedules. In the 70s, sitcoms and game shows were shown in the afternoons. In the 80s, mornings and weekday afternoons were reserved for 30 minute toy commercials and syndicated cartoons. Toy store shelves and department store shelves were full of pegs with lots of good well made toys on them.

The 90s were radically different from the 2000s. There were children’s programming blocks on local channels. Whereas, in the 2000s, children watched Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. The 2000s were all about trading card games, while the 90s had trendy toys like Beanie Babies and POGS. Department stores were gone in the 2000s. Saturday morning cartoons and Saturday morning sitcoms were still going strong in the 1990s and very early 2000s. It was more important to be fashionable in the 2000s than it was in the 90s. The 2000s are not as recognizable a time period as the 1990s were. We know the 90s for the new prime time adult cartoons (I.e. - The Simpsons and South Park), along with Millennial cartoons (I.e. - Rugrats and Pokèmon), and the internet. The 90s were the new 1960s. The 2000s were when everything fell apart and more like how things are today.

The 70s and 80s had more to offer than the 90s and 2000s, but the 70s, 80s, and 90s were all one heck of a lot better than the 2000s.

Gen X spans from the early 60s to the mid 70s. Gen XY spans from the late 70s to the mid 80s. Lastly Gen Y spans from the late 80s to the mid 90s.

To answer your question, the 70s and 80s were similar in a lot of ways for us children of the 1980s. Saturday morning cartoons were everything to us. The most important event of the weekend, even! In the 70s and 80s, children collected stationery supplies in addition to using them. The only difference between the 70s and 80s that I could think of were the weekday afternoon schedules. In the 70s, sitcoms and game shows were shown in the afternoons. In the 80s, mornings and weekday afternoons were reserved for 30 minute toy commercials and syndicated cartoons. Toy store shelves and department store shelves were full of pegs with lots of good well made toys on them.

The 90s were radically different from the 2000s. There were children’s programming blocks on local channels. Whereas, in the 2000s, children watched Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. The 2000s were all about trading card games, while the 90s had trendy toys like Beanie Babies and POGS. Department stores were gone in the 2000s. Saturday morning cartoons and Saturday morning sitcoms were still going strong in the 1990s and very early 2000s. It was more important to be fashionable in the 2000s than it was in the 90s. The 2000s are not as recognizable a time period as the 1990s were. We know the 90s for the new prime time adult cartoons (I.e. - The Simpsons and South Park), along with Millennial cartoons (I.e. - Rugrats and Pokèmon), and the internet. The 90s were the new 1960s. The 2000s were when everything fell apart and more like how things are today.

The 70s and 80s had more to offer than the 90s and 2000s, but the 70s, 80s, and 90s were all one heck of a lot better than the 2000s.


Didn’t the Simpsons and South Park still aired in the 2000s ?, I’d argue that adult cartoons were still a thing in the 2000s with shows like Futurama, Family Guy, American Dad and Robot Chicken. People born in the Early 60s are Gen X ? I thought they were Boomers. Toys r Us was still pretty big in the 2000s even if it was on the decline unlike in the 2010s were they closed down. Saturday Cartoons were still a thing in the 2000s for those of us that didn’t have cable or internet

Gen X spans from the early 60s to the mid 70s. Gen XY spans from the late 70s to the mid 80s. Lastly Gen Y spans from the late 80s to the mid 90s.

To answer your question, the 70s and 80s were similar in a lot of ways for us children of the 1980s. Saturday morning cartoons were everything to us. The most important event of the weekend, even! In the 70s and 80s, children collected stationery supplies in addition to using them. The only difference between the 70s and 80s that I could think of were the weekday afternoon schedules. In the 70s, sitcoms and game shows were shown in the afternoons. In the 80s, mornings and weekday afternoons were reserved for 30 minute toy commercials and syndicated cartoons. Toy store shelves and department store shelves were full of pegs with lots of good well made toys on them.

The 90s were radically different from the 2000s. There were children’s programming blocks on local channels. Whereas, in the 2000s, children watched Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. The 2000s were all about trading card games, while the 90s had trendy toys like Beanie Babies and POGS. Department stores were gone in the 2000s. Saturday morning cartoons and Saturday morning sitcoms were still going strong in the 1990s and very early 2000s. It was more important to be fashionable in the 2000s than it was in the 90s. The 2000s are not as recognizable a time period as the 1990s were. We know the 90s for the new prime time adult cartoons (I.e. - The Simpsons and South Park), along with Millennial cartoons (I.e. - Rugrats and Pokèmon), and the internet. The 90s were the new 1960s. The 2000s were when everything fell apart and more like how things are today.

The 70s and 80s had more to offer than the 90s and 2000s, but the 70s, 80s, and 90s were all one heck of a lot better than the 2000s.


When were you born ? This does not sound very accurate in the least. Toys r us was soaring in the early 2000’s as were record stores and movie stores. It wasn’t until the mid to late 2000’s when many department stores went bankrupt. Although I wouldn’t say that was the case for 2000-2004/5.

When were you born ? This does not sound very accurate in the least. Toys r us was soaring in the early 2000’s as were record stores and movie stores. It wasn’t until the mid to late 2000’s when many department stores went bankrupt. Although I wouldn’t say that was the case for 2000-2004/5.


The very early 2000s were the best part of the 2000s, but I thought you would say “they were too 90s”. So, I focused on the mid to late 2000s.

When were you born ? This does not sound very accurate in the least. Toys r us was soaring in the early 2000’s as were record stores and movie stores. It wasn’t until the mid to late 2000’s when many department stores went bankrupt. Although I wouldn’t say that was the case for 2000-2004/5.


I feel like the early to probably mid 2000s were similar to the late 90s in terms of stuff that was still popular in general like Saturday morning cartoons, toy and game stores, VHS and DVDs, Slow to no internet, Dumbphones and Pages, Landlines and baggy clothes. I would know since I was born in 1998. I think the person who commented wasn’t a kid in the 2000s so they probably didn’t even notice how similar the decade was to the 90s on some level besides the shift due to 9/11 which hardened security

I think 70s and 80s were very different, the '70s might more similar to the '60s in some ways, especially if we're talking about the first half of the decade.

My mom who is a '70s kid says there was no TV after 7PM (that might have been due to strikes) and of course there were no video/arcade games or PCs until towards the end of the decade. One way in which they're similar though is in family structure: divorce rates were already high in the '70s just like in the '80s, and gender roles were in flux.

I think 70s and 80s were very different, the '70s might more similar to the '60s in some ways, especially if we're talking about the first half of the decade.

My mom who is a '70s kid says there was no TV after 7PM (that might have been due to strikes) and of course there were no video/arcade games or PCs until towards the end of the decade. One way in which they're similar though is in family structure: divorce rates were already high in the '70s just like in the '80s, and gender roles were in flux.


No TV after 7 PM? That's not the 70s I remember, for sure. Even during strikes they used to carry on. Once there was a musicians strike and Johnny Carson (his show came on at 11:30 PM)  just went on as usual except with no band. The Smothers Brothers (their show came on at 8 PM) were even more innovative. They hired  a chorus of vocalists (who apparently were in a different union than the musicians, and therefore not on strike) to sing all the musical parts a capella.

No TV after 7 PM? That's not the 70s I remember, for sure. Even during strikes they used to carry on. Once there was a musicians strike and Johnny Carson (his show came on at 11:30 PM)  just went on as usual except with no band. The Smothers Brothers (their show came on at 8 PM) were even more innovative. They hired  a chorus of vocalists (who apparently were in a different union than the musicians, and therefore not on strike) to sing all the musical parts a capella.


I'll have to ask her again. She said there were only a few channels and they would sign off for the night and that's when she would go play outside. It was different in the '80s where you had 24/7 cable.

I'll have to ask her again. She said there were only a few channels and they would sign off for the night and that's when she would go play outside. It was different in the '80s where you had 24/7 cable.


There were three major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) and PBS, which was smaller than it is now. That was it. They stayed on all night. Only PBS (then known as NET ) signed off, and usually very late at night. Some local affiliates of the major networks in really small towns may have signed off, but never before 1 PM. Trust me on this. You really think there was no prime time TV in the 70s? Ever hear of The Mary Tyler Moore Show? All In the Family? The Jeffersons? Good Times? Saturday Night Live (with the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players")? Columbo? Charlie's Angels? Brady Bunch? Partridge Family? Need I go on? Trust me, they weren't showing these things in the daytime. Until they went into syndication, that is.