A. Williams et al., TALKING ABOUT GENERATION-X - DEFINING THEM AS THEY DEFINE THEMSELVES, Journal of language and social psychology, 16(3), 1997, pp. 251-277
In response to a recent explosion of media attention to so-called Gene
ration X; the authors investigated young peoples' responses to media c
onstructions of this generational category label. Twenty-six volunteer
s aged 19-23 participated in six audiotaped focus group discussions. A
discourse analytic perspective enables the authors to explore how the
se young participants worked together to negotiate their generational
identity and their position in the life span vis-a-vis other generatio
nal groups. The respondents' talk uses personal accounts to reject the
negative media stereotypes of Generation X, yet reveals that the medi
a may be one of the defining characteristics of their generational ide
ntity The analysis also reveals themes of out-group denigration and bl
ame, which are interpreted as indicative of the intergroup processes t
riggered when groups are identified and made salient.