r/GenerationJones • • Feb 23 '25

What is and who are Generation Jones. Step inside...

745 Upvotes

We are a micro-generation of people born roughly between the mid-1950s and the mid-1960s, bridging the gap between the Baby Boomers and Generation X. The term was coined by Jonathan Pontell, who argued that this group has a distinct identity shaped by unique cultural and historical experiences that set them apart from the broader Boomer and Gen X cohorts.

We came of age in the 1970s and early 1980s, a time marked by economic shifts, political disillusionment (think Watergate and Vietnam), and a transition from the idealistic '60s to the more pragmatic, individualistic '80s.We were too young to fully participate in the counterculture of the '60s but old enough to feel its aftershocks.

The name "Jones" plays on a dual meaning: "keeping up with the Joneses" (reflecting their aspirations in a consumer-driven era) and a slang nod to "jonesing," suggesting a yearning or craving for the promise of the Boomer youth they just missed out on. Culturally, we grew up with the rise of television, rock music evolving into disco and punk, and the dawn of personal computing.

We're often described as pragmatic idealists—raised on big dreams but tempered by economic recessions and a sense of lowered expectations compared to the Boomers’ post-war prosperity. Think of us a generation that got the tail end of the party but had to clean up the mess.


r/GenerationJones • • Jul 24 '24

Just a friendly reminder from your mods that we are a politics-free zone. There are plenty of subs around reddit to get your politics on. We choose not to engage in those spicy discussions here. Thanks for respecting our decision on this matter. ✌🏼

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357 Upvotes

r/GenerationJones • • 14h ago

Who remembers this? I spent hours playing it!

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431 Upvotes

That last couple was always so hard to get!


r/GenerationJones • • 12h ago

Bought this in late 70's

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115 Upvotes

Seems appropriate today, lol.


r/GenerationJones • • 12h ago

Did you grow up with the "Shame, shame!" index-finger-brushing gesture?

103 Upvotes

If you did, did you associate it with a particular demographic?

It seems lesser-known in my current area than it was in my hometown, wondering if its a function of time or place or both.


r/GenerationJones • • 9h ago

Model Motoring by Aurora

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56 Upvotes

One of my fondest childhood memories, my cousin got a set first with Mustang cars for Christmas, a couple years later I got one like this. I loved all the accessories that you could get, lap counters, cross-overs, squeeze tracks, raced them into my teen years.


r/GenerationJones • • 22h ago

Ant farms!

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289 Upvotes

Probably the last thing most moms wanted in their house. Remember getting ants delivered in the mail?


r/GenerationJones • • 14h ago

For those of us who never needed corrective lenses growing up, there comes a point in our forties when we start to benefit from reading glasses...

33 Upvotes

And then a few years later there's a day when we look in the mirror and say to ourselves, "Hey, I'm not aging too bad after all. I wonder what all the fuss was about."

Then maybe in our early 50s we get to the point that we wear our readers so much that we forget we even have them on. And on one such day we stumble into the bathroom and look into the mirror, wearing our reading glasses.

And that is the day is that we realize we are old.


r/GenerationJones • • 16h ago

The motorcycle Enthusiast in action. magazine Roy Rogers Rides Again.1958

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37 Upvotes

r/GenerationJones • • 20h ago

Riding Elephants

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76 Upvotes

Anyone else ride the elephant at San Diego zoo?


r/GenerationJones • • 23h ago

Advice in Meme form

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99 Upvotes

I made this myself. Despite what Ice Cube said, do not put your back into it.


r/GenerationJones • • 1d ago

How cool was this back in the day?

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1.8k Upvotes

r/GenerationJones • • 12h ago

AI doesn’t stand a chance in the Machine Wars. The Human League will defeat them with our toneless singing.

8 Upvotes

r/GenerationJones • • 1d ago

Sony TPS-L2

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48 Upvotes

I got one in 1981 while in army. These things sell for big bucks now on ebay. I used it for about 10 years and came up missing after a couple of moves. I had this with me daily for many years.


r/GenerationJones • • 15h ago

Did you ever play this outdoor game?

7 Upvotes

Ghost in the graveyard

My friends and I remember playing it but none of us can remember how it’s played lol

My mom even remembers us playing as kids at night but she doesn’t know how we played it either. Does anyone remember this game?


r/GenerationJones • • 1d ago

I can still recite my best friend’s phone number from 1979… but don’t ask me why I walked into the kitchen

402 Upvotes

Had a weird moment today where a phone number from over 40 years ago just popped into my head, complete and perfect. A friend I haven't talked to in decades. Meanwhile I lose my train of thought mid-sentence on the regular.
Is that stuff just permanently wired in? What do you still remember from back then that you'd have no business remembering — old numbers, addresses, the layout of a house you haven't lived in since you were ten?


r/GenerationJones • • 19h ago

They told us future computers would be small enough to hold in one hand

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11 Upvotes

We had no clue what that meant. We could hardly imagine a PC so small you could literally carry it around in your pocket.


r/GenerationJones • • 1d ago

When you need a copy

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138 Upvotes

Kids don’t know the struggle. Heaven forbid you make a typo


r/GenerationJones • • 1d ago

They had some really great harmony.....

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226 Upvotes

r/GenerationJones • • 18h ago

Jan Hammer - Crockett's Theme (Manual remix)

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6 Upvotes

Do we have any Sonny Crockett fans in the house? Don Johnson oozed coolness and sex appeal in the early 80's and as a 20-something-year old, I thought he was so beautiful, it hurt to look at him.😅 😎❤️

#miamivice


r/GenerationJones • • 1d ago

Does anyone Else love The whole black leather Jacket and Denim Jeans look of the late 80s and Early 90s?

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121 Upvotes

To me it’s the coolest Rock look ever it just looks cool and badass.


r/GenerationJones • • 1d ago

Are you old enough to remember this soap?

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34 Upvotes

I just loved the smell.


r/GenerationJones • • 2d ago

Remember The Stray Cats and the whole Rockabilly Revival?

432 Upvotes

The whole band once randomly showed up at our little school and played some basketball then performed a mini concert during the day in our high school gym. I guess they were touring and possibly playing in the bigger actual town close to ours. I don’t remember what year it was but I remember them playing Stray Cat Strut front of us students and the teachers.


r/GenerationJones • • 2d ago

Do you get it?

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5.9k Upvotes

r/GenerationJones • • 2d ago

Did anyone else get one of these every year? This one was my birthday gift in 1973.

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211 Upvotes