Throughout the twentieth century, American historians and social commentators have placed labels on various generations in an effort to capture their characteristic spirit. Generation X—roughly defined as the more than 79 million people born between 1961 and 1981—has been characterized by the media as lazy, laconic, and unfocused, but in the eyes of many, the pejorative label represents propaganda rather than reality. For those outside this generation, the X stands for some unknown variable, implying young adults searching aimlessly for an identity. Many members of Generation X think otherwise, however, and they fill in the blank with such descriptors as diverse, individualistic, determined, independent, and ambitious.

The term "Generation X" worked its way into popular vernacular after the release of Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, about three twentysomethings who are underemployed, overeducated, and unpredictable. Other nicknames have emerged, such as the more...