Gen X Today in Latin America
What became of the rebellious “slacker” youth generation of the 90s? They grew up and entered adulthood – but never became boring. Viacom’s recent global study, Gen X Today, revealed that this generation’s rebellion matured into an independence that inspires them to eschew tradition and do what they want in life.
In this piece, we took a deeper look at Gen Xers in Latin America – Mexico, Brazil and Colombia – and explored what makes them different. Here are key findings from the region:
They’re exceptionally confident, satisfied with their lives, and comfortable in their own skin. Gen X has found fulfilment by focusing on who they are and what’s important to them. Globally, this is a confident generation (91%) – and even more so in Latin America (96%). Additionally, 90% in Latin America report that they are happy with how their lives are today (vs. 81% globally) and 9 out of 10 say they feel comfortable with who they are.
Their orientation toward fulfilment is a source of optimism. Because this generation lives life on their own terms, they have positive feelings about the future. In Latin America, 84% of Gen Xers believe the best years of their lives are still to come – considerably higher than the global average of 73%.
Sex remains important as they get older. There’s a common misconception that sex ends up on the back-burner with age – but Gen X would disagree, especially in Latin America. They really value sex in their romantic relationships. In Latin America, 55% of Gen Xers ranked good sex as one of the most important elements of a long-term relationship (vs. 43% globally). They’re also more likely to say that sex is more important than friendship in a relationship – compared with just 34% who think friendship is most important. Latin American Millennials, on the other hand, value good sex (46%) and friendship (45%) equally.
They’re open to non-traditional family configurations. Gen Xers in Latin America are very accepting of single parenting, with 83% agreeing that a single parent can raise a child as well as a couple (vs. 77% globally). They believe that a man can bring up a child as well as a woman (85% in Latin America, vs. 82% globally). Fully 7 in 10 non-parents would be willing to adopt a child (vs. 55% globally). And among those who identify as LGB, 59% are parents (vs. 51% globally).
They’re avid technology and social media users – but they think they could live without it. In Latin America, 82% of Gen Xers say they use technology and social media to stay up to date and connected (vs. 74% globally). They check their phones an average of 32 times per day (vs 22 globally). Social media benefits and bolsters their relationships, with 80% agreeing that social media has had a positive effect on their relationships (vs. 76% globally). Just 25% believe that their relationships suffer because of the amount of time they spend online – below global Gen Xers (29%) and Latin American Millennials (36%). Yet in spite of their enthusiasm for technology, only 38% of Gen Xers in Latin America said they couldn’t survive a week without their smartphone – lower than their global peers (47%).