The Last Analog Generation: Gen X in the Age of AI
We grew up rewinding cassette tapes with pencils. Now we’re trying to teach ChatGPT to sound more human.
We are the Last Of The Analogs
“Great Spirit, Maker of All Life. A warrior goes to you swift and straight as an arrow shot into the sun. Welcome him and let him take his place at the council fire of my people. He is Uncas, my son. Tell them to be patient and ask death for speed; for they are all there but one - I, Chingachgook - Last of the Mohicans”
- Chingachgook, The Last Of The Mohicans
That was Chingachgook, the last of the Mohicans, while we are the Last of The Analogs. We, who have seen so much and lived so much of the changes in the world.
For those of us born between 1965 and 1980, our lives arc across two vastly different worlds. We are the last generation to have an entirely analog childhood and the first to come of age as the digital world exploded. The Walkman was our first taste of personal tech; AI-generated playlists now soundtrack our lives.
And while we’re not the loudest voices in the digital age, we’re the connective tissue holding the whole thing together.
We’ve Always Been the In-Between
Gen X has never been center stage. We came after the headline-grabbing boomers and before the meme-making millennials. We learned to be adaptable not because it was trendy but because it was necessary. We didn’t grow up with the internet, but we learned to code on Geocities. We didn't have smartphones as kids, but we adapted to them in adulthood without digital nannies.
And now, as AI enters the mainstream, we’re being asked to pivot again. But this time, it’s personal.
We Didn’t Grow Up with Tech. We Grew Into It.
When we first touched computers, they were beige boxes running DOS. We learned through trial, error, and lots of Ctrl+Alt+Del. We transitioned from floppy disks to cloud storage, from payphones to FaceTime.
Some of us were the first to get work email, the first to moderate a forum, the first to run a business off a blog. We didn’t inherit a digital playbook. We wrote it.
Now, we’re back in the classroom—metaphorically and literally. Learning to prompt, to train, to co-create with machines that don’t remember cassette tapes, only datasets. And while younger generations swim in these waters, we still check for sharks.
AI Fatigue Hits Different in Your 40s and 50s
Digital transformation doesn’t just reshape industries; it reshapes identities. For Gen X, there’s a particular kind of tension: the desire to remain relevant without becoming performative. The pressure to learn fast without looking desperate.
We scroll through LinkedIn to see peers reinventing themselves as AI consultants, digital futurists, or personal brand gurus. Some of us are pivoting. Others are quietly resisting. Most of us are somewhere in between—juggling careers, caregiving, and the cognitive load of constant adaptation.
Adaptation Is Our Default Setting
Despite it all, there’s a case to be made that Gen X is uniquely built for this moment. We’ve had to rewire ourselves every decade. We know how to sit with ambiguity. We aren’t digital natives, but we’re digital interpreters—connecting analog instincts to AI-age challenges.
We raise kids who talk to screens and parents who won’t touch them. We troubleshoot the printer and the family group chat. We navigate Slack threads while remembering life before reply-all.
We are, in many ways, the quiet architects of the current digital world. And we’re not done yet.
We’re Not Lost. We’re Learning.
There’s something powerful about having lived on both sides of the digital divide. We understand the value of slowness, of silence, of not having all the answers instantly. That analog inheritance isn’t a disadvantage. It’s a compass.
So yes, we may groan at the latest AI update. But we also show up. We log in. We figure it out.
We’re not the early adopters. But we’re the lasting ones.
What’s been your most unexpected digital transformation moment? Hit reply or drop a comment.
Want more like this? Subscribe and visit Becoming Digital for deeper dives