Coffeehouses and Generation X

Recently, in a land called America, a group of people who have little in common except their age were labeled Generation X. Well these people have, perhaps, a little more in common than nothing. Piercing is joint hobby for many, as is playing video games and skate boarding. Flannel can be found in any Generation Xers' closet, and many get tears in their eyes when those commercials for compilation 80s music comes on. Another thing many Generation Xers do, is go to coffeehouses.

While it is true that generations before us have participated in the coffee culture, none have in the same way. The GI generation hung out in coffee shops, where the waitresses wore hairnets and carried around pads and kept pencils in their hair. The Beatniks communed in smoke infested rooms, filled with depressed poets clothed in black. The 80s brought on trendy places that catered to yuppies- leather couches and low fat lattes and rice milk. Generation X, however, gathers in coffeehouses.

First, I should define the term coffeehouse. A coffeehouse is a place where you can order anything from a small house coffee to a double latte with a ham and cheese sandwich on the side. It's a gathering place for all types of people, ideas, and conversations. A coffeehouse can have a mohawked, multi-pierced, leather-clad man sitting next to an English major studying Kafka. Everywhere you look, people are doing different things from playing chess, to reading Sartre, to engaging in a vigorous argument about the merits of "Baywatch." There are no stigmas or cliches in coffeehouses; everyone just blends together to form a whole- much like the variety found in Generation Xers.

Why do Generation Xers find coffeehouses so appealing? I can think of many reasons. For one, it is very social. You can go and spend hours there, discussing and debating, with all different sorts of people. There are very few other places young diverse people today can commune and be welcome. Also, coffeehouses offer an informal atmosphere for studying and reading. With more young people going to college than ever before, coffeehouses present an inexpensive, pleasant ambience where one can be with others in similar circumstances. For many, coffeehouses have become a haven for outcast smokers (no more enduring dirty looks from passers by). I suppose, in a way, the whole idea of a coffeehouse compliments the general view held by Baby Boomers about Generation Xers; that we are apathetic and lazy. After all, we do tend to sit around for hours, drinking coffee. If one were to walk into a coffeehouse at any given time, however, one could expect to see much of the clientele busy studying and reading for pleasure. While Generation X may lack the drive for achievement many previous generations had, we do not tolerate ignorance but rather, embrace our individuality and uniqueness.

When I asked my friends why they chose to go to coffeehouses, I came up with similar responses all around: for coffee and wide varieties of other drinks, to be able to smoke inside, for decent music, and the company of friends.

Not only do coffeehouses provide all the above things, but they also provide a varied medium for entertainment. Poetry readings and bands frequent the Austin areas coffee scene often enough, but one can also find comedy shows, plays, and improv acts; mostly performed by Generation Xers themselves. The "Coffeehouse" is also found in the media that attempts to portray us. Just look at two of the top rated sitcoms on television: Friends and Sienfeld. Both shows are aimed towards twenty-somethings, and both include a friendly, local coffee shop. In movies like "Reality Bites," and "Slackers," coffeehouses are again used as a medium for discussion among Generation Xers.

I am not saying that all Generation Xers relate to the "Coffeehouse Experience," but I do believe that it is a major part of many young people's days- thus very relevant in any discussion about Generation X.

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