Gen X is the generation everyone wants to be, but nobody wants to live through what it took to get there.

Comedian and social media personality Joseph Ferris, better known online as Boopsy, went from Navy brat to millions of followers with sarcastic, no-holds-barred takes on parenting and Gen X life. In this conversation he sits down with generational futurist and USA Today bestselling author Ryan Vet to trace the whole arc: the feral latchkey childhood that built Gen X, how that childhood shows up in the way they parent, and the squeeze they are under now.

Ryan calls Gen X the barbell generation, strapped between Boomers on one side and Millennials on the other, taking care of the people who were supposed to take care of them while still raising the kids they brought up. Joseph makes it funny, then makes it real. It lands somewhere honest: life sucks, so try to make it suck less, embrace the suck, and move on.

In this episode:

• Why Gen X is the generation everybody wants to be but nobody wants to go through the things to get there
• The latchkey childhood, or as Joseph puts it, a post-apocalyptic world slapped into a childhood
• "Go play, come back, and if you're not dead or dying, we don't want to see you"
• Why this generation bubble-wraps their kids: they parent from their trauma because they never had any padding
• The barbell generation, and what it means to be squeezed between aging parents and the kids you raised
• Regret holds receipts, mistakes are the best teachers, and the wisdom underneath the jokes
• Learning to talk to a computer in the AI era, and the motto that ties it all together: embrace the suck

Connect with Joseph Ferris (Boopsy):

• Instagram: @bupc_boopsy
• TikTok: @b.u.p.c
• Facebook: BUPC - Boopsy
• X: @josephmferris

Go deeper: Ryan writes about the barbell generation and the Gen X squeeze in his COLLIDE newsletter, including the essay "Sorry Gen X, You're the Least Likely Generation to Become the Next CEO." Read COLLIDE free at ryanvet.com/collide.

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Ryan Vet is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist, and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold.

If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter:
👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide