People born between 1970 and 1985 are calling themselves 'Gen Goonie' for one very specific reason

A growing number of people born in the overlap between younger Gen X and older millennials say the usual generation labels do not fully describe how they grew up. Instead, many are embracing a new one: "Gen Goonie," a reference to The Goonies and to a childhood that happened before mobile phones, social media and constant parental check-ins.

Why this label is taking off

Gen X is usually defined as people born from 1965 to 1980, and it is often called the "forgotten generation" because it sits between the much larger Baby Boomer and Millennial groups.

For younger Gen Xers, that idea lands a little differently. Children born in the 1970s were raised at a time when dual-income households were becoming more common and divorce was increasing. Many were latchkey kids who wore their house keys around their necks and looked after themselves once school was over.

A lot of them also grew up with far more freedom than children are often given now. Parents were more permissive, kids spent whole days out on their bikes, and the signal to head home was often the street lights coming on. It was also the last fully analog era. Without cellphones, parents who wanted to track down their children had to call around to different houses and ask if they were there.

That kind of upbringing was not limited only to Gen X. Some older millennials had much the same experience, which is why people born between 1970 and 1985 have started rallying around a different identity online: Generation Goonie.

Why The Goonies became the perfect reference point

The name comes from the 1985 film The Goonies, starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Ke Huy Quan and Corey Feldman. The movie was based on a story by Steven Spielberg, written for the screen by Chris Columbus and directed by Richard Donner.

For the people using the term, the film captures a very specific type of childhood. The kids in The Goonies travel long distances by bike, chase adventure, joke crudely and operate with a level of independence that feels familiar to many people who grew up in that period. Their attitude is summed up by the film's "never say die" spirit.

In the movie, the children do not sit around waiting for adults to solve everything. With their parents on the verge of losing their homes, they set off on a dangerous hunt for pirate treasure in an attempt to stop developers from destroying those homes.

That image of childhood stands in sharp contrast to the more closely supervised, screen-heavy version many people associate with growing up now. For supporters of the label, "Gen Goonie" is not just about liking an 80s movie. It is a shorthand for a childhood spent outdoors, offline and largely on your own terms.

What people are saying about it now

The idea has been spreading on TikTok, where younger Gen Xers and older millennials have been proudly claiming the title for themselves.

Chris Clews, a keynote speaker and the author of The Ultimate Essential Work & Life Lessons from '80s Pop Culture, said younger people often tell him Gen X was lucky to grow up without social media and cellphones. He said many wish they had known the kind of world where you could work out where everyone was just by spotting a cluster of bikes outside a house, instead of checking a location-sharing app like Snapchat.

The comments around the trend show how personal the idea feels to many people. One person born in 1981 described it as the best childhood of any generation. Another said they were proud to be part of it. A commenter from Yorkshire, England, born in 1977, described their age group as kids who spent their time outdoors climbing trees and riding bikes, then went home to watch VHS tapes, all without mobile phones.

What links those reactions is not a formal rebranding campaign. It is a shared sense that a narrow slice of people grew up in a transition period: free-range enough to disappear for hours, but still young enough to be adjacent to the millennial era.

The movie still has enough pull for a sequel

The renewed attention around "Gen Goonie" also says something about the staying power of the film that inspired it. More than four decades after The Goonies first reached cinemas, Warner Bros. has greenlit a sequel with Spielberg attached as a producer.

No director has been announced. But in August, writer Potsy Ponciroli said the screenplay was close, explaining that a first draft had been turned in and received well, and that he was about 95 percent finished with a second draft.

That makes the current wave of nostalgia feel bigger than a passing social media joke. For some people, sticking with Gen X is still perfectly fine. For others, "Gen Goonie" captures something more precise: a style of growing up that belonged to the years before childhood became fully digital, fully reachable and fully documented.