Carrie Fisher and Florence Henderson — and other icons of Generation X’s youth — are now gone, stolen by the cruel thief that is 2016. The year has left the generation born between the early 1960s and the early 1980s wallowing in memories and contemplating its own mortality.

Throughout the year, office conversations, dinner party discussions and social media have exploded with incredulity, sadness and fear, as one ’80s celebrity after another died, starting in January with David Bowie.

Of course, this happens to every generation: Our idols die off, and we suddenly feel our youth slipping away.

But Lou Manza, a professor of psychology at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, says baby boomers and older generations weren’t as invested in or connected to their celebrities. MTV, Twitter and Facebook have changed things.

Tamara Lush, The Associated Press