Xennials

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Xennials are the micro-generation of people on the cusp of the Generation X and Millennial demographic cohorts.

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Many researchers and popular media use birth years from 1977 to 1983, [1] though some extend this further in either direction. [2] [3] Xennials are described as having had an analog childhood and a digital young adulthood. Xennials are almost exclusively the children of baby boomers and came of age during a rapidly changing period that was the 1990s.

In 2020, Xennial was added to the Oxford Dictionary of English. It was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2021: [4]

Xennial, n. and adj.: “A person born between the late 1970s and early 1980s, after (or towards the end of) Generation X and before (or at the beginning of) the millennial”

Terminology and birth year definitions

Xennials is a portmanteau blending the words Generation X and Millennials to describe a "micro-generation" [5] [6] or "cross-over generation" [7] of people whose birth years are between the mid-late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Xennials was coined by writer Sarah Stankorb, [1] and discussed in a two-part, September 2014 article in GOOD magazine [13] written by Stankorb, a freelance writer, and then-GOOD Magazine staff writer Jed Oelbaum. [14] Good magazine has described Xennials as "a micro-generation that serves as a bridge between the disaffection of Gen X and the blithe optimism of Millennials." Dan Woodman, an Australian sociologist, was miscredited by the Australian media with inventing it, but clarified he did not in fact coin the term. [15] Jed Oelbaum credits Sarah Stankorb with the term. [16] The earliest traced usage comes from the 2014 Good article, which Stankorb pitched including the term Xennial. [14] In 2017, Xennial was included in Merriam-Webster's "Words We're Watching" section, which discusses new words which are increasingly being used, but which do not yet meet criteria for a dictionary entry. Merriam-Webster Dictionary credited Stankorb with coining the term. [1] In 2020, xennial was included in the Oxford Dictionary of English. The definition given is "a member of an age group born after Generation X and before the millennial generation (specifically in the late 1970s and early 1980s)". [17] Xennials received additional attention in June 2017 following a viral Facebook post by Mashable. [18]

In 2017, The Guardian noted, "In internet folklore, xennials are those born between 1977 and 1983, the release years of the original three Star Wars films." [15] In 2018, Business Insider described Xennials as people who don't feel like a Generation Xer or a Millennial, using birth dates between 1977 and 1985. [19] [20]

Other terms, such as the Star Wars Generation, the Oregon Trail Generation [21] and Generation Catalano [22] have been proposed. Doree Shafrir, writing for Slate magazine, chose "Generation Catalano" for its reference to the character Jordan Catalano, played by Jared Leto (born 1971), from the 1994-95 teen drama My So-Called Life . She defined "Generation Catalano" as those born from 1977 to 1981, the timeframe of Jimmy Carter's presidency. [22]

Characteristics and traits

Many people who were born during the cusp years of Generation X and the Millennials do not fit the mold of those generations but rather share the characteristics of both. [22] [23] [24]

The Generation X and Millennial demographic cohorts have been studied concerning generational differences in the workplace. [25] Researchers out of Eindhoven University of Technology found that not every person that belongs to a major generation will share all the same characteristics that are representative for that generation. People that are born on the cusp of a birth cohort may have overlapping characteristics that are related to both. This concept is called "generational fuzziness", and can lead to the formation of a "microgeneration". [26] Researcher Melissa Kempf Taylor of the University of Louisville has written that the current microgeneration in the workforce is the Xennial generation, who have their own collective personality. "In generational theory, a cusp is the group of individuals who fall into the overlap between two generations. [...] This overlap creates a cusp generation" which bridges the divide between "major generations". [27]

In 2004, Cynthia Cheng wrote a piece for the Toronto Star entitled "My So-Called Generation", where she referred to the cohort as "Bridges". [28]

Marleen Stollen and Gisela Wolf of Business Insider Germany wrote that Xennials "had to bridge the divide between an analog childhood and digital adulthood". [19] They are described as the youngest digital immigrants.[ citation needed ]

Cassie McClure, writing for Las Cruces Sun-News , described those in the Oregon Trail Generation as "remembering a time before the digital age, but barely". [29] Anna Garvey has described these individuals as having "both a healthy portion of Gen X grunge cynicism, and a dash of the unbridled optimism of Millennials", and discusses their relationship with both analog and digital technology. [30] Sheknows.com has described individuals born in the late 1970s and early 1980s as sharing traits with both Generation X and Millennials. [31]

Anna Garvey characterized U.S members of this group as having had an "AOL adolescence" and as being from "the last gasp of a time before sexting, Facebook shaming, and constant communication". [30] Dustin Monke of The Dickinson Press described those born in the early 1980s as having early adulthoods which were impacted by the events of the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War. [32] Sarah Stankorb has also pointed out that most Xennials were already on the job market when the Great Recession hit. [33]

"There are common experiences," explains Almudena Moreno, sociologist at the University of Valladolid and co-author of the Youth Report in Spain 2012, "and one of the differences between generations can be access to technological instruments, which provide a common living context." This context also influences how we relate to others. [34] According to Australian sociologist, Dan Woodman, "[t]he theory goes that the Xennials dated, and often formed ongoing relationships, pre-social media. They usually weren't on Tinder or Grindr, for their first go at dating at least. They called up their friends and the person they wanted to ask out on a landline phone, hoping that it wasn't their intended date's parent who picked up." [7] Woodman has referred to Xennials as a "cross-over generation" crediting this concept to journalists writing about individuals born during the cusp years, saying that this idea sounds plausible with respect to generations because "the divisions we use aren’t particularly robust. They tend to be imported from North America without much thought, built arbitrarily around the Boomers, and capture changes that often don’t have clear inflection points, so dates can vary." [5] However, he warns that an entire cohort of people will not have one set of characteristics or experiences. [5] Woodman also says: "Clearly the idea resonates with a lot of people who felt left out by the usual categorizations." [7] This does not mean that these terms have no value. As Woodman explains, paraphrasing philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, "we are formed by the time in which we live", especially by the experiences of our youth, "which determine our lives and can create new political movements". [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Generation X</span> Cohort born between c. 1965 and 1980

Generation X is the demographic cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the late 1970s as its ending birth years, with the generation being generally defined as people born from 1965 to 1980. By this definition and U.S. Census data, there are 65.2 million Gen Xers in the United States as of 2019. Most of Generation X are the children of the Silent Generation and early Baby Boomers; Xers are also often the parents of Millennials and Generation Z.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby boomers</span> Cohort born from 1946 to 1964

Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom. The dates, the demographic context, and the cultural identifiers may vary by country. Most baby boomers are the children of either the Greatest Generation or the Silent Generation, and are often parents of Gen Xers and Millennials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Generation</span> All of the people born and living at about the same time period, regarded collectively

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennials</span> Generational cohort born 1981 to 1996

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silent Generation</span> Cohort born from 1928 to 1945

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Generation Jones</span> Social cohort spanning the late Baby Boomer Generation and the early Generation X

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Generation Z</span> Cohort born from the mid-to-late 1990s to early 2010s

Generation Z, colloquially known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Most members of Generation Z are the children of Generation X or older Millennials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doree Shafrir</span> American novelist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Generation Z in the United States</span> American generation born between the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2010s

Generation Z, colloquially known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Generation Alpha</span> Cohort born from the early 2010s to mid-2020s

Generation Alpha is the demographic cohort succeeding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 2010s as starting birth years and the mid-to-late 2020s as ending birth years (see § Date and age range definitions). Named after alpha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet, Generation Alpha is the first to be born entirely in the 21st century and the third millennium. Most members of Generation Alpha are the children of millennials.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political views of Generation Z</span> Politics of those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2010s

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zillennials</span> Individuals born during the Millennial/Generation Z cusp

Zillennials is the demographic cohort on the cusp of the Millennial and Generation Z cohorts. Their adjacency between the two generations and limited age grade has led to their characterization as a "micro-generation." They are generally the children of Generation Jones and Generation X. Estimates of the U.S. population in this cohort range from 30 million to 48 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennials in the United States</span> Cohort born from 1981 to 1996

Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Words We're Watching: 'Xennial' Talkin' 'bout whose generation?". Merriam-Webster. 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. ↑ Snake Oil: Genuine Marketing in an Age of Cure-Alls. Morgan James. 23 August 2022. ISBN   978-1-63195-832-8.
  3. ↑ Stollen, Marleen (8 November 2017). "Between Generation X and the Millennials: There is a term for people born in the early 80s". The Independent.
  4. ↑ "Updates to the OED New words list December 2021". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. December 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "If you were born between 1977 and 1983, there's a new name for you". Mamamia. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Chase, Ashley Krenelka (2018). "Upending the Double Life of Law Schools: Millennials in the Legal Academy". University of Dayton Law Review. 44: 1. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3167442.
  7. 1 2 3 Woodman, Dan (12 July 2017). "From Boomers to Xennials: we love talking about our generations, but must recognise their limits". The Conversation. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  8. ↑ Shafrir, Doree (24 October 2011). "Generation Catalano". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. ↑ Ubl, Hannah L.; Walden, Lisa X.; Arbit, Debra (6 April 2017). Managing Millennials For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-1-119-31023-5.
  10. ↑ Wertz, Jia. "Analog and Digital: Xennials Present A Unique Opportunity For Marketers". Forbes. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "Reasonable People Disagree about the Post-Gen X, Pre-Millennial Generation - GOOD". www.good.is. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Dietsche, Lucas (21 March 2017). Since We Left the Oregon Trail:: Poems for the Xennial Generation. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1544845494.
  13. ↑ Stankorb, Sarah; Oelbaum, Jed (25 September 2014). "Reasonable People Disagree about the Post-Gen X, Pre-Millennial Generation". Good Magazine. Good Worldwide . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  14. 1 2 "I Made Up Xennial 3 Years Ago, So Why Is a Professor in Australia Getting All the Credit?". Vogue. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Are you a xennial? Take the quiz". The Guardian. London. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  16. ↑ O, Jed [@jedoelbaum] (27 June 2017). "Thanks for the cite! That was a fun piece. @sarahstankorb deserves credit for the term" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 July 2017– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ "Xennial". Lexico. Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  18. ↑ Vitto, Laura (30 June 2017). "Hey 30-somethings, you're a Xennial". Mashable. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  19. 1 2 Stollen, Marleen (10 January 2018). "There's a term for people born in the early 80's who don't feel like a millennial or Gen Xer". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  20. ↑ Lebowitz, Shana (10 March 2018). "There's a term for people born in the early 80s who don't feel like a millennial or a Gen X-er – here's everything we know". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  21. ↑ Garvey, Anna (21 May 2015). "Oregon Trail Generation". Mashable. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  22. 1 2 3 Shafrir, Doree (24 October 2011). "Generation Catalano". Slate. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  23. ↑ LaFrance, Adrienne (3 February 2016). "How Generations Get Their Names". The Atlantic. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  24. ↑ Kendzior, Sarah (30 June 2016). "The myth of millennial entitlement was created to hide their parents' mistakes". Quartz. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  25. ↑ Lyons, Sean; Kuron, Lisa (17 December 2013). "Generational differences in the workplace: A review of the evidence and directions for future research". Journal of Organizational Behavior. 35: S139–S157. doi:10.1002/job.1913.
  26. ↑ Appel-Meulenbroek, H.A.J.A.; Vosters, S.M.C. (2019). "Workplace needs and their support; are millennials different from other generations?" (PDF). Twenty Fifth Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference. Melbourne. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  27. ↑ Taylor, Melissa Kempf (2018). "Xennials: a microgeneration in the workplace". Industrial and Commercial Training. 50 (3): 136–147. doi: 10.1108/ICT-08-2017-0065 .
  28. ↑ The article is no longer available directly from the Toronto Star website, but can be found on a So-Called Life forum and on her Instagram account.
  29. ↑ McClure, Cassie (20 May 2016). "My So-Called Millennial Life: Old West pioneers of digital age". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  30. 1 2 Garvey, Anna (21 April 2015). "The Oregon Trail Generation: Life Before And After Mainstream Tech". Social Media Week. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  31. ↑ Fogarty, Lisa (7 January 2016). "13 Signs you're stuck between Gen X & millennials". SheKnows. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  32. ↑ Monke, Dustin (31 May 2015). "Monke: A generation stuck in transition". The Dickinson Press. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  33. ↑ Stankorb, Sarah (6 July 2017). "I Made Up Xennial 3 Years Ago, So Why Is a Professor in Australia Getting All the Credit?". Vogue.
  34. 1 2 Hancock, Jaimie Rubio (28 June 2017). "¿Naciste entre 1977 y 1983? Pues ni Generación X ni 'millennial', eres un 'xennial'". El Pais (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019. 'Hay vivencias comunes', explica a Verne Almudena Moreno, socióloga de la Universidad de Valladolid y coautora del Informe de la Juventud en España 2012, 'y una de las diferencias entre generaciones puede ser el acceso a los instrumentos tecnológicos, que proporcionan un contexto vivencial común'. Este contexto también influye en cómo nos relacionamos con los demás. [...] Esto no quiere decir que estos términos no tengan ningún valor. Como explica Woodman, parafraseando a José Ortega y Gasset, 'estamos formados por el tiempo en el que vivimos', especialmente por las experiencias de nuestra juventud, 'que determinan nuestras vidas y pueden crear nuevos movimientos políticos'.
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