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[ThePrequelsSuck]

eh

 

[Spheyr]

Pew can declare anything they'd like, that doesn't make them the final say in it.

 

[ThePrequelsSuck]

Pew can declare anything they'd like, that doesn't make them the final say in it.

Remembering 9/11 vs not remembering 9/11 is a good cutoff though

 

[davepoobond]

Remembering 9/11 vs not remembering 9/11 is a good cutoff though

Yeah, and also how life was actually like before it, too.

But that makes 9/11 too much of a factor in defining the generation. It’s more about the modern internet and social media propagation that has really changed society between generations rather than 9/11. It’s just that it happens right at the turning point

 

[ThePrequelsSuck]

Yeah, and also how life was actually like before it, too.

But that makes 9/11 too much of a factor in defining the generation. It’s more about the modern internet and social media propagation that has really changed society between generations rather than 9/11. It’s just that it happens right at the turning point

1995 is usually considered the start of the "Internet era" though. And that was 6 years before 9/11.

 

[SDCowboy]

I still feel the date goes back way too far. To me, if you remember life before the internet and cell phones, you shouldn't be considered a millennial.

 

[ThePrequelsSuck]

eh

 

[strange headache]

Eh, who am I to argue with Pew, but I think their cut-off point is very americocentric. I don't disagree that 9/11 wasn't an important global event, but outside the U.S. its impact varied to different degrees. I'm a bit skeptical how they so easily dismiss technological progress, because the internet had a far greater influence on societal changes.

Technology, in particular the rapid evolution of how people communicate and interact, is another generation-shaping consideration. Baby Boomers grew up as television expanded dramatically, changing their lifestyles and connection to the world in fundamental ways. Generation X grew up as the computer revolution was taking hold, and Millennials came of age during the internet explosion.

It's fair to assume post-millennials grew up with social media in an 'always on' environment. But before that we had the web 2.0 revolution and the proliferation of mobile phones that vastly impacted the previous generation and that isn't even mentioned at all. Dating millennials back to 1981 is just way too far, back then the Internet wasn't really a thing. It kinda lumps together those who grew up without and those who grew up with the internet.

 

[SDCowboy]

Alright, ill make my case why I, as a 23 year old, still relate more to a 33 year old than a 13 year old despite me having internet as a kid.

YouTube shows, Web 2.0, and the Wii are probably the most significant innovations separating the childhood culture of Millennials and that of Generation Z. Early 2000s kids (like me, born 1995) who grew up with Yu-Gi-Oh!, early Spongebob, GameCube, candy iMacs, and the like can still be somewhat compared to Bush '41-era kids who watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, collected Garbage Pail Kids cards, played NES, and owned an Apple II or Commodore 64 at home; though the shows and quality of technology had evolved drastically, the overall structure of childhood was quite similar - a mix between edgy cartoon shows, mascot-driven video game consoles, and a *mild* dose of digital technology. True, we had Internet and you didn't, but early 2000s kids mostly used Internet just for playing Nick.com games etc., while we still balanced the rest of our time with outdoor activities. Social media did not factor into kids' childhoods yet because it was barely there; the Internet was still in its Web 1.0 phase that it wouldn't fully leave until around 2006/2007.

Kids growing up in the LATE 2000s (like my little brother, born 2001), however, during the era of Phineas & Ferb, Hannah Montana, YouTube, Wii, and eventually mobile apps, lived primarily digital lives while still children. I can easily relate to the videos posted by James Rolfe (born 1980, at the very end of Generation X), even though I'm over a decade younger than him, because I played a lot of side-scrolling video games and mostly read game manuals for guidance as opposed to googling everything. I still feel closer to his gaming generation than anybody who grew up with the Wii and up.

That sounds more like a case for there needing to be an additional generation. Folks born in the 90's Should be millenials. Not those of us born in the 80s.

 

[Makariel]

Remembering 9/11 vs not remembering 9/11 is a good cutoff though

What about remembering perestroika vs not remembering perestroika?

 

[ThePrequelsSuck]

That sounds more like a case for there needing to be an additional generation. Folks born in the 90's Should be millenials. Not those of us born in the 80s.

True but I was making more of a case for how I relate more to those born in the 80s than those born in the 00s, and how we might relate a little closer than you first think.

 

[Mohonky]

I am technically a millennial at 34 but I have trouble identifying with other millenials.

I remember life before things like mobile phones and the internet. In my years in highschool mobile phones werent common at all and the internet existed but it was painfully slow and social media basically didnt exist unless you were on mIRC or Messenger and neither of those was really a social media like anything we have today; you still had to actually know a person to actually really be able to connect with them. No news feeds, no web groups, no uploading what you got up to on weekends (it would mean having a digital camera which kids generally didnt and even if you did uploading anything would have taken forever, as would have downloading it to view).

If you wanted to meet new people or talk about something you went outside and met up with people still.

I'm often incredibly surprised at how many younger people are awkward in social situations or even some of the questions people ask about very basic social behaviour (whats normal, what might be considered weird, what to say or do in certain settings).

When I tall to young adults (and especially teenagers now) it sounds like they grew up on another planet.

 

[strange headache]

What about remembering perestroika vs not remembering perestroika?

Good point, the fall of the Berlin wall, the end of the Cold War and the decline of the USSR. Would be silly to assume those were somehow less important than 9/11.

 

[davepoobond]

1995 is usually considered the start of the "Internet era" though. And that was 6 years before 9/11.

i think there's a distinct difference between "pre-social media" internet and post. i think that's where the real divide comes from. AOL and Earthlink were only a transition. when the internet became mobile it propagated further than anyone could imagine. you could leave the internet "at home" up until that point, so the societal influence was much less pronounced.

 

[Th3Birdman15.]

I would have to say that millennials are those born from the mid 90s on.

To me, it makes zero sense for me (someone born in the 80s) to be grouped together with someone I’m 10, 15 and sometimes 20 years older than. That is a clear generational difference. I’ve always taken the term to mean “those that were children/not even born at the turn of the millennium”, and that cleanly describes those born in the 90s/2000s and distinctly seats them in their late teens-20s.

My generation is on their way to their 40s.

 

[ThePrequelsSuck]

eh

 

[Dr. Claus]

Eh, who am I to argue with Pew, but I think their cut-off point is very americocentric. I don't disagree that 9/11 wasn't an important global event, but outside the U.S. its impact varied to different degrees. I'm a bit skeptical how they so easily dismiss technological progress, because the internet had a far greater influence on societal changes.



It's fair to assume post-millennials grew up with social media in an 'always on' environment. But before that we had the web 2.0 revolution and the proliferation of mobile phones that vastly impacted the previous generation and that isn't even mentioned at all. Dating millennials back to 1981 is just way too far, back then the Internet wasn't really a thing. It kinda lumps together those who grew up without and those who grew up with the internet.

I would argue that 9/11's impact would vary even in the states. I grew up well before 9/11 (1993 was my birth year) and (despite being in America during the incident), it never really made an impact for me. I remember the day vividly. We were let out of class, the teachers were freakin' out but I was just ecstatic to get home to my PS2. As the bus dropped me off, I walked home and saw my dad/mom crying as smoke from the first plane hit. I thought it was a movie so I just went upstairs, turned on my console and played Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories.

Even nearly two decades later it really isn't a defining moment of my life. It is an incident that happened, I understand the changes it made to the country, but I just don't have any emotional connection to it. I was a pretty into history at that age so I was reading about events such as WWI and II, about the Byzantine Empire and Ganghis Khan. So in my childhood mind, it was just a thing that happens.

I wouldn't be surprised to be called an unempathetic asshole for this.

 

[Autoignition]

I still feel the date goes back way too far. To me, if you remember life before the internet and cell phones, you shouldn't be considered a millennial.

But even that's dodgy, though. I was born in 89, and I remember life before internet and cell phones. Where would you even put someone like me, if not in the millennial bracket? I certainly don't fit in with Gen X.

 

[Th3Birdman15.]

But even that's dodgy, though. I was born in 89, and I remember life before internet and cell phones. Where would you even put someone like me, if not in the millennial bracket? I certainly don't fit in with Gen X.

Honestly I think that these classifications are utterly meaningless.

We can all agree that the generation after 1980-1995 is completely bonkers though.

I mean, Tide Pods? Flat Earthers?

Their level of critical thinking is something I do not wish to be classified with. Besides, a nearly 30 year gap between people is not the same generation (1980-2005) no matter how you try to spin it.

We played with GI Joes and Barbies, watched The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, were there when TalkBoy was a thing, actually saw Michael Jordan and Larry Bird play basketball and went outside to play.

These are things they cannot possibly know about, let alone relate to. It’s not the same generation, therefore I’m not a millennial.

 

[Autoignition]

We can all agree that the generation after 1980-1995 is completely bonkers though.

I mean, Tide Pods? Flat Earthers?

[...]

These are things they cannot possibly know about, let alone relate to. It’s not the same generation, therefore I’m not a millennial.

The generation you're referencing is Gen Z, though. Me and you are Millennials.

 

[Th3Birdman15.]

The generation you're referencing is Gen Z, though. Me and you are Millennials.

Most definitions I’ve come across for millennials has been 1980-20XX.

If they’ve got a new classification for people born 2000-present, this is the first I’ve heard of it.

 

[a dude]

Eh, who am I to argue with Pew, but I think their cut-off point is very americocentric. I don't disagree that 9/11 wasn't an important global event, but outside the U.S. its impact varied to different degrees.

I agree but I get the feeling that these definitions of generations are made by and for Americans. Maybe it's just me but I haven't noticed anyone outside the US (or websites with Americans) talk about baby boomers for example.

 

[Autoignition]

Most definitions I’ve come across for millennials has been 1980-20XX.

If they’ve got a new classification for people born 2000-present, this is the first I’ve heard of it.

Yeah, that's what the article in the OP is saying. Our generation is 1981-1996. The kids after us are considered Gen Z.

 

[BANGS]

I think myspace is the perfect cutoff. If you've never had a myspace account, you're a millenial...

But really this is all just silly. Just another way to label people and trying to find meaningful distinctions between them despite not having much to go on...

 

[Catphish]

What about remembering perestroika vs not remembering perestroika?

Bang! Say "Da Da Da Da!"


Gorky Park?

No?

 

[mckmas8808]

Most definitions I’ve come across for millennials has been 1980-20XX.

If they’ve got a new classification for people born 2000-present, this is the first I’ve heard of it.

I was born in the early 80s and I'm a millennial. I think some here just like the "tag" that millennial gets and doesn't want to be associated with that word. Everyone in a generation doesn't have to perfectly understand each other. That's not the point. But people born in 1985 and others born in 1994 have alike more alike that kids born in 2001.

 

[ThePrequelsSuck]

eh

 

[mckmas8808]

Exactly. Me and many other people my age (23) did in fact experience dial up, VHS tapes, and cassettes in our childhoods because they were still around in the early 2000s. VHS for one was not discontinued until 2006, cassettes were still used in preschool for me, dial up remained a popular alternative to broadband until 2006, etc.

Most folks born in the early 80s (except you) just seem to assume that if you were born in 1995, you have nothing in common with them, never grew up with old tech at all, and they just automatically toss you in with 13 year olds born in 2005. Why do they think analog tech ended so much earlier than it did, or that they're just "Xennial things"?

It's the same reason why people like to try to kill current tech so fast (console will never be made again, single player games are a thing of the past, Console will not have disc or any physical media anymore, etc). It's so easy to remember that there's 10s of millions of people that aren't and will not be ready to upgrade to the lastest technology. And that's with every generation.

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

I've done quite a lot of work on the academic lit looking at generational demographics in marketing, from different sides of the argument that look at is an segment of internal characteristics or an age subculture of external characteristics, or any mixture thereof, and to be fair most of the literature on the topic already broadly define Millennials as mostly starting somewhere around 1981-1983 and ending somewhere around 1996-1999. So, Pews here is mostly just reiterating what most of the lit already says.

I by and large agree because the line mosty falls along Web 1.0 (sort of 1995 to 2010) and Web 2.0, and those born around 81-83 are on average just young enough to have been coming of age during the start of Web 1.0 and those born 96-99 are just old enough to remember the tailend of Web 1.0 -- before the sort of user-generated social web became ubiquitous beyond just websites into every 'app-aspects' of our lives.

And it's still a line worth drawing because despite there being fewer differences between Millennials and the iGen/Gen Z, you could say the same about Millennials and Gen X or Boomers -- all the generational demographics/age subcultures have fewer differences than ever before. By mom and most parents I know can't even use control panel to perform basic OS commands and yet they uses Web 2.0 apps for most parts of their daily lives -_- (and most of them by their own accord). Large parts of Web 2.0 are utilized by all gens now. So I think it means that it's no less useful to differentiate between Millens and iGens than with GenX or Boomers. It's just that all gen-demos in general are less pronounced these days.

 

[-Minsc-]

I've come to the conclusion I don't feel like playing the generational divide game. Who I most relate to changes as the years move on.