Are you a Xennial? You may be one if you were born between the years of 1977 and 1985.
The term for this microgeneration was coined back in 2014 by Sarah Stankorb in a 2014 in an article in the Good magazine.
She used it as a description of a group which is born between the Gen X of 1965 and 1980 and the millenials between 1981 and 1996.
Xennials are the people who grew up watching the My So-Called Life, listened to stereo cassettes, and transitioned easily to social media and smartphones, explains Stankorb.
Some also call this microgeneration the Oregon Trail Generation after the once-popular video game.
The Differences between Xennials & their Younger Siblings- Millenials
Xennials were already a part of the workforce when the recession began. A lot of millenials were graduating from college and searching for employment.
Interestingly, some xennials may have been the most affected negatively by the recession due to a combination of several factors, including student loan debts, loss of jobs, and other contributing factors.
This generation also made it through their childhood and their teenage years without social media- no Facebook, no Myspace.
On the other hand, a lot of millenials had Myspace and already Facebook accounts before going to college.
In 2001, on September the 11th, xennials were in their teens and 20s whereas the millenials were much younger.
One writer said about the xennials- ‘much of our childhoods were spared the dark shadow case by tragedy and war’ while ‘millenials were shaken out of their innocence.’
And, when it comes to mobile phones, generally speaking, xennials didn’t have them until they were in their 20s.
As children, they used mostly pay phones and landlines- they often had to talk with the parents of their friends first.
But, some millenials were given phones as children or in their teenage years. And, the parents of xennials were more relaxed than the ‘helicopter’ parents of millenials.
Helicopter parenting refers to the parents obsessed with their children’s achievements and parents who tend to worry excessively about their children’s excellence and they do everything to help them accomplish their goals.
And, millenials are much more optimistic and confident than xennials who’re a bit less pessimistic, but not too much.
In a 2016 report, it was found that millenials were more positive about the future than previous generations.
What about you? In which generation category do you fall into? If you’re a xennial or a millennial, don’t forget to share with us some comments about whether you agree with these claims or not!
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