It seems that a new generation of people has arisen: they’re known as the Xennials and are situated between Generation X and the Millennials for people born between 1977 and 1985. This so-called micro-generation is a new name for children who grew up with analog technology but were introduced to the digital world in their adulthood.
Now, there’s finally a name for people who can’t seem to identify with either Generation X or the Millennials.
The latter generation was born with digital technology all around them, while Generation X had nothing of the sorts. The Xennials fit somewhere in between and grew up with the first household computers and the very first internet connections for consumers.
The term ‘Xennial’ was first introduced by Sarah Stankorb in Good Magazine back in 2014 and this micro-generation is also known as the ‘Oregon Trail Generation’, a reference to the popular video game released in the 70s.
“The years of our birth lie between two huge generations. We had to bridge the divide between an analog childhood and digital adulthood and we are reminded of this day after day. We live with one foot in Generation X and one in Generation Y. This is an uncomfortable position to keep up and we aren’t fond of it,” self-proclaimed Xennials Marleen Stollen and Gisela Wolf wrote for the German version of Business Insider.
So, what exactly are the characteristics of a so-called Xennial?
First of all, Xennials might have some nostalgic feelings towards older video games or the first generation of flip phones. Even though they didn’t grow up with the internet as we know it today when they were kids, nowadays they’re pretty good at using social media channels. After all, the Xennials can probably remember when today’s popular social media platforms were created.
“As we were growing up, technology matured alongside us. We had time to get used to it and were still young enough to feel right at home with it.”
Generation X is known to be somewhat cynical, and that’s a trait that is also often associated with Xennials, albeit less extreme. They also share a bit of the typical optimism of millennials. It’s safe to say that their characteristics are just a healthy mixture of both.
Sarah Stankorb, the creator of the ‘Xennial’ term, states that this micro-generation between 1977 and 1985 is impacted the most by the recession because of student loan debt and job losses.
In short, if you’ve had a hard time fitting in with either Generation X or the Millennials, you might identify with this micro-generation in between. Go Xennials!
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