06-07-2021, 03:09 PM
A proposal for a Zillennial definition: those who are old enough to remember the onset of the 4T in 2008, but who also experienced the period of online school, which I believe will come to be remembered as a quintessential Z (or at least older-Z) experience.
That's people born from either mid-2001 or mid-2002 to 2004.
Those born in early 2001, myself (January 4) included, were part of the last cohort to graduate high school before the pandemic began, and are therefore the last unambiguous Millennials.*
Those born in late 2001 or early 2002 had only 2-3 months of online, tacked on to the end of an otherwise typical high school experience. So they're on the edge.
Late 2002 to probably around late 2004 is the true borderline zone.
Those who were born in 2005 or later have no memory at all of any time before the Crisis, and so are unambiguous Z.
*you could argue that the last unambiguous Millennials are the youngest ones who remember 9/11, probably born in 1998, but personally, I really doubt the significance of that event as a major generational marker. It's the "alienating event," corresponding to probably either WWI or the recession of 1920-1921. Though it looms large in people's memories, and there were a few big changes (such as the source of the name of the "Homeland Generation,") the reality is that everyday life in America wasn't really that especially different between 1999 and 2004. The difference between 2008 and 2013 is far more dramatic, with the current ongoing period of political realignment beginning with the 2008 election (analogous to 1968) and the social media/internet revolution taking place from roughly 2010 to 2015.
That's people born from either mid-2001 or mid-2002 to 2004.
Those born in early 2001, myself (January 4) included, were part of the last cohort to graduate high school before the pandemic began, and are therefore the last unambiguous Millennials.*
Those born in late 2001 or early 2002 had only 2-3 months of online, tacked on to the end of an otherwise typical high school experience. So they're on the edge.
Late 2002 to probably around late 2004 is the true borderline zone.
Those who were born in 2005 or later have no memory at all of any time before the Crisis, and so are unambiguous Z.
*you could argue that the last unambiguous Millennials are the youngest ones who remember 9/11, probably born in 1998, but personally, I really doubt the significance of that event as a major generational marker. It's the "alienating event," corresponding to probably either WWI or the recession of 1920-1921. Though it looms large in people's memories, and there were a few big changes (such as the source of the name of the "Homeland Generation,") the reality is that everyday life in America wasn't really that especially different between 1999 and 2004. The difference between 2008 and 2013 is far more dramatic, with the current ongoing period of political realignment beginning with the 2008 election (analogous to 1968) and the social media/internet revolution taking place from roughly 2010 to 2015.