# Born 1991 but a 'Xennial'?



## Forward (Dec 5, 2010)

Probably sounds like a stupid question but bear with me...and let's assume Xennial simply means 'caught between' X and Y.

I grew up with my sister who is eight years older than me. We were close and we used to listen to all the same music and watch the same things together in the mid-late 90s. So much so that I'm far more likely to feel nostalgia for the Grunge and UK rave/dance era which pretty much ended by the time most people my age were becoming musically aware. I got a second wind in my own teens around the emo era but to a lesser extent. So it's not like I'm totally 'apart' from my own generation either. 

There's also the fact that unlike most millennials, I was quite resistant to technology. I only had access to the internet from around 2003, joined a social network around 2009 and got my first mobile phone around that same time. I never understood the need for it - that probably just makes me a luddite or a bit odd rather than a Xennial but I think it is because I was so used things as they were that change, especially away from holding real 'real' conversations seemed like a step down. The same is happening with dating. I'm still really into the concept as opposed to using Tinder. I find once I embrace something new, I have no problem getting the hang of it but I'm slow to see benefits and quick to point out why some things ought to be held on to. Oh and newspapers...still big on those when I'm grabbing a coffee but becoming a rarer sight. Miss to days I could find one someone else left behind haha.

I've always said if I had a time machine, I'd do the 90s in my twenties. Because I feel like I'd get on just fine if not even better. :laughing:

Make of this what you will. I'm probably just Gen Y with X influences and a dash of skepticism about new things but I like the idea that generations contain overlap.

Apologies if any of this is in error, I'm sure there's people on here with a better understanding of generations than I have. Just some personal observations.


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## SynthinkingMuse (Jun 15, 2014)

TL;DR (see last paragraph)

I also was born in the early 90s and don't fully relate to the millennial generalizations regarding at what we are supposed be proficient. Both of my parents are Baby Boomers who instilled in me the value of being content rather than following each new wave of technology needlessly. In other words, finding a balance between frugality and trendiness.

At the time when I began hearing 90s music, I was quite turned off to it stylistically after growing up hearing mostly music of the 60s and earlier. I held the opinion that the artists of the time were not trained singers and sounded like brats complaining about life. This opinion was held by me until early college when I began to reevaluate and rediscover the music of my formative years. To my surprise, I found it somewhat enjoyable. Perhaps it was the passage of time or perhaps it was the sentimentality that I associated with said music. Granted, the singing style was still a bit annoying, but I found the lyrics and overall message in the songs of the period relatable and familiar.

For as long I can remember, I've had an natural talent for technology, but my access to it has been somewhat delayed compared to mainstream culture. My family did not have a computer until 1997 and Internet until 2001. Until that time, I was content to use a word processor (basically an electric typewriter with a screen and a floppy drive on which changing fonts meant swapping out a physical font wheel) for my school papers and the library or copy center for my Internet needs. My family was also one of the last in my group of friends to get a DVD player. I didn't own a game console until 2000. Until 2008, I did not own a cell phone and instead used a landline or payphone, when payphones existed.

It has been social media that has shown me my age. I recognize the benefits of being connected socially online, but for me personally it is bitter-sweet. I've used social media since I began college (2008), but I never felt a sense of belonging. I grew out of status update compulsion rather fast after realizing people weren't looking at them except to Like or maybe leave a comment, if I was lucky. Sure, social media such as Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with people from earlier time in life with whom I'd fallen out of contact, but I didn't feel closer to them by reading their profile or status updates. It is like saying you know someone because you read their biography.

Am I an older Millennial or a Xennial? Definitions of Millennials often seem emphasize characteristics of those born in middle to late 90s and after. I remember life before the Internet, cell phones, CD players, DVD players, and personal computers. Technological change within the lifetimes of millennials has been rapid. This rapid pace of change has led to proposed creation of micro-generation labels such as "Xennial" to bridge the gap. It is unsurprising if older millennials such as myself can relate to Generation X and Xennials even though we don't technically fall into the birth years associated with it. Thoughts?


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## Judson Joist (Oct 25, 2013)

Xennials were born between 1977 and 1983. "They" (sociologists? census takers?) chose those years because of Star Wars (according to my research). I was born in 1980, so now I finally know what generation I belong to. Coincidentally, my brother was born in 1977, so we were both born on Star Wars years. He was always more tech savvy than me. I was always the "sensitive artistic" one.


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## 481450 (Aug 13, 2017)

OP ('91 born) is more likely to be *Generation Z* rather than a "Xennial" :wink:


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