Is Xennial Experience Global?
Posted by tossitintheroundfile@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 17 comments
I was born early in very late 1976 (due date 1977 lol) and grew up in the USA. Definitely an analog / feral childhood with cable / computers / other electronics not showing up in our house until around 1990 or later. By the late 1990s I was working in tech. My whole life has been round after round of digital transformation.
About five years ago I moved to Northern Europe, and found that in my social circle at least, the “Xennial experience” shifted ahead by 5-10 years. Meaning, people I know born even in the late 1980s experienced the same sort of analog / digital divide with earlier experiences in their lives tending to be way more Gen X.
Just curious if this is a particular anomaly and most western-oriented countries were aligned with the USA experience, or if it is (literally) all over the map.
Mondoweft@reddit
It really depends on individual situations, probably more than location in the Western world.
My partner got their first computer at 19, having already moved out of home. Their parents didn't have an internet connection until 2005.
I was born the same year, and I learnt to read on an apple 2e (Reader Rabbit!), and had dial up at home from about 1991, and broadband from 1997.
There was still an analog/digital change over, but for me, it wasn't so much about access to digital technology, but more how it has changed society. Social media and smartphones have made the biggest change.
psilosophist@reddit
Absolutely not. There are lots of Xennials in the US who never even got to use a computer or digital device until high school, especially those born in traditionally underserved areas - hell, rural internet access is still an issue in lots of places. Hell, I was born in 76 and due to the fact that my dad is a big tech nerd, we had a home built Mac in the early 80's, and had a computer in the house from that point on. That contributed to my brothers and I having a better grasp of technology than a lot of kids our age.
But there were lots of folks younger than me who didn't get to use a computer into the early 90's - that's going to color your experience and upbringing in so many ways.
frawgster@reddit
As a 78er who grew up in super rural Texas, I can say that your comment is 100% accurate. My folks were FAR from being into tech, but they were forward thinking enough to expose me to video games, computers, and general tech stuff at a very young age.
The vast majority of my peers were not exposed to technology till well into the 90s, if at all.
Sumeriandawn@reddit
Definitely not. In the early 90s, I visited my parent’s home country. Indoor plumbing was nonexistent. 99% of the population didn’t own a car. To move material around, construction workers had a buffalo pulling a cart.
Quauhtecatl@reddit
I grew up in New Orleans, born 82, have a friend from Kiev born 87, and we realized we both had the same dated cultural experiences as people born in big American cities (New York, LA, etc) circa 1980.
Mother_Echo4502@reddit
I was born in 1987, and had a very similar childhood
gbroon@reddit
UK we had computers in primary school though not sure how widespread that was. BBC Acorn Micros were a staple of my school computer use. The head teacher at my primary school was very enthusiastic about the future computers would have.
In the house we had a ZX81 then one of the rubber key ZX spectrum.
Significant_Dog412@reddit
As a Brit, I'd say it's global with differences.
Later starts also meant things sometimes stayed later and longer than they would have in the US. Star Wars toys were readily available until about 1990, and dirt cheap so I'd easily get 3-4 for the same price as a He Man or something.
The Simpsons is an odd case where it came in 1990, but was exclusive to satellite which put it out of regular reach for many kids until the BBC got it in 1996. After the initial marketing boom, interest cooled off until then, and when we could access we had practically the whole golden age to catch up on.
For gaming, our generational preferences went home computers (ZX Spectrum/Commodore 64), Sega Megadrive/Genesis, Sony PlayStation (anecdotally, the US took a little time to really get on board with the PS1), with the Game Boy for handheld. I'm a little young for the 80s home computers myself. I had an Amiga in the mid 90s, a little past its prime.
Not sure if there was any difference in internet access/use and Windows PC's. For me, the internet was something that existed and kids wealthier than me had access to, but I didn't get on until I was 16 in college, and was using internet cafes during the early 00s.
We do seem to have jumped on masse onto mobile phones earlier than the US. Maybe the infrastructure with us being a much smaller country allowed for this.
My estate had an adventure playground staffed and open most days (except Sundays and bad weather) so kids always had at least somewhere to go. We also used to have a woman on the block who watched over up to a dozen kids along with her own three, and our Mum's would slip her a bit of money for this.
Rain was the thing that brought every kid indoors, even the true latchkeys whose parents you never saw weren't going out in rain.
tossitintheroundfile@reddit (OP)
For a sort of reverse perspective, we were thrilled when in the early 1990s some premiere league football finally became available to watch live on cable in the U.S… back when ESPN was the one sports channel. 🤩
Many times I got up at 4:00am to watch evening (UK local time) games with my dad. We forgive him for being a United fan. ;)
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
I think we underestimate in general how everyone older than a millennial was generally tech illiterate until smartphones.
tossitintheroundfile@reddit (OP)
Very true.
ttredraider2000@reddit
1979 here, so super young Gen X. I often relate to pop culture more as a Xennial, but as far as technology goes, my upbringing was solidly X.
We never had a home computer, internet, or cable when I lived at home, even though we were upper middle class and could afford it. My parents are pretty minimalist and just didn't see the need. In late high school, friends were getting computers and starting "talking" via AOL IM and email at night, instead of by phone, so I started missing all of the juicy gossip and talk about the newest episode of whatever show we watched that night. One of the best parts of going to college was having cable in the dorms so I could finally watch music videos! I got a computer as a HS graduation gift so I could write papers and check school email from my room in college instead of having to walk across campus to the library. I bought my first house before my first cell phone. My husband and I shared it (the shared phone is how I found out he was cheating, so at least it was beneficial, lol).
My parents never got a home desktop, but finally broke down and got their first computer ever- a laptop- in 2013. I welcomed them to the 90s! They keep it put away in a closet and pull it out when then need to do something on it.
TiEmEnTi@reddit
I lived in a small town in Newfoundland. It was the 80s there until 1994.
De__Gambassi@reddit
1982 from France. Computers, internet and mobile phone all become a thing for familles in the late 90's (I had my first computer in 1998 and first mobile phone in 2000). But before that, you had video games consoles, satellite TV, etc.
I went to a summer trip to California in 1999 and I don't remember to be particulary shocked by how futuristic stuff were compared to my life in France (one thing that was amazing though was free dial-up internet access)
SpringSeptember@reddit
It was the 1980's until the early 00s in Australia.
Inevitable-While-577@reddit
I'm from Germany. My father bought a PC in the late 80s for professional purposes, so I got to play some games on there, but that was an exceptional thing - no one my age knew a PC. That's why in the 90s when everyone had Nintendos, my parents never allowed me to get one because "we have computer games". Around 1999 my parents got an internet connection but I thought it was only for email. I didn't really use the internet for for actual websites until 2003 or so, LOL. And used it regularly maybe from 2005 on or so.
So yeah, can mor or less confirm.
SpeedyDragonzcales@reddit
It’s a thing over here in Finland.