Make the Xennial generation more ubiquitous!
Posted by Theedge789@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 110 comments
Only just discovered this subreddit and I feel there needs to be a real push to recognise this as its own generation. We are definitely not the same as later millennials and we can’t quite fully relate to early Gen Xers either.
I don’t agree with the argument that you could do this with every generation either. Any one born late seventies or early 80s has literally experienced two different worlds at the most transformative time of our lives. The world has changed so much post Internet more than any other traditional period in history. We are the only true cusp generation imo.
More power to the Xennials. I genuinely believe we have unique perspectives on life as a result. ❤️
SlackerDS5@reddit
No thanks. While i can understand more notoriety, I don’t think the majority of us require or want it. We have an identity and don’t need to be recognized by others for validation.
Plus, I would rather not get dragged into some idiotic argument about which generation is better or worse. Let our older and younger sibs fight amongst themselves. Especially since we already know the real answer.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
This isn’t about being better than any other generation, it’s not a competition after all. Just about being more accurately defined.
SlackerDS5@reddit
I get that, but we are already accurately defined.
And nearly every talk about generations eventually descend into competitions about attributions and circular arguments why we are wrong about where we fit. I’d rather swan dive, Hed PE style.
Nah, I’m good.
Kade7596@reddit
I'd wager cynical replies are coming from the 1977-1979'ers
Kade7596@reddit
Downvoting me like they don't lean hard into the cynical side all the while claiming they're better at not caring & taking a joke, tsk. lol
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
😂😂😂 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I’d be lying if I said the thought didn’t cross my mind
Kade7596@reddit
they probably thought Captain Planet was stupid
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
To be fair, he did claim he was gonna take pollution down to zero 😬😬😂
Kade7596@reddit
eh, that was just the marketing
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
British humour Kade. I’m being facetious
Kade7596@reddit
me too, I think
'the power' is still ours, btw 😎
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
I will admit, I preferred defenders of the earth. One thing’s for sure, they don’t make them like they used to
Budget_Diver_7866@reddit
yea if people aren't Xennial they don't understand anyways
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
It appears people who are Xennial don’t want to understand it either 😂 But each to their own I guess .
sweetassassin@reddit
This whole telling the whole world about what feels like a secret club feels antithetical to the spirit of not really belonging to either generation.
I question your xennial identification.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Is it a secret club? Or is it simply wanting to be more accurately represented and not lazily lumped in with generations i don’t actually have anything in common with.
Don’t even know how to address your point about questioning my xennial identification. Why would I be here otherwise? Having a different opinion to you doesn’t change my date of birth just so you can separate yourself from me simply because you don’t agree.
supergooduser@reddit
I think there's an inherent optimism built into our generation. We lived in and in many ways were prepared for the analog world. Being kids as technology, specifically computers and the internet began to open up, we were right there being more receptive than the adults. i.e. I wanted to play NES games so I got very adapt at hooking it up to the tv, I wanted to record TMNT so I figured out the VCR real quick.
Then that technology became even easier and we appreciate the struggles and the convenience of new technology.
TV is a good example... our earliest memories are of an era of three networks and no VCR. I recall a commercial would come on and there'd be a queue for the bathroom.
Then the VCR appeared and now we could record our shows to watch later, or rent a movie and enjoy it at home.
Then in our 20s Tivo appeared and binging and season passes became a thing.
Then when we turned 30 streaming happened. And now if you adjust for inflation, for the cost of renting one movie you have access to netflix and 3,000 movies... roughly an entire blockbuster 24/7
We lived through each other those periods, thankful for what they offered and acknowledging how incredible of a step it was from what was there previously.
But this happened OVER and OVER for us. Cellphones same sort of thing. I had a pager, then a shitty phone with 500 minutes for emergencies, than a 2G iPhone, now I have a phone with a 6" screen streaming 4k content to me on the toilet at work.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
All true and precisely the reason for the thread. Surely we’re wired differently as a result of all that? Whether we choose to be aware of it or not. The breadth of such varying experiences in a short space of time must undoubtedly have an impact. More so than any other generation had to experience.
Global_Insect_8826@reddit
Lmao xennial is always going to be what it is. A little in between cusp range straddling Gen X and Millennials. You take away the "ennial" and have Gen X and it's xennial are NOT just Gen X. No matter how you want to slice it, you're half and half of both.
I know a lot of y'all are going getting upset and aggressively downvote like that's going to change anything. But it's just the truth of it.
And why are is they’re someone in their 40s crying so hard to want to make this cusp range an actual generation? Lol I mean don't you have real life adult worries?
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Maybe it was just a thought being put on a subreddit about xennials which seems like an appropriate place to discuss it? Maybe he’s not actually crying about it but wanted to encourage some discussion of it? Maybe you don’t have to engage with it if you don’t like it? Maybe it’s not that serious? Maybe the OP posted it to feel a temporary reprieve from his real life adult worries? Maybe?
Global_Insect_8826@reddit
Why are talking in third person? You ARE the OP
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Heightens the deserved sarcasm for maximum effect
Global_Insect_8826@reddit
Oh is that what that is? I thought you were having some kind of mental crisis
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Stop it, you’re hurting my feelings you meanie
Ianthin1@reddit
Gen X/Xennials don’t crave that kind of attention or recognition.
chronicnerv@reddit
Bingo,
The reason I like this sub is that ideological validation remains rooted in where we came from. It has no bearing on pushing our ideologies or identity onto anyone else. In my opinion, this is where groups cross the line, when they start looking for ideological approval outside of their peer group.
There's nothing wrong with being in an unpopular, small minority like this sub. Demanding mass popular validation from other generations is a sign of mental illness, and it's something that compels the general population to actively avoid rather than merely tolerate. Hollywood is the prime example.
derfzinkerbelle@reddit
Agreed.
Sad-Structure2364@reddit
I just come here to post nostalgia and laugh, I feel like this is one of the more lighthearted subs out there
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
Exactly
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
I agree but it’s not really about the attention, it’s the recognition of us being uniquely placed at a pivotal time in history. But maybe you’re right. We’ll probably be treated like boomers soon anyhow 😂
mcfetrja@reddit
Recognition is a form of attention. I just wanna be left alone so I can go smoke some weed, listen to my iPod, and hang out with my wife and pets. Can you make some sort of achievement where the above scenario is my reward. Oh wait. It already exists, and is called being middle aged in 2026.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
You go do that mate 👍🏼
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit
We're special but not more special than anyone else. I think you mean historically important? I won't discredit that other micro-gens might form but maybe we were the first, marking accelerated tech change. Feels like not much came out in the past 20 years to me tho, like it took off really fast then slowed down, now might be speeding up again? Depending how AI settles into society (if society survives), maybe between GenZ and Gen Alpha some ppl will feel marked by AI enough to make another cluster.
LumpyJump6091@reddit
We definitely weren't the first, I remember my granny saying once how she used to ride to school in a horse-drawn wagon. Thinking of the advances that happened during her lifetime still blows my mind.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit
Those of us still living tend to shift the focus to ourselves. There can't be many people left who remember when cars and light bulbs were new. I've heard stories of pestering the landlord to allow electricity in the house, single bare wires tacked to the ceiling and a bulb with no switch. It was life changing. Certainly some of them deserve a micro-gen if they wanted one. Now we have Electrical Panels instead of Fuse Boxes but we're still burning coal.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Yes that’s probably a better choice of phrase and it’s possible that the AI analogy eventually comes in to play for that generation too.
Thanks for the constructive reply 👍🏼
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit
Yeah, i dont think youre trying to cause conflict. Being proud of anything risks someone thinking that you're taking away from someone else.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
It’s not even about pride really. Just the fact that I don’t find it accurate to be lumped in with people I don’t fully share perspective or life experience with. Not that I have anything against them at all. I don’t relate to them as much when we interact. Maybe it’s more of an individual thing I guess
Ianthin1@reddit
I mean many late boomers claim to better identify with Gen X and some early Gen X identify better with boomers. Should they have their own, also globally recognized sub-gen? Should every group born in the 5 year window on either side of a traditional generation break get their own sub-gen?
At what point does it stop, and at what point is it more about narcissism and less about cultural differences?
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit
Yeah it's normal. The age groups can be helpful for statistical reasons but they're as fake as state borders. I feel like I learned from GenX that maybe we shouldn't over-complicate everything and some boundaries are needed in some situations.
When enough people gather around an idea it tends to legitimize it, right or wrong. If enough people think a sub-boundary is useful, it happens. Otherwise it doesn't. Are there older people who wanted a sub-gen, didn't get one, now they don't want the kids to have one?
To your point, for sure we can't let any label become our whole identity. Being Xennial isn't a whole personality. I understand where you're coming from. It's important that there are always people who see a change and say, "Hold on, take it slow, do we need this? Were we ok before without it? Could it make the situation even worse?"
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
You’re right. Maybe the mistake I made was assuming a there may be a specific collective identity for this particular micro generation when clearly people will feel the way they feel because of who they are not when they were born.
I assumed that if I was to find that anywhere it would be on a subreddit titled Xennials but some people just want some nostalgia or memes referencing childhood memories I guess. Which is absolutely fine, each to their own.
Guess I just feel different and am trying to understand why. Those were the types of opinions I was trying to encourage.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
That’s the point though. They identify with the generation before or after depending on how close they are to it, as you said.
I don’t identify with either. It’s like a specific period of a few years where the world was the way it was and then it wasn’t. That doesn’t happen every generation.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit
I think there also might be a dark vein running through both GenX and Millennials of jaded disappointment in the world. The American Dream keeps getting less opaque and less attainable.
It's hard to pin down, but I was at the laundromat and a very stereotypical GenX couple was loudly talking about their GenX lives. None of it related to me, but it was so very close. Like older sibling banter. Different attitude and priorities. Normal life.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Tell me about it! The replies on this thread certainly seem to point that way 😂😂
Didn’t expect a barrage of negativity for simply expressing an opinion but hey ho, that’s the way it is I guess. No harm no foul
LineImpossible3958@reddit
I’d rather people leave us alone. We’re doing fine
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Fair dues
RevolutionaryEgg1312@reddit
It doesn't. We aren't boomers.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Ok Gen Xer 👍🏼
RevolutionaryEgg1312@reddit
I'm not that either. '85 isn't gen x.
RanklesTheOtter@reddit
You're awesome and a solid Xennial my friend. 😎👊
Global_Insect_8826@reddit
Or xennial
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Ok non-xennial 👍🏼
Historical-Piglet-86@reddit
You say you are new here. I think it might do you well to understand the point of this subreddit….because your comments arent it.
Global_Insect_8826@reddit
They're not wrong on this
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Just matching people’s energy my friend. If people want to be cynical and borderline disparaging, I can do that too. If people are open minded and willing to discuss an opinion, I’ll do that gladly and respectfully. No rules have been broken.
And I feel that the point of the subreddit is to discuss all manner of things relating to xennials. Which is what we’re doing.
Maybe the different tone of replies reflects those differences in some way?
HandshakeOfCO@reddit
We need to be a bigger deal because we matter more!! lol! We played Oregon Trail goddamnit and we LIKED it!
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Im assuming the alternative Oregon trail nomenclature for xennials is an American label ? Don’t recall that being a thing in the uk?
darkwillow1980@reddit
This right here is why I don't think it matters much. Even among the already-narrowed-down Xennials, there's nothing that every single person shares besides their birth year falling in a certain range. There's zero media that every single member of any generation will share—because of region, your parents' parenting style, your personality, or whatever. My British Gen X husband doesn't know half the stuff mentioned on this sub. He hasn't even seen Star Wars. I'm American and don't know half the stuff mentioned on this sub, sometimes because I'm on the younger end, sometimes because I wasn't in those circles. These generational markers can be a fun way of finding people whose childhoods had a greater number of things in common with our own, and for actual sociological research I'm sure they're useful, but aside from that . . . What do they mean? Nothing really.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your reply. I assumed there may at least be a shared outlook because of the general changes around the world from our childhood in to adulthood as xennials, a shared outlook shaped by the drastically changing times that were around us at an impressionable age. Some things are local as you pointed out but many things transcend borders too and I don’t just mean pop culture. This has been increasingly so as we’ve become adults too.
Turns out a lot of people don’t care either way, which is fine.
darkwillow1980@reddit
I'm with you, I don't really understand why that hasn't turned out to be the case.
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit
ah makes sense. I remember "Oregon Trail Gen" for a short while. Can't imagine it would have had the same nostalgia in the UK lol. Can't alienate the rest of the world but I actually kinda thought Xennial was only a US thing. I've been proven wrong.
sorrymizzjackson@reddit
It was a computer game we played in elementary school, so probably.
actionerror@reddit
It taught us the meaning of the word dysentery
cbih@reddit
Shut up. Don't tell people about us.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
😂
ConcreteKeys@reddit
This post makes me want to run for 3 years like Forest Gump and offer no words of wisdom after.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
But you stopped by to comment. How gracious of you. Get those running shoes on.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Not special, just a unique perspective on the world having experienced both sides of the technological revolution.
It doesn’t make me feel special, more lost than anything as I see the pros and cons of both sides without actually feeling fully part of either. Kinda like a slipped through the cracks a little
Kade7596@reddit
For me it's not at all about the main thing people always make it about, "analog childhood, digital adulthood," it's that we grew up with amazing Saturday morning cartoons, Disney afternoon, Nickelodeon and MTV in their prime, an entire economy marketed to us that was legitimately for us, Toys 'R Us's almost everywhere, Pizza Huts with buffets, TMNT, so many great movies, the NES and other consoles were released, PC gaming really started to get good, NASA was popular, SPACE CAMP, etc., etc. ... all-in-all it was a period of great optimism for the future being an 80s baby/90s kid/teen.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
That’s fair enough, everyone looks at it in their own way. I love nostalgia as much as the next person
Specialist-Leek8645@reddit
A lot of us feel like we slipped through the cracks, you're not alone. Everyone seems to think this is about our obsession with labels and wanting participation awards. My grandma grew up poor on a pig farm, I'm no more special or better than she was. She taught me humility. I always felt pulled into the past by her, and ripped into the Future by tech. It makes it hard to live in the Present.
It's easy to misinterpret online but at least we are lucky enough to still have a forum like this. For now.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Very true. Thanks for engaging in a meaningful way👍🏼
Much love ❤️
CarrotWaxer69@reddit
Why? We know we’re special, we don’t need to prove it to anyone nor do we care if they agree or not.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Not special, just different
ConcreteKeys@reddit
Different as in post human. You proud of that?
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Define post human ?
Thelmara@reddit
Lol
affectionateanarchy8@reddit
This sub is about as much recognition as i need for that
full_of_ghosts@reddit
I mean, I agree. I'm a late 70s baby, so technically late GenX, but I've never really felt like I fit in with GenX. I thinks in common with Millennials, but I'm not one of them either. So, yeah, I naturally feel most at home among the Xennials.
But as for "recognition," I simply don't care. I'm content to identify as a Xennial, and if other people don't want to recognize us as a distinct demographic, I don't really give a flying fuck. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Valid. Thanks for replying
Striking-Access-236@reddit
Personally enjoy the obscurity of xennialism...
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
I respect that
Redux01@reddit
Does it really need to be a bigger deal? The generation names and such are mostly bunk anyways.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Half a million plus on this subreddit suggests so 🤷🏽♂️
heavyLevy5@reddit
No we are here because we all like the same media not because we are heavily invested in generational wars. In fact we are usually against that kind of shit
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Not trying to instigate conflict at all. Just articulating the fact that I feel neither fully Gen X or millennial
Historical-Piglet-86@reddit
You mean like every “cusp” generation out there?
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Most cuspers will feel more one generation or the other. Im saying I feel like neither
Historical-Piglet-86@reddit
Generation Jones would disagree. I know you want to be special. But we aren’t special. Current generations will have a before AI and after AI dividing line.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
And they’ll probably have a unique perspective as a result.
Everyone keeps using the world “special” in a very cynical way. The original post wasn’t meant to reflect that at all
I know I’m not special, because nobody is. The point was perspective. The perspective of people bridging an analogue/digital world. That’s a pretty unique thing. I was just trying to highlight it.
JegerLF@reddit
Not everyone has the urge to feel like a special snowflake. Sometimes I just like to see somebody post a picture of the lunch box I had when I was 9.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Snowflake😂 it’s not that serious dude, chill
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
Most of us are already milennials. It's not like they exiled us. Gen X on the other hand. 😂
sorrymizzjackson@reddit
Nah. Im Boney, I’m Boney- leave me alone-y.
gilded_lady@reddit
That Xennial is a term is recognition in of itself. We don't need more than that.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Fair enough
actionerror@reddit
I just like it when people organically discover us. No need to advertise.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Fair
lsp2005@reddit
No.
Stardustquarks@reddit
Meh. Theres enough generational in-fighting. No need to further divide
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Definitely not trying to create intergenerational conflict, it’s not that deep. Not saying any generation is better etc either . Just highlighting that this particular micro generation has specific inter generational experience that other cuspers probably don’t have as much
heavyLevy5@reddit
No we are definitely not our own generation, too small. Cusps of other generations feel the same idk why you think we are special
mcfetrja@reddit
It’s the millennial adjacency that leads to the feelings of unique specialness.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Possibly. But maybe Gen X adjacency makes you more cynical about it?
Taskerst@reddit
I don’t need attention. People already ignore Gen X and I’m fine with that.
Money_Magnet24@reddit
What is an early Gen Xer ?
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Generation Jones.
Theedge789@reddit (OP)
Mid60s to early 70s
vinegarnglitter@reddit
Meh.
Heinrichstr@reddit
Its just another label