Millennial or Gen Z?: The Turn Of Century Dilemma.

Let’s talk about some actual, very real concerns today.

Hello readers, welcome. Today I have a very pressing concern to discuss with you. This dilemma affects millions, maybe even a billion(that is 1/7th of all of us!) people worldwide yet, not one person realises the gravity of the situation.

Let me start by telling you a little something about myself. I am 19 years old. If your math is any good, you can figure out that this makes my year of birth 1999, the last year of the previous century, the one right before we stepped into the technological haven that is the 21st century.

Now, why is that information relevant, you ask? It is relevant because the issue we have to talk about today deals with one of the many gifts that my year of birth gave me. With the possible chance of being one of the last people of the previous century alive comes the existential dilemma: Am I Millennial or am I Gen Z?

From libertywingspan.com

This labelling of generations started with the Baby Boomers, born roughly between the 40s and the 60s. Then came Gen X born between the 60s and 80s. Then came the Millenials, born somewhere in the 80s and 90s. Then, came the current breed of humans, the Gen Z born 2000 onwards.

 

Generational Gears from awakeat2oclock.com

 

Now, as someone born in the middle of two labels, at the very cusp of two differing demographic conformations, am I Millennial or Gen Z? Should I feel attacked when the media criticizes the advent of avocado toast or challenges like the Tide Pod Challenge? Should I feel the urge to dab at every success or should I throw about high fives? Should I call Britney Spears the greatest artist of my generation or is it Shawn Mendes for me? There are so many very important questions but no one who’s giving the answers!

Now, before you go blaming me for only complaining I’ll present my defence. Since no one was giving the answers I tried to find them myself. I did what came to mind first. I decided to read up some posts on Millennial and Gen Z nostalgia(Okay, to be fair, Gen Z is hardly nostalgic yet. I’ll give you that. But you get my point.) I related to some of both and was entirely clueless about some aspects. I did not grow up on smartphones, though the basic cell phone was around post my toddlerhood. But, I also did not really marvel at computers, they were around and I saw them develop further. I also didn’t understand half the things mentioned in either. Why are fidget spinners such a big deal and what is a squeeze water snake?

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Now more confused than when I started, I decided to use the sharpest arrow in my quiver full of answers; I decided to take an online quiz.  I decided to take 3 Millennial or Gen Z quizzes so we would have 1 definite winner. The results were:

Quiz A: Millennial for life!

Quiz B: Gen Z for the win!

Quiz C: You’re both Millennial and Gen Z and you have the best of both worlds!

The best of both worlds? You were supposed to solve it,once and for all! Why are you telling me stuff  I already know,Quiz C? The whole point of quizzes is to find something new and important about yourself like what kind of bread you are or your Hogwarts House. After Quiz C, I swore off of quizzes and proclaimed them useless, until that night when I needed to know what Dessert defined me. (It’s Tiramisu.)

Now deeper into the identity crisis chasm with no ropes pulling me out, I decided to turn to the good ole problem-solving method that is; thinking. I decided to give this deep thought. Who do I identify with? Who am I? (I am sad to report no Hogwarts letters or people whisking me away to a different fantasy world dropped by during all this thinking. It was disappointing as I was really hoping my quest to find my generational identity would lead me away from this mundane, boring life.)

Who am I if my childhood was when Disney was in its prime and cartoons were good? Who am I if my childhood had flip phones and Blackberry handsets? Who am I if I *whispers*  like avocado and think fidget spinners are amusing? Who am I if I don’t understand Musical.ly yet also feel like Facebook is becoming redundant by the day? Who am I? 

 

Dramatic necessary existential crisis picture from lovethispic.com

 

Lastly, with no answer, I turn to my last choice and hope. I put the pen to paper (Or, my fingers to a keyboard) and present my problem to you, looking for an answer from you the reader and the whole wide Internet because the Internet is never wrong.

So, I present you with this post’s question.

THIS POST’S QUESTION: Am I Millennial or am I Gen Z? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!