If you haven’t heard, Generation Z is known for being the first generation to be raised completely by the internet. Because of this, a lot of ‘90s kids, such as myself, a 97er, often times feel the desire to disassociate from those who call themselves Generation Z. This leaves us with the other end of the “youth” generational spectrum: Millennial.
Unlike those who learned about the birds and the bees from Google, a good portion of us who are somehow falling under the category of Generation Z, did not have cell phones until they were 15 years old and certainly didn’t have their own computers until college. These things allowed those such as myself to play outside and ask our mothers where babies come from.
It’s easy to look at a calendar and slash generations down the middle. However, this desire to define and separate these close generations should come from individual self-definition based on the way in which one was raised in the transitional period that is the digital age.
Something I spent a lot of time with, much like a lot of Millennials, was my television screen: The televisions with the extra wiring/big hard cushion in the back. I spent time with the “Amanda Show,” “Boy Meets World,” “Sister, Sister” and hid under my covers during the premiere of “Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire.” Yes, I remember when movies made for television were the ”GOAT.”
Bottom line, if you wore pink puffer sweatpants, sleeveless turtlenecks before they were cool again and didn’t start looking like a real person until you were 14, feel free to call yourself a Millennial. I’m sure no one will mind.
As for those lost souls who are fine with being considered Generation Z, good luck to you all. However, if you were born in the ‘90s, you should be able to self-identify between the two generations without a problem.
