Linda’s SoCS prompt…
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with gen.” Find a word that starts with “gen” and use it in your post. Have fun!
Which generation are you from?
You know what I mean? All this Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millenials, Gen Z, and now the Alphas…
Now, according to the official lists, I am down as a Gen X.
But, did you know where is a microgeneration that is not fully recognised, in between Gen X and Millenials?
The Xennials.
I was born in 1975 – yes, giving away my age there… and this microgeneration is anything from the mid 70s to the early 80s… and having read what they are described as, I feel Xennial is my term.
“Xennials enjoyed analogue childhoods—no mobile phones, no internet—but came of age in a time of new technological innovations that would leave Millennials wide-eyed with amazement, from VHS video recorders and a fourth (yes, fourth) TV channel, to computer games and the Smash robots. Xennials are digital immigrants and much more comfortable with the brave new world of social media, smartphones and the internet, however but they don’t hold new technology in the same high regard as Millennials.”
From https://www.killik.com/the-edit/xennials-the-new-millennials/
This is so me! I remember starting uni with a typewriter in 1993, and some friends with a bit more money had a mobile phone. More like a brick, but it was there and under the One-to-One provider. Computers were mainly in the library or computer suites, and we had internet, but it was dial-up, and this huge room would be filled with students trying to log into Yahoo or Ask Jeeves (remember that one?) and sighing when it was on go slow!
By the end of my uni, I had my own PC and a mobile phone. We used the free voicemail trick for ages until it stopped working. They realised us poor students had found a way to communicate without paying!
Facebook became more of a thing a year or so after I qualified, but we had Friends Reunited before that, too. I was never a MySpace person.
I also loved this little snippet and like to think it is true.
“Wertz highlights a number of Xennial traits including a love-hate relationship with social media and an understanding of the importance of taking ‘digital detoxes’. Like Millennials, they are interested in health and wellness, but unlike their juniors, they have the disposable income to spend on health and wellness products. Xennials also value relaxation and work-life balance, so they will spend their income on holidays and prioritise time with family over work where possible.“
From https://www.killik.com/the-edit/xennials-the-new-millennials/
Which Generation are You?
| Generation Name | Births Start | Births End | Youngest Age Today* | Oldest Age Today* |
| The Lost Generation The Generation of 1914 | 1890 | 1915 | 108 | 133 |
| The Interbellum Generation | 1901 | 1913 | 110 | 122 |
| The Greatest Generation | 1910 | 1924 | 99 | 113 |
| The Silent Generation | 1925 | 1945 | 78 | 98 |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 1946 | 1964 | 59 | 77 |
| Generation X (Baby Bust) | 1965 | 1979 | 44 | 58 |
| Xennials | 1975 | 1985 | 38 | 48 |
| Millennials Generation Y, Gen Next | 1980 | 1994 | 29 | 43 |
| iGen / Gen Z | 1995 | 2012 | 11 | 28 |
| Gen Alpha | 2013 | 2025 | 1 | 10 |
But I Smile Anyway... 
