Why are people born in 2008 and later referred to as Gen Z?

[Anonymous]

I hear people refer to current 12-year olds as Gen Z.

[Anonymous]

GenZ goes back to about 1998

[Anonymous]

I agree. My 10 yr old is not Gen Z!

[Anonymous]

Are you asking why Gen Z is called Gen Z or why 2008-2012 is included in Gen Z?

[Anonymous]

The name Generation Z is a reference to the fact that it is the second generation after Generation X, continuing the alphabetical sequence from Generation Y (Millennials).

The 'Z' in the name means "zoomer", as this is the first generation known to 'zoom' the internet.

[Anonymous]

In a 2022 report, the U.S. Census designates Generation Z as "the youngest generation with adult members (born 1997 to 2013).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking why Gen Z is called Gen Z or why 2008-2012 is included in Gen Z?

The latter.

I just googled this and it says the Gen after Gen Z is Generation Alpha, but that is clunky. They should use a different name.

Saying that someone born in 1996 is in the same generation as someone born in 2011 is odd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking why Gen Z is called Gen Z or why 2008-2012 is included in Gen Z?

The latter.

I just googled this and it says the Gen after Gen Z is Generation Alpha, but that is clunky. They should use a different name.

Saying that someone born in 1996 is in the same generation as someone born in 2011 is odd

That's only 15 years apart. Generations are longer than 15 years. For example, boomers are 1946-64, 18 years. However, it's true that the birth years you mentioned happen to be in different generations according to demographers.

[Anonymous]

A generation is like 20-30 years - usually a parent would be one generation and their child would be another generation.
It's just the way generations work. I'm an elder millennial born in 1981. Neither Gen X nor Millenial fit me perfectly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A generation is like 20-30 years - usually a parent would be one generation and their child would be another generation.
It's just the way generations work. I'm an elder millennial born in 1981. Neither Gen X nor Millenial fit me perfectly.

You’re an xennial! I am too. It’s surprisingly fitting!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/20/xennials-millennials-generation-x-microgeneration/2369230002/

[Anonymous]

What other generation would they be a part of? Imo, if you don’t remember 9/11 (or you weren’t alive then) you’re not a millennial. Gen Z is around 1997-2016 or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A generation is like 20-30 years - usually a parent would be one generation and their child would be another generation.
It's just the way generations work. I'm an elder millennial born in 1981. Neither Gen X nor Millenial fit me perfectly.

Agree. I am a young boomer (60) and particularly at this point have little in common with people who are in their late 70's and retired.

[Anonymous]

I’m an xennial (1983) and parent of 2 gen z kids (2009 & 2012), but also one born in 2014 whose generation is yet to be defined?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A generation is like 20-30 years - usually a parent would be one generation and their child would be another generation.
It's just the way generations work. I'm an elder millennial born in 1981. Neither Gen X nor Millenial fit me perfectly.

Agree. I am a young boomer (60) and particularly at this point have little in common with people who are in their late 70's and retired.

Do you identify with Generation Jones?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Jones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A generation is like 20-30 years - usually a parent would be one generation and their child would be another generation.
It's just the way generations work. I'm an elder millennial born in 1981. Neither Gen X nor Millenial fit me perfectly.

Agree. I am a young boomer (60) and particularly at this point have little in common with people who are in their late 70's and retired.

That’s been a known problem - both my parents are younger boomers (born in the late 50s) so they missed most of the Boomer cultural touchstones - Woodstock, the Vietnam draft, etc. They were in elementary school at the time. But at the same time, they were too old, settled into careers, had little kids, etc. during the peak Gen X era. I think the oldest Millennials and youngest Gen X feel the same way.

I was born in 84 and consider myself firmly Millennial, I don’t identify with Gen X at all. My husband was born in 81 and feels in-between but a lot closer to Millennial. I feel like I still have things in common with people born in the 90s, even up to about 1995 or so, but not really people born after that. So I see why the cutoff for Gen Z was set at 1997-2012 or so. The baby boomers were defined so much by the experiences of the oldest boomers that the youngest members feel left out.