Many young people born in the 1990s recognize themselves in this designation on social networks. But is this really a microgeneration in its own right, or is it just another concept invented by social media?
Without being digital natives like Gen Z, Zillennials are more connected than Millennials.
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Too old to identify with Gen Z, but too young to relate to Millennials, meet the Zillennials, the in-betweeners who believe they don't fit the stereotypes associated with either generation. On social networks, many young people born in the 1990s recognize themselves in this designation. But is this really a microgeneration in its own right, or is it just another concept invented by social media?
The term Zillennials refers to individuals born between the 1990s and early 2000s. They may be likened to young Millennials or older Gen Zers, but they feel like neither, or both at the same time. One thing they have in common is the Covid-19 pandemic. "[The youngest of them] attended college during the pandemic, and missed out on important social markers," explains Deborah Carr, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Innovation in Social Science at Boston University, speaking to CNN. Zillennials share this life experience, a moment in history that they lived through together. In the United States, for example, this age group has never experienced the end-of-year prom or traditional graduation ceremonies.
But a generation isn't created solely around shared events. The use of technology can also be an important criterion for defining a generation. And from this perspective, Zillennials grew up during a pivotal decade. For one thing, unlike Millennials, they grew up with the internet. But unlike Gen Z, they are not digital natives, since they knew the world before social networks, before smartphones, before the Netflix era (they also saw the end of video cassettes and DVDs)—a time before everything was digital. And they have felt their age with the advent of TikTok and its many dance-crazy Gen Zers. In fact, Zillennials bore witness to the rapid technological upheaval of the 2000s and 2010s.
On TikTok, this microgeneration is the talk of the moment. The #zillennial hashtag has racked up 1.6 billion views (including its various spelling variants). Internet users post videos explaining how to recognize Zillennials from their clothes or culture. Generally, their defining characteristics sway between the cultural stereotypes associated with Generation Z and those of Millennials. For example, the user @zozoakz says that wearing straight jeans—neither too loose nor too tight—is characteristic of a Zillennial, since this garment is halfway between the baggy jeans generally worn by Generation Z and the skinny jeans more typically associated with Millennials. Another post by TikToker Azeez Gafari suggests that like Generation Y (Millennials), Zillennials watched their favorite movies on VHS tapes as children, have used flip phones and played on consoles like the Game Boy Advance.