Too young to be a millennial and too old for Gen Z – and that’s fine by me
- Belonging to an identifiable generational cohort can be immensely satisfying, but no label can fully capture who we really are
Born in 1997, I belong to the apparently way cooler Gen Z – those born from 1997 onwards. As far as labels go, I might sound like a millennial wannabe stuck with the younger Gen Zs.
Except there’s a fair reason why those born in the late 1990s would see themselves as millennials. We grew up at a time where we thought “young people” and “millennials” were one and the same.
There was little consensus about the end date of this generational cohort, especially when the youngest millennials were still in their teens. It was only in 2018 that Pew, to ensure meaningful analysis of the millennial generation, set the cut-off point at 1996.
Just like personality tests or astrology, there is a certain sort of satisfaction when we find labels that accurately describe our identities. It’s like a crystal-gazing session of self-discovery, and it gives comfort knowing that there is someone out there who’s just like us.
So when the term “millennial” took off in the early 2000s, I embraced that as part of my identity, even if it meant being stereotyped as narcissistic, entitled and lazy.
While recession-hit millennials stumbled into the workforce and navigated adulthood with a cup of coffee, I balanced my soy lattes rushing from one university lecture to another. Yes, I was younger than the typical millennial. But I still insisted on being part of this “me me me” generation.
The awakening came last summer when TikTok’s popularity exploded and teens took over social media with their viral dancing videos. At that moment, I felt I no longer had my finger on the pulse of current trends.
A Twitter war broke out between millennials and Gen Z in June. Millennials were mocked for their cringeworthy BuzzFeed quizzes and slogan T-shirt culture, while Gen Z were chastised for being spoiled and coddled. Meanwhile, all I was left with was a realisation that I didn’t feel a sense of belonging to either generation.
The millennials wouldn’t take us because we don’t understand their coming-of-age experiences, nor do we have mortgages or kids. The oldest millennials are turning 40, and we are, at best, mere fledglings of the workforce.
Maybe it is time to stop our obsession with generational differences. Maybe it is time to finally accept that our personalities are defined by more than just an arbitrary age bracket within which we happen to fall, along with millions of others as clueless as we are.
Cheryl Heng is a graduate trainee at the Post
