Move over Millennials and Gen Z, there's a new generation in town: Meet Zillennials
Intergenerational conflict has reached a fever pitch in recent years, with the two youngest cohorts: Gen Z and Millennials going head to head on who is cool and who is cringe.
But is there a lost generation nestled somewhere in between those two groupings? Consumer experts and researchers seem to think so.
Zillennials, born at the nexus of the two generations, have a unique culture, some argue. Now in their early and mid-twenties, this slice of the populace has one foot in either generation.
Steeped in internet culture but old enough to remember its crude, early days, here's what to know about the newest micro-generation.
Is Zillennial a real thing?
Read it and weep Millennials, there is yet another generation younger than you taking to the internet to mock your skinny jeans and "But First, Coffee" mug. Enter Zillennials, a linguistic mash-up of Gen Z and Millennials.
"Zillennial" is a micro-generation, encompassing just 10 years. Urban Dictionary defines group members as "Too young to be a Millennial, but too old to be a Gen Z'er."
Sabrina Grimaldi, a 23-year-old Phoenix native, founded the Zillennial Zine, an online publication that speaks specifically to this generation.
She’s a middle child, with one sibling on either side of the generational divide, and has always felt caught between the two, she says.
“We like to focus on that shared Zillennial childhood experience,” she said of the Zine, “but we also look at what Zillennials are doing now.”
Recent article titles from the site include "Friendly Reminder That You Don’t Need A “Big Girl Job” To Be Taken Seriously" and "Your Zodiac Sign as a Lana Del Rey Song: Which One are You?"
What years are Gen X? A detailed breakdown of when each generation was born.
What years are Zillennials?
The Pew Research Center puts the defining line at 1996. Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is a millennial, and anyone born between 1997 and 2012 is "Generation Z."
Zillennials are nestled in the middle. While experts can't agree on an exact time frame, Deborah Carr, a professor of sociology and director of the Center for Innovation in Social Science at Boston University, told CNN she thinks "Zillennials" were born between 1992 and 2002.
Grimaldi, commenting on the haziness of the years that define the micro-generations, said it's more about lived experience. "If you get it you get it, and if you don't you don't," she jokes.
Zillennials were alive during 9/11 but were not quite old enough to grasp it. Yet, they have grown up in a world defined by the "war on terror."
Not quite the Myspace generation, but not the TikTok generation either, Zillenials spent their tween and teen years in the 2010s, when social media was on the rise but not yet in its heyday.
“We kind of grew up with technology and changed with it,” Grimaldi said, pointing to kids who saw VHS tapes change to DVDs and eventually evolve into streaming platforms. "We've kind of seen the transition."
What years are baby boomers? Here's when the baby boomers were born and how old the generation is now
What years are millennials? Here's what defines this generation and why.
So what is Zillennialcore?
A generation is as defined by its dates as it is by the music, media and fashion that dominated the era. To plumb the depths of "Zillenialcore," we consulted the now-defunct Millennial bible: Buzzfeed.
Here's what members of the Buzzfeed Community cited as essential to the Zillennial experience:
A singular "family" computer and printer at home
The rise of viral YouTube videos and popular "YouTubers" (see: the vlog squad)
Disney Channel's golden era (think "Hannah Montana", "Suite Life of Zack & Cody", "Wizards of Waverly Place")
Having burned a "Mix" CD
A similarly themed Reddit thread announces you might be a Zillennial if:
You experience the ubiquity of "Crank That" (Soulja Boy); bonus points if you know the dance
Had a portable CD player, and then eventually wore your parents down into getting you an iPod
Remember American Idol when it was a cultural phenomenon
Check out this "Zillennial Bingo" from the thread:
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Zillennial a real thing? A new microgeneration has entered the chat