Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins

Generational differences are one lens that scholars at the Center frequently use to explore these discrepancies.

Generational Cohorts and Their Importance

The ability to view Americans according to their stage of life—as a young adult, middle-aged parent, or retiree—as well as according to their common birth cohort is made possible by the existence of different generations.

As we have previously studied, generational cohorts provide researchers with a means of examining shifts in opinions throughout time. They can offer an understanding of the ways in which many formative experiences—like global events and changes in the economy, society, and technology—interact with aging and life cycles to mold individuals’ worldviews.

Although opinions between adults of different ages may fluctuate at any given time, generational cohorts enable researchers to look at how these adults thought about a certain topic when they were younger and also how opinions may change over time.

Defining the Boundaries: 1996 as the Cutoff Year

If you are wondering ‘What year is Gen Z?’, a person born in 1997 and beyond comes under that, whereas those born between the years 1981 and 1996 (who are of 23 to 38 in 2019) are known as Millennials.

The Rise of Gen Z in Popular Culture

Although we knew “What year is Gen Z?’, we were hesitant to designate this emerging generation by calling them Generation Z, Homelanders, or iGeneration, as the oldest members are only reaching 22 this year while the majority are younger or in their teen years. (We referred to this group as “post-Millennials” in our initial in-depth analysis of them.) But in journalism and popular culture, they are very clear about “What year is Gen Z”. Gen Z has become more and more prevalent in the last year.

The word “Gen Z” is being used for an age group that comes after Millennials in a variety of sources, including the Urban Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, and Oxford. Data from Google Trends indicates that the term is outperforming other names in people’s information searches. Although there’s no exact scientific method for determining “What year is Gen Z” or when the term becomes popular, Gen Z is undoubtedly leading the way.

Generational Thresholds and Their Implications

There is no perfect science to generational thresholds. They are essentially to be seen as instruments that facilitate the types of analyses mentioned previously. However, their limits are not set in stone. While the length of a generation is frequently taken into consideration, no standard has been established for this purpose.

According to our current definition, Millennials are defined as people who are 16 years old (1981–1996), which is the same age range as Generation X, who were born between the years1965 and 1980. Following this definition, neither group lasts as long as the Baby Boomers (nineteen years), the sole generation that the U.S. Census Bureau has officially recognized due to a notable post-World War II birth spike in 1946 as well as a notable decrease in the rate of births after 1964.

Political and Social Influences on Millennials and Gen Z

In contrast to the Baby Boom generation, subsequent generations do not have any comparable clear-cut borders. For analytical causes, however, we think that 1996 marks a significant turning point for the Millennial and Gen Z generations because of several important political, economic, and social issues that shaped the formative years of the Millennial generation.

While the majority of Gen Z members had no or little memory of the 9/11 attacks, the majority of Millennials were aware of the events and most were sufficiently mature to understand their historical significance. In addition, the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq cast a shadow over millennials’ upbringing, solidifying their opinions of both parties and exacerbating the political polarization that characterizes the mainstream today.

Furthermore, the majority of Millennials were in the age range of 12 to 27 in 2008 when the power of young voters entered politics and contributed to the victory of the nation’s 1st black president. Furthermore, Millennials represent the most diverse adult gen in American history in terms of race and ethnicity. However, the following generation, known as Generation Z, is considerably more varied.

Economic Challenges and Technological Advances

Other than political differences, the majority of Millennials grew up during the worst of the economic downturn when they joined the workforce. This recession has influenced many Millennials’ life decisions, future incomes, and entry into adulthood in manners that may not have affected younger generations, as is widely documented. This “slow start” will have long-term consequences that will influence American culture for many years to come.

Another factor influencing how one’s generation is shaped is technology, namely the quick advancement of human communication and interaction. Baby Boomers’ lives and connections to the outside world were fundamentally altered by the tremendous growth of television during their childhood. Millennials were born through the internet boom, while Generation X experienced growing up when the computer age was beginning.

Generation Z and the Future

The distinctive feature of Generation Z in this evolution is that every one of the aforementioned has always been a part of their existence. At the age of ten, the eldest Gen Zers debuted with the iPhone in 2007. Upon reaching their teenage years, cellphones, high-bandwidth mobile networks, and Wi-Fi constituted the main ways that young Americans were accessing the internet. The advancements that Millennials grew up with were social networking, continual connectedness, and on-demand communication and entertainment. These are practically assumed for anyone born after 1996.

It’s only recently that the effects of being brought up in a technologically driven atmosphere that is “always on” are becoming apparent. For people who grew up in this period, recent studies have revealed significant changes in youth behaviors, lifestyles, and attitudes that are both beneficial and disturbing. We are unsure if these are enduring generational legacies or adolescent traits that will gradually fade into adulthood. Tracking the current generation throughout time is going to be crucial, starting now.

Conclusion and Future Research Directions

There are many who have made compelling arguments for establishing the distinction between Millennials & the generation that follows a few years sooner or afterwards. Maybe, as more information is gathered over time, a distinct, unambiguous distinction will become apparent. We’re still willing to adjust if it happens. However, it is more likely that a continuum rather than a point of convergence will be seen in the technological, historical, attitudinal, and behavioral data.

This implies, as it has in previous years, that variations across generations might be as substantial as variations within them, and that the earliest and oldest members of the group that is generally characterized could feel more akin to neighboring generations compared to the allocated generation. This serves as an indication that generations are more than just simplistic caricatures; they are fundamentally diverse and dynamic groups. Hence, “What year is Gen Z?” is kind of insignificant.

You will soon see more publications and analyses from the Center that further expand our collection of studies on generational issues. Our analysis, which was released today, examines, for the 1st time, how Generation Z feels about some of the major political and social concerns that the country is currently experiencing and the way their opinions stack up against those of previous generations. Indeed, this generation’s opinions are still developing and may drastically shift as they become older and when events on a national and international scale come to pass. However, these early insights offer some intriguing hints regarding how Gen Z may contribute to influencing the political scene in the future.

We plan to publish demographic studies in the next few weeks that contrast Millennials with earlier generations at similar life stages to see whether Millennials’ household, economic, and demographic characteristics continue to set them apart from earlier generations. Furthermore, by investigating the everyday experiences, goals, and challenges that current 13 to 17-year-olds encounter as they traverse adolescence, we will expand on our studies on teens’ use of technology.

However, we continue to exercise caution when it comes to what can be imposed upon a generation that is still so young. Just as the differences between Barack Obama and George W. Bush formed the political conversation for Millennials, so too may the present political situation have an impact on the engagement and attitudes of Generation Z, though it is unclear how.

Donald Trump could be the first American president that the majority of Gen Zers are aware of when they turn eighteen. The technology, discussions, and occurrences that will mold Generation Z are probably still unknown, despite how significant today’s news may appear.

Hope this article about Gen Z including “What year is Gen Z?” was useful. We are excited to follow the current generation as it matures over the coming years. We will always remember, nevertheless, that generations are not a categorization used to oversimplify group differences, but rather a lens that allows us to view society’s evolution.