I am an Xennial
If you were born between 1978 and 1983, you are an part of a micro-generation. Yes I am talking about the term coined in 2014 by Sarah Stankorb (and definitely not xenial, a word which can have multiple random and dodgy meanings according to the internet).
Bridging Gen X and Millenials
Xennials were born during an exclusive 5 year period overlapping the major demographic generations of Generation X (1065-1980) and Milennials (1981-1996).
This means we are a unique mix who have the fortune of being kids during an analogue age and young adults in the digital age. Our existence charts a distinct era of technological progress.
We are catapulted back to our first musical encounters when we hear the distict crackle of vinyl. We learned how to record our own mixes on a cassette tape that often unravelled and had to be reeled back into its casing using a biro…
We bought our first CDs on our teenage outings to Woolworths or HMV. In young adulthood we downloaded MP3s using Napster to be stored on our first personal computers.
And now we embrace the sheer convenience and variety of Spotify on our smartphones.
Best of both
We are in a privileged position because we understand both worlds, pre and post the internet, mobile phones, reality TV, the brand of celebrity and social media. We share the cynicism of Gen X who were our older siblings, cousins and role models during our childhood; whilst we also struggle to associate with the fickle mentality of those who have followed us and were raised during the optimism of the late 90s.
Think about the difference between William and Harry (born in ‘82 and ‘84, it seems these precious only 2 years made a whole generation of difference embodied by Xennial William and Millennial Harry).
We are adaptable because of how we can appreciate both generations either side of our own. And this places us in a position of talent and empathy.
The ability to switch off
We know how to disconnect, because we experienced true boredom in childhood as had all generations before us.
In a modern world where we carry the responsibility of the economy on our shoulders and are now in established positions of leadership, yet we search above all for work-life balance and flexibility.
We now hold the power
Xennials are now come of age leaders. We are the middle-senior managers of all major organisations and never before has there been so much talent out there; exercising its power to be a force for change, develop ideas and make stuff happen whilst understanding the true impact of this revolution.
We can recognize clickbait in an instant, yet we fear fake news. Xennial contribution to tech advancement is the pioneering of ChatGPT, and large corporates will be relying on us to be it's last likely responsible stewards.
We are in fact now running the UK, according to several recent articles in Politico, and The Times. The current PM is an Xennial. And so is most of the cabinet.
So we are expecting change. Particularly in politics. Because we know innately change is always happening.
We know a toxic Tory government is followed by an inevitable political revolution…and so we are now waiting for it.
Eco awareness
We were also the first generation who were educated on humanity’s devastation of the environment, both as part of school curriculum and by Newsround. We watched Captain Planet, FernGully, and The Animals of Farthing Wood. The 90s have even been acknowledged as a golden era of eco animation by the BFI.
We had posters of killer whales and manatees on our bedroom walls, and vowed that if the world was this much in danger, we would never want to reproduce and burden our children with a dying planet full of poisonous air.
Overshadowed by ‘real life’ concerns
Our idealism had to be shelved when we were the first cohort encouraged to go to both go to university to study any subject we liked, and to come out with a debt we might never pay back but believing it would all be ok…
After which we got swept up in a recession at the early start of our careers. A time when money is all that mattered. And for the following years we were all so keen to get on the property ladder that we forgot who we were…
Amazing how things come back around
Until more recently climate problems have become so pressing that we are ourselves experiencing the effects of global warming and seeing it’s impact on the less developed world, now encroaching on the doorsteps of Europe.
So now is our time. Since Covid made the world stop, I for one have enjoyed remembering who I am. I’ve said before that I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with that me that was an idealistic teenager. But now I am aware of my power as a consumer to make better choices.
Time of change
What’s changed is that we have the technology to make a difference that we could only dream about about back then.
Despite having a good go, I’m realising I’m not “millennial” enough to be any good at social media. But at least now I’m starting to figure out why.
The late boomers (50+) are leaving their established careers in droves because they can't cope in “woke” modern workplaces. In doing so they make themselves irrelevant…but I wonder if it's because they are reluctant to retrain and upskill and thereby embrace what’s coming instead….
In harsh reality, when adaptability gives us our strength, it's also the low educated (sometimes self-made) arrogants of our generation that we need to care about…
I may be generalising here, but I don't think the current influencial mysogynists will ever give two hoots about the earth and it's communities if this is the way they truly feel about women. Yet somehow no one can shut them up…
It's ok now to be who you want to be.
If you’re not the person your teenage self would look up to…then adapt and become them.
More from me
Why you shouldn’t shop on Amazon
How reusables help in the fight against climate change
Help guides
For more straight forward practical tips on how to switch to reusables without adding to your existing workload, have a read of my further articles/blogs:
