Why I Call Myself a “Geriatric Millennial” — and Why Our Micro-Generation Matters
Regardless of what you call us, kids of the early 80s uniquely bridge the divide between digital natives and digital adapters
Last week, I was astonished that my term “geriatric millennials” triggered over 15,000 retweets of my essay in Medium’s work publication Index about the unique digital communication issues faced by the micro-generation born between 1980 and 1985. It even made international news headlines ranging from The Today Show online to HuffPo.
Sure enough, people of all ages and backgrounds across the internet were doing what we do best — fighting a label. The term itself certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest, with some people who had fun with the term and others who were offended by it. Others suggested less quarrelsome monikers, such as Xennials, Elder Millennials, and the Oregon Trail Generation.
But even as debate raged over the right label to use, people tended to agree with the argument at the heart of my piece: the speed of technological adoption makes it wrong to see an entire generation (spanning almost a 20 year difference) as being the same.
Whatever you call them, the micro-generation I’m talking about is important and unique…
