When does Gen X end and Gen Y begin?

When does Gen X end and Gen Y begin?

There was a comment on a blog I was reading yesterday (sorry forgot which blog) asking what is the dividing time between Gen X and Gen Y. I thought this was a great questions. I always thought I was Gen X until recently then I started seeing things that made me think that I am Gen Y.

Today I set out to figure out the truth. So when exactly does Gen X end and Gen Y begin? In short: no one knows.

Generation Y or Echo boomers are terms that designate a cohort of people born immediately after “Generation X.” It is one of several terms (including The Millennials and the The Internet Generation) used to describe the same group. There is much dispute as to the exact range of birth years that constitutes “Generation Y” and whether this term is specific to North America, the Anglophone world, or people worldwide. The only consensus, by way of its relation to the term “Generation X,” is that those born in Generation Y must follow Generation X. – Wikipedia

So my question is, why is there a big media push about Gen Y when there is not an exact line between X & Y. Maybe I am missing something?


I was born in 1982, according to …

  • List of Generations – I am Gen X (1974 – 1985)
  • American Associations of Law Libraries – I am Gen Y
    “Generation Y are variable — dates ranging as widely as 1979 through 1994 and 1982 though 2000 have been used.”
  • USA Today – I am Gen Y
    “There is no consensus over the exact birth dates that define Gen Y, also known by some as echo boomers and millennials. But the broadest definition generally includes the more than 70 million Americans born 1977 to 2002. Generation X was born roughly 1965 to 1976.
    Narrower definitions put Gen Yers as those ages 16 to 27, born from 1978 to 1989.”
  • NAS – I am Gen Y
    “With those born between 1977 and
    1994 included”
  • eWeek – I am Gen Y
    “Generation Y, made up of those born between 1977 and 1990”
  • select appointments – I am Gen Y
    “This generation, which is characterized with birth dates between 1980 and 1994”

I have decided of all of the definitions I like this one the best.

XY Cusp, also known as the MTV Generation or Doom Generation, was caught between the end of Generation X and start of Generation Y, mainly living out their childhood through the 80s and teen years in the mid-90s. This generation was influenced by the launch of MTV, the popularization of Web technology circa ’95, segmented musical tastes, the evolution of 80s glam fashions into grunge and the remainder of Generation X, many of whom were older siblings. (1975-1985). – answers.com

So since apparently you can decide when generation you belong to based on which source you look at I am going to use XY Cusp because it sounds more fun. A little interesting tidbit I noticed, on answers.com’s list of generations there are two different sets of dates that contradict each other listed on the same page.

What do you call yourself?

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219 thoughts on “When does Gen X end and Gen Y begin?

  1. Love your blog. I was trying to explain this exact thing to my grandchildren yesterday. I told them they were Gen Y but that when they got older they could re-invent who they were and re-name their generation.

  2. Hey! You know, just today I went through the EXACT SAME THING. I read an article about Gen Yers in the work field, and saw it referred to just about my age (also born in 1982) and I also considered myself Gen X because that’s what we were told, right? So I found your XY Cusp definition you posted, and have been looking it up (don’t find much more about it).. I like it too, because it fits perfectly- doesn’t it?

    I also heard Gen Y were those kids that are growing up with more of a stronger grasp on the communications/phones/internet, etc… I just think it’s really crazy how we’re kind of in the middle, you know? Not really here or there- because I know people born 1975 ( considered Gen X, and I definitely don’t see a relation to me, having been born circa 1982 :P) And I don’t think Gen Y should go as far back as 1970s either.. Gen Y I think children of the 90s.

    But anyway, XY Cusp- I’m all for it ;)

  3. I was born in 1980- I’ve been trying to figure it out for hours now (for a school paper)! I guess I’m XY Cusp, but I identify most with Y.

  4. Interesting.
    Yes, I definitely like the XY Cusp. Best of both worlds.
    Whichever it is, 1982 was one of the best years to be born apparently. I can’t remember where I read it, but we’re meant to be much more communicative, creative and work-focused than other years.
    Saying that, I also read (of UK people anyway) that those born in the early to mid ’80’s are meant to find it harder to settle down in the work-world because of the post-Thatcherite society at the time…

  5. i was born june 1978. i remember the 80’s as a child. the 90s was my decade for sure. i agree with the cusper. that is me. i am not a solid gen xer, even though i consider myself gen x. not a solid gen yer. i am a hybrid of both.

    XY cuspers grew up in the analog to digital flux of the 80s and 90s

    they are analog-digital split, most of them still teenagers and at home with parents when AOL came out, circa ’95.

    XY cusper Parents got AOL while they were still in high school when Oprah endorsed it, so this group can relate to having internet at home like gen yers.

    gen xers are more used to analog and TV shows – they were (21 and up), grown and out of the house by 1995 using the internet/digital technology mainly at work.

    gen y are more digital, had internet instruction at school at a young age.

    my 2cents anyway

  6. I am looking for Gen Y style as the boss or line manager They are old enough now!

    I am also looking for information on how Gen Y manages the generational diversity at work.

    Many thanks.

  7. Great post! I was just searching for those like me born in 1982 that felt sort of…ignored, generation-wise. I’ve always felt like I didn’t fit into either generation — growing up in the 90s, remember how all the media focused on was Gen-X, and since about 2002, it’s been focusing on Gen-Y. They must have forgotten us….

    I’ve even recently started a blog called Generation XY (really!), but there’s nothing on it yet, as I’ve been busy with other things.

  8. I was born in September 1978. I think the cusp XY is pretty accurate. I tend to
    gravitate more to Gen X. I feel nothing in common with Gen Y. I don’t use much
    technology, hate gadgets, and my TV is nearly ten years old. When I went to college,
    email was still MS-Dos based, the net was just starting to become popular, everyone
    took notes on a pad of paper with a pen, no kids had cell phones, I didn’t even have
    cable in my college dorm room until junior year (1998) of college!!! I grew up playing
    with plastic toys more than playing video games. My friends still had Atari, I had C64.
    I vividly remember the dot-com bubble. I remember when rap and hip-hop were on the fringe of the musical scene, and synonymous with
    the Beastie Boys and Run DMC. I have a hard time relating to people even two or three years younger than I am, in the sense of
    cultural influences. MTV was a fringe channel until I was a pre-teen. When I was a kid, we had two computers per classroom, not two computers per student. I can relate better to the frustration and bitterness that many in Gen X felt, compared to the relative material prosperity that I think most Gen Yers relate to.

    On the other hand. . .
    I remember bits and pieces of the 80s, but can’t put them into perspective. I am a
    child of the nineties. My adult life wasn’t influenced by the 1990-1992 recession, but
    by the 2001-?? recession (in my mind, the economy still hasn’t recovered). I grew up with grunge,
    Hammertime, Vanilla Ice, and remember Tarantino’s first big movie. I took a computer language
    class in middle school.

    So I guess I feel more like Gen X than Gen Y, but not totally Gen X. Maybe 3/4 to 1/4.

    But that’s ok, as being a “mix” is the American way.

    Thanks for the read.

  9. Just like Dan, I too was born in September of 1978. I have always considered myself a member of Gen X, for a lot of the reasons that Dan has already put forth.

    When I look back on my childhood, I definitely have more in common with the Gen Xers (my wife was born in 76, and all my friends were born sometime in the 70’s). I feel like I have a more common bond with them.

    The Gen Yers, I just don’t get. There just isn’t that much commonality between them and I.

    I see it like this: generally speaking, I consider those born in the 40’s & 50’s to be boomers, 60’s & 70’s to be Xers, and 80’s & 90’s to be Yers.

  10. I’m a cusper (born August 78) and feel like it. I share the gen-X memories but possess a lot of the gen-Y attributes. Technologically I think I’m probably more savvy a la gen Y, but unlike a lot of Ys I remember rotary phones and record players. I find it normal to more easily relate to say, someone 5 years younger than me than someone 3 years older…

  11. Hey, so far the youngest here. Born in ’83 and already married. I like the xy cusp term as I feel it best describes me. Some boomer tried to tell me I was gen y, not gen x so I thought I should look up the different years. I am not technologically dependent-thank god, I don’t own a facebook or myspace page. In fact, I tried once to get a myspace page and wound up with the trojan horse virus. Needless to say my solution to the problem was to buy a new computer. I grew up with an analog tv (turn dial for three channels) and I was the remote control when mom and dad wanted a channel changed or the rabbit ear antennas fixed. When it came to playing nintendo or playing outside, my choice was outside with my toys and imagination. I identify more with older adults and can’t fathom the need that gen y has to constantly keep in touch with one another. Though I must say I had to fulfill a high school computer requirement to graduate. I think that’s a gen y thing.

  12. I was born in 1975 but I definitively feel like an XY, why? cause in many things I don’t feel like an X’r and I have strong relations with people younger as well as older than me.. I defintively love the Internet and keep online everyday, though I knew analogue technology I am more arelated with digital ;)

  13. Wow, this hits the nail on the head. I was born in 80, and I can’t stand that list of Generation tries to call me GEN X.
    X’ers were the type that went to HS in the late 70s and early 80s, they became the pretentious college students in the late 80s and early 90s.
    Culturally, their influences came from different sources, and their just seems to be a different set of values. Not better, not worse, just different.
    I don’t think you can have a generation be more than 15 years (at least not in contemporary industrial societies where change happens a lot quicker). The point of establishing generation boundaries is to group people by age and define the culture of that age. GEN X Really should be 1962-1976; making ’77-91 GEN Y; still I’d accept the cusp thing more than being Gen X

  14. Who gives a rats ass if your some person born in the 80’s.Do you think thats makes you special or something?All gen y does is rip off the culture from the past wich was cooler and regurgitates it as if they originated it.What a pre fabricated self entitled bunch of nothings.

  15. It’s not set in stone in the cosmos that generation y people “have” to be anything or anybody.There are no no established rules to life and im fuckin hate these people coming off like they are entitiled to be whom ever the fuck they think they are.I mean, for all intents and purposes,you can very well be laying in a dark room throwing up your internal organs and it wouldn’t matter worth a shit.So fuck off generation “Y” or whatever the fuck it’s called.Oh and by the way,It really doesn’t matter that it’s a “futureistic” “modern” time”.Theres a lacking of the avant garde,cool mentality that used to exist that doesn’t now,so in fact,people were cooler in the past an it just sucks know as a consequence of the times.So fuck you and your stupid crap music,and self and what the fuck ever.

  16. I was born in 1977, and feel I have WAY more in common with those borm between 1975 and 1979 than with those born early 70’s and early 80’s. We remember being kids of the 80’s, and teens of the 90’s, we’re all, for the most part, in our 30’s now, have kids, and are raising another generation. To me, those born in the 1980’s started a new trend in child births, and they are influencing how many are in their graduating classes, and for us 70’s babies, we had some small classes, while 80’s babies are LARGE! The generation that is known as X stops at 1979!

  17. I don’t think it matters what year you were born in as much as what class you were in. I graduated in 1998 yet I was born in 1979. All my close friends were in my class. They were born in 1979 and 1980 and I related to them. The people in the class of 97 seemed a little bit different (a little more serious and stern). Many of them were born in 79 as well. The class of 96 was that much more uptight.

  18. I was born in 1977, and I DID NOT and I WILL NOT considered myself as a Yer. I’m an Xer. I TOTALLY can’t relate to those born in the 80s. Like the other poster said, I also related to people born between 1975 and 1979. Most of my friends were born between 1975 and 1979. I believe and always believe to this day that those who were born in the mid 60s to the late 70s (1965-1979) are Gen Xers and those who were born in the 80s and 90s (1980-1995) are Gen Yers. I have way too much in common with an Xer for some stupid survey to say that I’m a Yer.

  19. I was also born in the late 70’s which is “77”. I do not relate to anyone born before 1976. 1977 to 1981 was the people I related to. The kids who grew up in the 80’s with all the best cartoons and also growing up in the 90’s when altenative music was at its peak. I am not a Gen X. I knew people who were born from 60′ and mid 70’s and they do not relate to the “new age” of those born in the late 70’s and experiencing childhood in the 80’s. I’m definitely an XY Gen.

  20. Well according to research, Generation X is 1965-1979 and Generation Y is 1980-1995, and I’m not taking it back. You can’t possibly believe that because I was born in 1977, I’m Gen Y. I may have some Gen Y tendencies, but I’m more Generation X than Generation Y. Almost all the researches say thatGen X is 1965-1979. You may not agree, but it’s the truth. I’m Gen X with some Gen Y tendencies, but nevertheless, I’m Gen X. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Don’t try to put me in Gen Y because I’m not.

  21. I was born in early ’88 and I can’t stand being linked to people born 91 or later! I have much more in common with those born in the 80’s. As a living example – My brother was born in 91 and we grew up with totally different societal references. I watched darkwing duck – he watched spongebob. I remember getting a computer and aol in fourth grade, my brother wasn’t even in first grade (He can’t remember not having a computer). I got a cell phone when I went to collage, he had one from the time he started high school – but all his friends had them in middle school. Half the time when he’s talking about trends I have no idea what they are. He grew up WITH technology, I watched it emerge. Admittedly there was an NES in the house from the time I was three – but my parents had bought that – for themselves.

    There is a sharp divide between those who remember life before the 90’s and those who grew up in the mid to late 90’s. For gosh sakes my brother doesn’t really remember the Clinton-Lewinski scandal! He was too young! I remember the end of the Cold War!

    In fact there IS a term for people like me; Cold Y, although it is technically 81 to 87.

  22. I’m 24, born in 1984. I’m definitely gen Y. I don’t know how I could possibly be thrown in with Gen X. It’s a completely different set of social experiences and values.

  23. I was born July 1978 – definite Gen Xer – I cannot identify with Gen Y at all. They are almost an alien species to me. Seventies kids, and maybe those born into the early eighties, are the people I understand, relate to, and share common values with. Gen X (particularly the latter half) is, in my experience, hardworking, adaptable and independent, with some techno savvy but none of the egocentricity, impatience and sense of self-entitlement that typifies Gen Y. And I totally don’t get the social networking stuff. I just don’t get why face-to-face interaction (not to mention good spelling and grammar) went out of fashion…

  24. I was born in 1995 and every website i go to tells me something different. So i really want to know am i gen X Y Z.

  25. sabby, you are definetly not gen x. You could be either gen Y or Z. Some people are starting to classify gen Z as those who were too young to remember 9/11 and were completely born in the digital age. i think there should be a YZ cusp like there is for XY. if there was YZ, I would want to be in that category.

  26. Wow, I thought I was the only one who rebelled at being included in gen y. I was born in august of 1978 with siblings 6 and 7 yrs older than me. I started teaching eighth grade when I was twenty. So, needless to say I am an old soul. This is a conversation I have with my daughter’s mother (she was born in ’74) all the time. Someone mentioned having a commodore 64 and an atari. I ‘ll do you one better… intelevision! We seemed to have the best of both worlds; experiencing the old and watching the new develop. We had video games, but only as a supplement to going outside. We grew in a time where you turned to one radio station for r&b and another for rap. You had very distinct styles that you could point to and recognize them as 80s, late 80s/early 90s. Now everything runs together. Things I and my circle (from’73? to ’80?) can reference are not even in the realm of understanding of those born after.

  27. i was born in 78 and consider myself gen xy. we are not sad like x or happy like y. just some blasaibla combination like an xy’er.

    we see things for what they are. in all possible dimensions.

  28. I was born in 1984 and have always considered myself a cusper, even though I never really knew what term to give myself. I feel that my personal experience is different from gen Y because my parents were much older and were born pre-baby boom, hence a different style of child-rearing. My siblings were all 13 years or more older than me, all gen x-ers. Since I was constantly babysat by my siblings in the 80’s, I think I was a lot more aware of teen culture of the 80’s than others of my age (and this has been proven with convos with my peers). I grew up with the TV shows of the early 90’s, with Duck Tales, Full House, Fresh Prince and SNL featuring Dana Carvey making fun of George HW Bush.

    Like Katie stated earlier,I resent being referred to as the Y generation. There are many ways I feel like I relate to gen Y such as working with networks rather than independently and thinking on a global scale, but I find young gen Y-ers are extremely inconsiderate and selfish (I’m not quite sure how that oxymoron works out).

    I have found that because of my cuspy-ness (hehe) I have been able to befriend people from many different generations. I have gen Y friends as well as baby-boomer friends. My husband is a solid Gen Xer, etc…

    Best of all worlds :)

    Like 78’er just said: “we see things for what they are. in all possible dimensions.” I think that is what makes us so dynamic. And so darned annoying to everyone with narrow viewpoints LOL

  29. I was born in 1991 and i consider myself to be in both the gen x and gen y group because i was the kid of the 90's and i grew up listening to grunge music of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains since i was three and wore flannel shirts and flannel jackets since i was four up until I turned eight and i remember watching awesome nickelodeon shows during it's golden age era like rugrats, the ren & stimpy show, the adventures of pete & pete, are you afraid of the dark, all that, and etc. and one of my most favorite shows to watch on MTV during the mid 90's when i was three was 120 Minutes (I remember all of the music videos and I since watched the show until it got cancelled in 1999 when I was eight), Alternative Nation, and The Grind and my favorite show to watch on HBO was Tales From The Crypt and I didn't use any computer technology in the mid to late 90's because even computers existed before 1997, I didn't use them until i gotten older and I didn't get a cell phone until i turned 14 and that was in 2005. Well basically, I'm more of a 90's kid than a 2000's kid because i can remember all of the events that happen in the 90's along with the music, movies, tv shows, and fashion trends because the future (2000's) wasn't really that great and I just often wished that I wanna go back into the 90's and relive my awesome childhood from 1994 though 1999 because the 2000's generation y is soooooo boring and lame…I mean…emo music?

  30. how do u remember the 80s? u were born in 88

    and i was born in 91 as well and can remember growin up watchin both those cartoons, not having a computer, and the beggining of the World wide web ;)

    u just have a special case, many ppl born in 91 are not like ur brother but more like u… He's more of a 95+ child

  31. Born in 1991? why are you even in this conversation?
    Yep, you are part of Gen Y NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
    Do you actually remeber the year MTV first debuted? Ofcourse not, because by the time you were even old enough to know what MTV was, it was already washed up.
    What Saturday mornings were about?
    Not being able to call friends in the city next to yours because you were charged a long distance fee? (home phones, you know the ones that only work when connected to the wall)
    Only playing with a computer at school and fighting over who gets the colored one, because all the other computers are in green and black ? ( and there was no internet on these, it was all about Oregon Trail).
    Wanting to buy Micheal Jackson's Jacket, barbie doll, and glove?
    The best Damn TV shows were in the 80's?
    I dont even watch TV anymore everything on it sucks DRAMA, DRAMA
    Well if you relate to anything I have wrote I guess thats the Generation I am in. by the way have you noticed how I did not ABBREVIATE any of my words? (laughing)
    Born In 1977

  32. any person born in the mid 80's and early 90's (1990-1991) had a 90's life that's non stop fun and i'm not talking about the people born in the 70's in case you haven't notice.

  33. Yep – same here. I was also born in 1982. Recently (I am from Australia) there has been a TV program on called “Talking About Your Generation”. It is a quiz show to see who knows the most about their generation (Baby Boomers / Generation X or Generation Y). Everyone that I have viewed the program with recently has been going for their own generation – except for me – I have no idea which generation I fall into so I have been going for either Generation X or Y. My cousin bought the boardgame (based on the show) – it was OK for him to play because he was born in 1986 – so he believes he is definetly Generation Y. He asked me if I wanted a game with him – but I had no idea what Generation to play as… They (the TV program) say that Generation Y begins from the beginning of the 80s – but that is their own assumption. Watching the show I can answer questions about Generation X as good as I can answer Gen Y… So yes, I agree, if you are born in 1982 – either of those 2 generations will do.

  34. if you were born in the early 90's, werent you too young to be enjoying the 90's? wearing diapers and watching cartoons? hell, the 90's were great for those of us who were old enough to stay out past 6pm!

  35. as a cusper, i know im so flippin misunderstood! i think being who we are, we tend to be less self-involved than the x's or y's…even though we're know to be the most selfish group!

  36. I am a member of Generation Y, having been born in November of 1991. However, I live in an underdeveloped Caribbean country so me and most of my peers aren't just like those living in developed countries. We didn't have computers in primary school, and I didn't have internet access at home until 2000. I definitely remember the home phone (most persons here still have one after all, as do I), although there are no long-distance calls to the next city, because the next village isn't that far at all. Obviously there are going to be a lot of other differences, both in regards to life then and now, but we also grew up watching Spongebob, Rugrats, etc., and right now are techno-savvy, spend plenty of time on the internet, and connect with each other on Facebook.

    That said, I think some of the comments on here are particularly mean. I don't consider myself any better than anyone born in the 70's, 80's, or late 90's, nor do I think that the entertainment I grew up with is better (although I do think it was great). I think some of the comments actually show a level of egocentricity and arrogance on the part of some gen X'ers and some of those of the XY cusp.

    While negative generalisations are usually based on the negative characteristics of the majority, don't forget that every person is different. Not every gen Y'er (early or late) is egocentric, impatient, or inconsiderate. Many aren't. Some people prefer the music and shows created before they were born. I hope that other members of gen Y are aware that many of the fashions/cultures existing now are basically copies of those of generations past.

    I wonder though, if it's proper to call myself a gen Y when the article mentions, “There is much dispute as to … whether this term is specific to North America, the Anglophone world, or people worldwide.”

  37. Amen!! I could not have said it better. I guess Im an XY cusper (born in 1980) but I agree I can't relate to Gen Ys attitude of self-entitlement. They seem to lack substance. Every thing about them seems superfical and unimportant yet they all belive they are important and deserving just because they exisit. I mean what a load of crap. and their parents did this to them with all their slack parenting skills. Example…. I have a brother 15 years younger than me. The way we were raised was completly different. I was held accountable for my actions. I did not get EVERY thing I wanted. And my mother never stuffed my head full of the garbage gen Y was feed. For some reason the parents of gen y thought it would be a great idea to constantly tell their kids how special they are and shelter them from all disappointment, embarassment, and hurt. Come on people!!! Yes we all want to protect are kids but you know what, some of these things are part of growing up and finding your place in the world. Gen Y has completely missed out on this.

    I don't belive gen X has completely peaked yet. There is still the youngest of us, the xy cuspers, who are just now rising to the top. Our kids are in elemetary school now. I think we have a different attitude toward parenting then that of Gen Y parents or our for that matter. Atleast I know I do. I hope this will make a differance.

  38. Amen!! I could not have said it better. I guess Im an XY cusper (born in 1980) but I agree I can't relate to Gen Ys attitude of self-entitlement. They seem to lack substance. Every thing about them seems superfical and unimportant yet they all belive they are important and deserving just because they exisit. I mean what a load of crap. and their parents did this to them with all their slack parenting skills. Example…. I have a brother 15 years younger than me. The way we were raised was completly different. I was held accountable for my actions. I did not get EVERY thing I wanted. And my mother never stuffed my head full of the garbage gen Y was feed. For some reason the parents of gen y thought it would be a great idea to constantly tell their kids how special they are and shelter them from all disappointment, embarassment, and hurt. Come on people!!! Yes we all want to protect are kids but you know what, some of these things are part of growing up and finding your place in the world. Gen Y has completely missed out on this.

    I don't belive gen X has completely peaked yet. There is still the youngest of us, the xy cuspers, who are just now rising to the top. Our kids are in elemetary school now. I think we have a different attitude toward parenting then that of Gen Y parents or our for that matter. Atleast I know I do. I hope this will make a differance.

  39. I completely agree. The fact that we are categorized as a certain generation does not mean that we are a completely different sub-species, nor does it mean that we are all the same. Although we are generation Y, we are the same people with the same characteristics. The same can be said with baby boomers, gen Xers, and gen XY cuspers; you are not all the same, so why are we being categorized as all the same people?

  40. I was born in 1985 and I definitely feel as if I am an XY cusper. I remember the fall of the soviet union, the first Bush presidency, a time when CDs were around but only the rich had them (the rest of us used cassettes or vinyl), the DVD hadn't been invented yet, computers still used MS-DOS and few people were online (and those who were used AOL on a crappy dial-up connection), there was no such thing as facebook or myspace, etc, etc, etc. I laugh when somebody born in 1991 tries to say they are gen-x because they like 90s music or spent their childhood in the 90s. If you were still in grade school when the new millennium rolled in, you are pure generation Y, no ifs ands or buts about it. People born from 1986-2000 have a very different culture and outlook on life than us XY cuspers and true generation X (which IMO is 1964 to 1979).

  41. I totally agree with u. There are so many sources. I always say I am XY cusp. I was born in 1978.

    Thanks for your informative info.

  42. i was born in 1980 and i so remember everything you are describing. i had a friend who lived ten minutes away in the same state but had to call a long distance number because they were just barely on this side of the state line. and the oregon trail game, how lame was that compared to today?! reading all that makes me think gen x is probably where i fall in the category, if it really matters.

  43. I was born in 1968, which probably makes me the oldest dude here. And I believe that places me solidly in the middle of Gen X. I was a child of the 70's and a teen of the 80's. I grew up with “Classic” MTV from 1981 to 1986, i.e. pre- hip hoprap crap MTV. MTV when they actually showed music videos most of the time. There was also, let me see: roller skating(pre-roller blades), drive in movies, video arcades w coin-op games only costing a quarter, gas just starting to rise over a dollar a gallon, real American muscle and pony cars, real movie stunt people doing real stunts, classic rock and 80's new wave on FM radio, “classic” 70's early 80's Sci Fi, Smokey and The Bandit and The Dukes of Hazzard. I graduated from high school in 1986.

  44. I was born in 1992 and my sister in 1994. I'd say that we are both Gen Y and that my sister is one of the youngest Gen Yers.

  45. Expanding on that, I read an article this morning which said that Gen Y (aka, Millenials) were born from 1980 to 1990 and after that is the “iGeneration”.

  46. Yeah, you're pretty much the same age as my sister (born October 1994) and I'd consider you both to be the youngest Gen Yers.

  47. You cannot generalise Gen Y (or anyone) like that. Just because we were born in a different year (myself, I was born in 1992) doesn't mean that we don't care about anyone else. Yes, many of us do want things to be instant as a result of technology, but not everyone. Face-to-face interaction and good spelling and grammar didn't go out of fashion, just some people are too lazy to take care with their spelling and grammar, and its not only Gen Yers. For me, Facebook and MSN are important in keeping in touch with friends. It allows me to easily keep in touch with my school friends that live up to half an hour away from me, and up to an hour's drive away from each other. Obviously you haven't met many Gen Yers.

  48. I was born in 75, and never really thought about the whole generation X/Y thing. I realized I was generation X when the media was reporting about “generation X” and my father told me that Gen X was my generation. It certainly was a different time.. I remember Carter as president when I was very, very young.. and I remember Reagan getting elected. I remember the transition from bellbottoms and polyester to Z. Cavarrici jeans with french-rolled cuffs, Jams, and ridiculously overstyled hair. My first compact disc was the Dick Tracy Soundtrack, got it when I was 15 I think (1990) and MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em. also 1990 I believe. I've been tech savvy since I was a child, my first computer was a Commodore Vic-20, also had a Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Amiga, IBM PC Jr, 286, 386, 486 PC's, then a 486DX (with math coprocessor!), then finally came the Intel Pentiums and the AMD Athlons. My father was a gadget junkie, so he always got the latest tech.. remember the evolution of the home video game consoles too. We had an atari 2600, intellivision 1 and 2 (those controllers were horrible – circular disc always sticking and the controller overlays would crack and you'd have to play the game with no overlay and had no idea what button did what! We had the colecovision too (loved playing the Smurfs), and then in the mid 80s I got a Nintendo Entertainment System for my birthday. (8 bit one, old school mario!), a couple years later the Sega Master System, followed by the Sega Genesis and SNES, then the Sega CD add-on, Sega Saturn! then the Sony Playstation!

  49. IMO Hardcore Gen X ends around 75/76. True cupsers begin around 1977.

    Cuspers (77-83) grew up on old school technology, but knew and experienced it quickly coming to an end. You could maybe add 84/85 to the mix safely.

    Gen X thought computers and bar codes were the devil, and the year 2000 was doomsday.

    Cuspers were too young to totally embrace that opinion, and were constantly adapting to the changing culture.

    Gen Y dont even understand that fear.

    Anyway, cuspers are truly a different breed from both Gen X and Gen Y, and somewhat hard to understand – like the Baby boom/Gen X cuspers.

  50. I would like to offer hard and fast cut-offs for this dilemma.

    Generation X, wherever you may say is begins, certainly ended in 1976 or 1977 and generation Y begins in 1982-1983. There is roughly a 5 year gap of people who have been called the XY-cusp generation, MTV generation, internet generation or, as I think it's fair to call, the Nintendo generation.

    Generation X seem to be hard workers, determined and have a sense of 'coming back home' – meaning that they rediscover their families in their early/mid 30s and start families later. They work hard and play hard, but maintain a youthful edge.

    The MTV (XY-cusp) generation are the first to be computer and technically savvy at an early age. They are maturing now and starting families while remaining very career focused, but with a broad social perspective.

    Generation Y are a generation where technology is a natural second language and have grown up without a balance, in a climate where childhood disciplining has been frowned up and sending your son to his room (where his TV and X-box is) is now considered punishment and outdoor activities are in decline. They are more demanding, but do not seem as well educated as previous generations. Will be interesting to see what happens with this group as they approach 30 and 40.

    So in my view, the MTV (XY-Cusp) generation was a transitional generation, where more young people understood and grew up with technology, but still used a pen and paper at school and still got kicked outside to play rather than playing computer games all day. I would say if you were born between 1977 and 1983, you are most likely part of this generation. Afterwards is definately Y. Before is definately X

  51. My sister calls my little sister a generation Y but im not sure if it is or not correct because Gen Y was the early 2000's ( she's born on 2000, 3rd Jan

  52. I personally think Gen Y ends in mid 1990s, however my sister was born in 1994 but I think she is more whatever the generation after Gen Y is.

  53. Born right as 1986 ended and 1987 begun. Some would consider this the last of the cusp, others the first of the Y's, although this site has more of a consensus that 86-87 would certainly be outside of cusp range.

    The weird thing I notice is that there is a decently sharp difference in 4 age groups, the X, The mtv generation (74-86), the Early Y (81-91) and later Y. (89-99) The reason why I seperated Early Y from Late Y is because there is a huge difference between the two, as early Y grew up with Computers. I made the dates as late as you can define them, but the dates can certainly go earlier. Anyone born in the 90's are clearly not part of the cusp, but the question is could late 80's (87-89) claim to even have an ounce of X in them. I really don't think they do.

    As far as group identification is concerned, there are plenty of those who want to time things differently. I think those in the MTV generation want to identify with X, those in early Y want to Identify with the cusp, and the later generations either claim to have some X or are too busy with twilight to even care. Along with this, there tends to be a superiority complex on the part of those along the lines of each subsequent generation. Who had the best childhoods? Who remembers more?

    If you can remember challenger, you certainly have some X in you. If you don't remember the end of the cold war, you clearly don't. I think that is the best rule of thumb.

  54. i was born in september of 84, i can remember when mtv still showed music videos, useing the computers at school was something to look foward to, Im also not sure exactly where i would fall into, but from this i guess i would be in the MTV/Doom mix, i do remember watching the Smurfs, Snorks, Pound Puppys, and cartoons like that when i was lil oh yeah and Alvin and the Chipmunks

  55. I also was born in 1980 so I'm like you, born on the cusp. I differ from you in that I identify more with the gen Xers. The music I generally listen to ranges anywhere from the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd to Nirvana, the Pixies, REM and Sonic Youth. I am however, very much “plugged in.” I can't imagine life without a computer and I prefer to text over doing it the old way so I guess I at least partially identify with the Gen Y crowd. I also don't find any pre-Seinfeld television very relevant if that means anything. I guess I don't know what Gen I am but then again, lablels are for social dinosaurs. Any comments?

  56. I was born in 1980, right on the cusp. I probably identify more with the gen Xers. The music I generally listen to ranges anywhere from the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd to Nirvana, the Pixies, REM and Sonic Youth. I was 13 almost 14 when Kurt Cobain died which was of significant influence to how my friends and I identified with ourselves in relation to the rest of society. I'm at least partially a Gen Yer in that I'm very much “plugged in.” I can't imagine life without a computer and I prefer to text over doing it the old way although I was an adult before these things were indespensible to me. I also don't find any pre-Seinfeld television very relevant if that means anything. I guess I don't know what Gen I am but then again, lablels are for social dinosaurs. Any comments?

  57. Born in 83 so I've always considered myself G-so-flY (sorry couldnt help it). I was always under the belief though that you could tell the generations based on a 20 yr fix give or take a couple of years or so I mean i could be way off on that but thats how i looked at it. With that said sense we have no way of truly telling & those of us born around 81 – 84 can pretty much choose I've always gone with Y. I jus' like the idea of bein' part of that new generation & I really like the term Millennials. Though I like the idea of the XY Cusp to me it jus' kinda sounds flip-floping to me either you're one or the other in my book. Of course thats jus' me. I also like the sound of Millenials it sounds sorta fantastic. With that said though I could totally give you heads up about the generation before I really feel I relate more to the one I choose.

  58. I think you're right! Generation X & Generation Y share a multitude of the same similarities (unlike previous generations that were like one set standing on one side of the Colorado River staring off into the distance and trying to even see the other generation). Our generations were both pioneers to technology, not so much that we invented it, but we were born during times of technology change. We grew up with technology, like-love it, and live with it throughout our daily lives, so we're use to it.

    Generation X experienced Music Videos for the 1st Time. We saw the T.V. go from Black and White (where you were your parent's remote if they didn't feel like getting up to change the channel) to LCD/Plasma Screen TV's. We saw cartoons go from what we thought were cool to (flat characters) to 2-D and then 3-D then Total Animation. We were raised on computers coming into their own. We saw gaming go from Atari to Nientendo to playstations and X-Box. We saw the Internet in its infancy move to a pre-teen stage and begin to come into its own. We saw the Berlin Wall come down in 1989, the cold war stop and the “Super Power” Nations move to communication, the World opened up to the thought of US being Humans and One World.

    Generation Y saw Music Videos on Handhelds (1st DVD players then Phones). You have seen T.V.'s go from Color with Remote to LCD/Plasma and even now SONY has 3D T.V. w/glasses technology (it rocks, by the way, except when you move or have to get up and take the glasses off, then it can be a little dizzying). You saw cartoons go from flat to 3D full animation FILMS! You were raised on computers taking the next leap to becoming portable. You had Nientendo to playstation to Xbox and Xbox 360. You saw the Internet Flourish and grow up to full adulthood, with the World not just beginning to feel like one World, but with the Internet, the World literally became connected and you can at lightening speed and in real time pc phone or video, you can talk to someone across the world and almost anywhere in any Country. Along with your generation become the catalyst for change (Get out and Do Something).

    Gen XY wants technology, we both appreciate Nature/the Enviornment and want to see it continue and see less of the amazing things vanish (Save the Planet or Go Green!). We both want what we want, now, not years later. We both want and share the superhighway of information (where you can find the answer to any question with just a few clicks of the keyboard or a couple taps with our thumbs or fingers on our phones. We see the World around us, we appreciate the amazing thing within it and yet we both see the future of endless possibilities and we want to explore them too.

    So, YES!, I think Generation X and Generation Y have a lot of the same similarities and we we both want a lot of the same things.

    What I love best is that not only do we “see” each other, but, we are both willing (Gen X and Gen Y) to accept each other for whatever we may be without trying or wanting to change a thing. The age of, “Hey, you are who you are and it's all good, whatever it is you choose to be”.

    Here's hoping that as you all continue on your own journeys and us on ours, that neither of us ever loses sight of the other, and that we both will forever accept those who have come before us, while recognizing and accepting everyone's own right to choose our own routes even if we may take different roads to get to where ever we are each going.

  59. I think it only fair that, given the dates allowed for Generation X's birth years, we Y'ers should have a more extended birth range. Rather than 1982-1995, we should be allowed a 1985-2000 interval, similar to X. After all, the 1977-1983 born people are more or less a cusp generation between X and Y, and the people born between 57 and 63 definitely have more Boomer traits than X ones.
    I don't see why our generation has to be cut off so abruptly at 94 or 95 when X is extended up to 1979!

  60. Saturday mornings were the best every kid was doing the same thing, watching smurfs or peewees playhouse and eating there boo-berry cereal. The best computer was the color one but i liked carmon sandiago better than oregon trail

  61. I was born in 1974 and so definately gen x. funny thing is i cant remember the 70s because i smoked too much weed as a baby, i hate the ignorant 80s and the 90s were waaay too complacent. Actually i love the 2000s. When the twin towers got blown up? sheer gen y angst comedy. Seriously, internet is the best thing ever since free porn and we are about to enter the next great depression! Never a dull moment. By the way i love spongebob so can i pass for a 90's gen y? please? I actually i can relate mostly to Patrick because according to wiki it says:He lives under a rock and his most prominent character trait is his lack of intelligence.

  62. erhhhh , have you relise the way your speaking makes you sound like your from GenY so get over yourself i was born in the 1993 and i dont belive in this petty stuff about what years we were born in and what generation we are and other people saying how we all act and stuff because im dont belive any of it like we all have our own minds and just because we arent a baby boomer or gen x we still have a heart as if we were ,and i dont belive in god i belive in nature and what he holds everyday for us and how the world spins to the point we can understand and grow ,. so dont doubt how we belive .,.. and who we belive we are!

  63. Born in 1991, I have a very good vivid memory and basically had the ultimate “90s childhood.”

    Based on this book I've read, all these generations can be split into 4 different groups, that is to say generations kind of go like “cycles” repeating over and over.

    Gen X in particular grew up during the turbulent 60s or 70s from parents who often divorced for the first time and didn't receive much care, as children were pretty much ignored from society in general. Also relatively few in number. This bred in them this angst from uncaring parents evident later on in the grunge movement.

    Gen Y on the other hand were mostly the offspring of the Baby Boomers who wanted the very best overprotected, nurturing kind of environment for their children. (some say too much) It was a different time called an “unwinding” when people cooled down from the “revolutionary” 60s/70s and just enjoyed life more and it was evident in the end of the cold war. The Gen Y kids enjoyed this more prosperous time and became sheltered because of it, retaining many of these traits into their now emerging adulthood.

    As stated before these go in cycles. gen x is like the Lost Generation of adult generation right after WWI who could barely find work and just questioned what the point of life was ie modernism. Grunge was a lot like this with the I don't care being a motto. Hard to fool, realists.

    Gen Y is most like the G.I. generation that fought in WWII. They had a “anything is possible spirit” and joined the war effort because it represented a wider important cause. They tended to be have a happier outlook on life and became big builders of industry and took the nation to new heights. Gen Y has the potential to be the next best generation if they keep their entitlement in check.

    The book is called “Generations” authors William Straus and Neil Howe

  64. What absolute crap! And if you believe the dribble you just wrote you must be an absolute moron or simply haven't come down from your latest high. The fact that you would compare Gen Y to those that fought in WW2 just shows how delusional your generation is. Gen Y wouldn't even know what the word sacrifice meant (I'd be surprised if you could spell it without using the spellcheck).

    Gen Y would have to be the most self centred, self-indulgent, unoriginal generation that ever walked the planet. That is why you are also referred to as the “me” generation. Put simply you are spoilt brats. And that is how all the other generations view your generation. I can see why so many Gen Y's are trying to fit themselves somewhere in with Generation X because basically your generation is an absolute disgrace.

    But then it is probably not your fault entirely as your parents probably belong to the baby boomer generation – you know the ones that protested about the Vietnam War and “bring the boys home”, then abused the shit out of them when they did come home and promptly forgot them. It was your parents generation that proclaimed free love and peace and then sold out in the end for money. It was Gen X who were left with all the problems – rampant STD's, HIV/AIDS, political and economic turmoil.

    It was Gen X who had to bridge the gap between two ages ie pre-computer and computer, not yours. The only thing your generation has contributed to the world is the age of tourism. But it must be hard for you though, trying to figure out which holiday destination to go to next so you can party on. You have known no hardship, you have been spoilt by parents who were more concerned with their careers and making money – isn't that why they bought you every conceivable gadget to take attention away from the fact that they were neglecting you? After all you were just a fashion accessory were you not? And I believe the divorce rate was much higher in the 90s then in the 60s.

    If the generation who fought the war enjoyed life upon their return to civilian life or a return to peace it was because they sacrificed much of their youth – they went through hell. As I said before – what has your generation sacrificed?

    And what entitlement? You have already borrowed so heavily against any “entitlement” that there is nothing left for you? You are parasites. Everything has been handed to you on a silver platter and still you are not satisfied. If you want something you earn it, you are just not entitled to it.

  65. Dude being born in 1991 you are not part of Generation X. I am spending time researching and debating with others about 1982 being part of Gen X, so 1991 is no where in the picture. Gen X does not consist of just grunge music, however you were born the same year Smells Like Teen Spirit was released so you could not have remembered that. Kurt Cobain died in 1994 you were 3, and you may have remembered that, as I remember alot from 3. Yes you are a 90's kid, but not Gen X.

  66. I was born in June of 1977 and I have read some articles classifying me as Gen X and others as Gen Y. It's hard for me to identify completely with older gen Xers because I was really young when MTV come onto the scene, yet I remember it in a vague way (if that makes sense). It didn't help that my parents were too cheap to get cable for many years (yes, they are baby boomers). My fiance is 2 years older than me, but yet he seems to remember MTV very clearly when it first came on. I do clearly remember the first few seasons of the Real World, when it was more gritty and realistic! I also remember rap music was just gaining popularity and I remember Will Smith & LL Cool J when they were rappers. I also remember the death of the hairband and the start of the Seattle grunge movement thanks to its pioneer, Kurt Cobain.

    I remember Atari and owned an Intelivision video game system and remember there was a huge void in video game systems for like 10 years before Nintendo came out. My parents were one of the first people in my area to own a VCR and our TV set was built into a piece of wooden furniture (yes, it was a color TV) and we always had to adjust the antenna. My parents also had a 9inch Zenith black and white TV in the kitchen that I would get stuck watching when I was a kid…it sucked.

    I remember the Cold War, vaguely. However, I do remember the Berlin Wall coming down, at the time, I did not appreciate its significance because we were just learning about WWII in 6th grade then. We had computers in school that had “floppy” drives (3.5 inch disks).

    I was a teenager in the mid-90's and computers were becoming very popular. In fact, most families had at least one computer then and it was more than likely an Apple IIGS in the early 90's and then a Macintosh by late 90's. AOL first came out and “You've Got Mail” was so cool to hear!

    So in a nutshell, I identify most with early seasons of MTV's The Real World, 3.5inch floppy drives, the Berlin wall coming down, grunge/alternative music, and the Internet. I guess I am an XY hybrid then!

  67. Bull
    People born in the early 60's (1960-1964) are NOT Gen X'ers! These were teens of the 70's. Late 70's teenagers are not Gen X'ers but rather late boomers or part of “Generation Jones”. The Boomer/Xer cusp so to speak. And Barack Obama is a member of this generation, and the Generation Y'ers are mostly children of this generation of baby boomers as opposed to the core boomers who were born in the mid 40's-early 50's and experienced the 60's as teenagers.
    I do not consider anyone born in the late 70's or early 80's to be in the same generation as me. Different set of experiences, different decade.

  68. Agreed. I am definitely not Y or X. I am a sexy, undefinable, mysterious mixture of traditional and tech savvy. Love it!!

    It's hard to define us folks born between 1977-83 because we were skipped over in mainstream culture. Both Gen X and Gen Y drowned us out. During “our time” to shine and be celebrated in American culture, boy bands came out and 911 happened.

    But thank God. Because there are no hideous labels to “brand” us, like there are for Gen Y and Gen X!!

    Take a good look at President Obama, Jodie Foster, Kanye West, George Clooney….you can't pin the down with a “generational identity”. Yet Clinton, Kurt Cobain, and P-Diddy have very identifiable generational traits.

    Mystery is very sexy, and we embody it. Cuspers be grateful!! :)

  69. I was born in '75 but was also pretty up with technology since I was young due to my Dad. I also had a younger sibling and younger cousins so relate much more to being on the cusp rather than Gen X.

  70. I'm Generation Y. Was too young too see the birth of MTV and my first video game was Playstation 1. Had a computer by the age 8 and i am very technologically inclined. As i got older i started getting into older music before my time. I tihnk Generation Y is split when it comes to ideas, half the generation has no idea whats going on and focuses on MTV and Facebook and pop music and the other half is sort of leaning toward generation X's old ideas and music. But its definitely safe to say that Gen Y is definitely the technology generation and it will be kinda cool to see what we do in the future.

  71. I was born in early 1978 and I certainly don't relate to many people in Generation… X. I get along fine with the early Generation Y people. I don't see how quite a few people on here can say “generation X ends in 1979”. Generations are fluid. They trail off. Generation X trails off at the end of the 70s and Generation Y starts at that point.

    That being said, many of us born form mid 77 to about mid 85 don't “belong” to either group. We grew up with MTV (when they played all videos), analog TV before cable (if your parents were cheap) analog cable, slap wristbands, Reagan, Bush 41, Challenger, Chernobyl, the Berlin Wall. Our teens were the 90s and they were ABSOLUTELY awesome! There has yet to be another decade as great as the 90s. The 2000s had promised, then 9/11 happened and its been crappy every day since. It also seems that if you are just more inclined to hang out with older people, then you'll lean towards X. if you are inclined to hang out with younger people, then you'll lean towards Y.

    One good way to see where you may fall based on a few questions:

    Were there airbags when you were a kid?
    Was the family car made of more metal or plastic?
    Were there seatbelt laws?
    Were there DUI laws?
    Were there child seat laws?
    Were there airbags?

    The more “no” answers you have, the more you are in this XY Cusp zone, and that's fine. When we were growing up, your clearly drunk parents could tell you to sit in the front of the airbag-less, all metal car and drive drunk to KMart (you didn't wear your seatbelt either). Ironically we have all these laws today, and still people die in auto accidents.

    I will say this: a lot of people are hard on Gen Y. I've worked with them. They're not all bad. It's that generation that follows them (Z). We (XY) will be raising their (Z) children. They are being very poorly raised. Their education is a total joke. XY and Y will have to work together to ensure a better future because quite frankly, those Zs have the deck stacked against them: poorly educated, broken homes, a lot of autism, a very poor economy, and very expensive health care. How much will college cost for them? Where will they get non-GMO food to eat? Where will they live? I would hate being a teenager right now because the future is dark, but its up to us (X, XY and Y) to brighten it up.

    And this is how XYs think.

    But trust me, the 90s were the shit! Crime was low, music was good, people had jobs and weed was plentiful.

  72. As far as I'm concerned, you are either part of Generation X (born in the '60s and '70s) or Generation Y (born in the '80s and '90s) or Generation Z (born in the '00s and '10s). There are no two ways about it! You can't have each foot in both camps!

  73. A GenXer here born in 74. And from what I know you are a Y gen. Because there was a big increase in the population in starting in about 1978.
    These “generations” were termed as I have come to understand it when there are large drops or rises in the population. Gen X ers have a small population born between 1964 and 1977. From an economic standpoint it is more profitable to sell to boomer’s and Y’s because there are more of you. What made Gen X ers different is that we are not a group that can be easily marketed to because Gen X ers really do not like Boomers and thus reject anything that could be coming from a boomer.

  74. you raise a lot of interesting questions about Generation Z. I have a teenage brother and I can for certain say because of “text speak” the boy can not spell. I’m not the best, but I know better than to write “thx” in a paper. Will be interesting to watch and see.

  75. You nailed it. I’m actually Gen-y, at least in terms of birth year, but I find I have many more of the traits associated with cuspers and even late Gen-Xers. I guess you can’t stereotype too much, and I believe a lot of who we are comes from the environment we grew up in (parenting styles, social class, etc.) Anyway, stay cool.

  76. I agree! Being born in 82, having a career and a family I often wonder what my son is going to run into when he gets out to the real world. If you also remember, there was a good range of people that couldn’t control themselves that were considered to have ADD or ADHD so we knew what Ridelin was and what it was used for. I don’t think we should be defined as what our Generation is, but what we make of ourselves. Get a job, pay your bills and taxes and don’t count on anyone to help you except for yourself!

  77. baby boomer=1947-1958 BB/GEN.X cusp=1959-1966 generation X=1967-1978 X/Y cusp=1979-1986 generation Y=1987-1998 Y/Z cusp=1999-2006 generation Z=2007-present…this is the easiest way to tell for sure. for example, if u were old enough to vote in 1996 but too young to vote in 1984 then you are generation X. if you were old enough to vote in 2004 but too young to vote in 1996 then you are XY cusp. full generations are based on 4, four year terms while as the cusp generations are based on only 2, four year terms. this cannot be argued with and is the only method that is concrete. XY cusper here or as i will for now on call it thanks to that other guy..nintendo generation…

  78. also the birthdays should began with aug. 21st and end aug. 20th. that starts with the virgo and ends with the leo. i say this because that is about when school begans every year and you must be a certain age by the time school starts to began school. so, someone born in april 1975 would began school before someone born in october 1975 because the person born in october would not have been old enough which makes that person a whole year behind in reality. so i would began baby boomer at the start of virgo 1946 and end it at the end of leo 1958 and jones generation = virgo 1958 – leo 1966 generation X = virgo 1966 – leo 1978 MTV generation = virgo 1978 – leo 1986 generation Y = virgo 1986 – leo 1998 YZ cusp = virgo 1998 – leo 2006 and generation Z virgo 2006 – present.

  79. Nicole Little, since there are PLENTY of people who do not fit into the generation to which they were assigned, I have a solution – let them choose whichever generation best matches their CHARACTERISTICS. For example, I was born in 1979 and I am a Millenial because I am:

    1. tech – savvy.
    2. support ALL kinds of diversity.
    3. into the latest music and entertainment.
    4. impatient.
    5. want a job that is rewarding and fun rather than one that just pays money.

    Therefore, I don’t believe in labeling someone according to the date he/she was born.

  80. if what you are stating is accurate, which personally, i don’t quite agree with, then why, me being born in 83 feel as if i am a “generation x’er” so to speak? i do not have kids very focused on working and family, and the 90’s were my “glory days” so to speak :) i was a teen…yes a young teen but i found myself in the 90’s. i still listen to “grunge”, i still miss wearing doc martins, eye glitter, etc :) this issue has been weighing on me seeing how just the other day i was talking to someone about Jimmi Hendrix, and they DID NOT KNOW HIM!! this was insane to me seeing how Hendrix is a legend, and i thought all knew him…also that this person is 21 and African American…i was baffled to realize that there are people of “generation y” so to speak (and you say i am a part of the y) that didn’t know him as a legend or even as an amazing African American musician and peace lover.–i think the following person has the years a lil more accurate, but that is just my belief. thank you so much for your info.

  81. That means you “remember” what was going on in Generation X but doesn’t mean you’re included in it, you’re Generation Y.. I was born in 85, the 90’s was my time but I remember the late 80’s very well, and Im still stuck in that time with music, movies & tv but anyone born 1982 or later I consider a Y wheather you hang out with older people or not, you can still see a difference in those people

  82. Ya thats what I think, before 1982 is Generation X, you can see the difference in people after that

  83. For the basketball fans……………

    Which generation do you people think was the best to grow up in watching NBA?

    X – Memories of bird, magic, the bad boy pistons & MJ’s 1st 3 peat are engraved in your head….real wars were fought, smack around a few heads or go home…the dream team…short shorts

    XY – Memories of the bulls’ 2nd 3 peat, shaq-kobe 3 peat, knicks-heat wars & the spurs dynasty are all engraved in your head….latrell sprewell living the american dream….VC over the french guy in sydney…the NBA searching for MJ 2.0 in VC, afro-kobe, tmac…class of ’96 vs. ’03…SLAM!

    Y – kobe, lebron, lebron, kobe…the boston three party….the heatles…better trade me now ‘cos i’m not re-signing….can the lakers get another 3 peat?…wave your hands at a ref = go home…love the NBA in HD

    stan

  84. You are not a Gen-X. You are Y. I am Gen X born in 1964. Gen X does not start at 1974. We are the generation that was born during the Vietnam war 1961 – 1975. According to the book Generations, by William Strauss and Neil Howe, we are the “13th Generation” and our birth years are 1961 to 1981.

  85. I totally agree with you. I can relate a little to Y, having seen the rise of MTV, video games, and home computers. But not entirely. I defintely have little in common with the Boomers and it irks me that those of us born in the mid-sixites are constantly being lumped in with them. My parents were Boomers!

  86. Are we not talking about naming a generation after birth rates? Baby boomers are because a vast groth in birth rates and after that 60s to 1981 have studies shown to be the lowest birth rates. In 1982 and up the birth rates spiked again thus being Gen Y aka (echo boomers). You be the judge.

  87. TFaithFF, you are correct about the Millenials being born first in 1978. I can give everyone on this site more proof that Gen Y begins that year:

    1. Studies show big similarities in the attitudes of those born in the late 1970s and the ’80s. For example:
    A) Individuals born 1978 – ’90 were the ones that voted 66 – 32 for
    Obama.
    B) A 2003 Pew Research Center survey showed 56% support for
    same – sex marriage among those who were 15 – 25 back then.
    C) Even those born in the late 1970s were included in the HUGE
    wave of people that left the church when they grew up.

    2. People born in 1978 were both the first to come alive during the PC era and were just under 18 when the internet went mainstream in ’95.
    I, myself, was born in 1979 and was only 15 when the internet became popular, DEFINITELY making me part of the “Net
    Generation.”

    3. Generations are getting a lot shorter due to the acceleration of technological and cultural change, which is why Gen X is only from 1965 – ’77.

    And to all those people that think Gen Y begins in the ’80s, there are differences WITHIN every generation. For instance:
    A) It was true that the younger boomers supported
    interracial marriage at least slightly more than the older ones,
    when that issue was being debated.
    B) Younger Millenials were always more supportive than older
    ones about gay/lesbian marriage (a less – than – 10%
    difference), and the same is probably true with green tech-
    nologies and opposition to the Iraqi War.

    Having been born in ’79, I have virtually nothing in common with Gen X. Therefore, I am a TRUE Millenial.

  88. Using criteria from my era, Gen X was anyone born 1964 to 1978, with those born 1978-82 to be called ‘echo boomers’ due to the baby boomers late child wishings. ‘Echo boomers’ ususally grew up on nintendo, sega, microwaves, and other games or conveniences Gen Xers did not. Generation Y or “whine’ started at 1983-84 and up after that. They are usually children of Gen X parents who have coddled them to an extreme, and have come to expect much handed to them in general. The ‘Millenium generation’ is next. Those born 2000 and after.

  89. The guy that you are slamming is actually right about the generation comparisons. Xers are more like the post-WWI “pessimists”, and Y-ers are more like the “optimistic” generation of WWII. There are differences of course, because times are different, but this is an idea that has been expressed by many researchers, and I tend to agree, which is why I get so annoyed by the happy “Y-ers”. They seem completely naive. And yes, I’m a full-on Xer born at the end of 1972.

  90. 1. tech – savvy.
    2. support ALL kinds of diversity.
    3. into the latest music and entertainment.
    4. impatient.
    5. want a job that is rewarding and fun rather than one that just pays money.
    I am slightly better than my mother at technology and she was born in 51
    I support very little diversity (damn illegals)
    I’m as up to date with music as a baby boomer
    I am a tad impatient though
    But I’d rather have the money. Does this make me a baby boomer? No sadly I was born in 1991 so I’m a scummy generation y member. But I’m proud I’m not one of generation z….. I remember a world without Internet everywhere.

  91. I was born in 1978 and consider myself an older member of Generation Y or XY Cusp. I have older friends and coworkers who are solid Gen Xers (5 or more years older than I am), and while we have a lot in common (we remember Ronald Regan), there are also fundamental differences – even to some extent when those friends are only 2 years older than I am. I was still in middle school in 1990 and would be until 1992. Gen Xers (like the members of Nirvana and Pearl Jam) were definitely influencing me, but for comparison’s sake – Kurt Cobain was 24 (an obvious Gen Xer) when I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit for the first time. I was 13. The older teens and people in their 20s and early 30s were shaping the 90s. I didn’t really come into my own until the mid-90s and early to mid 2000s. I don’t know how to explain it, but there are definitely hard core attitudes about the world that differ between solid Gen Xers and and Gen XYer or Ys. When I take a close look, it’s not about whether or not I watched MTV when they still showed videos, it’s about that attitude. At the end of the day, I often relate more to younger members of Gen Y far more than I do with anyone who identifies as solidly Gen X.

  92. Couldn’t we just ignore generation x altogether? Like avoiding vinegar and all bitter things.

  93. No seatbelt laws, SOME DUI laws, metal family car.. no child seat laws, no airbags.. no need for seatbelts!

    And I did cruise to KMart to get my hard earned toy from time to time, although my parents werent drunk. -86

  94. Generation x remembers River Phoenix without having to be given info on him! they also had hippie parents, mostly…Generation x grew up with the Cosby Show and the show Family Ties.

  95. To whoever thinks people born in the early 60s are “Joneses” —and not X—take your head out of your arshe and do your research again: Jones IS X. It’s the first wave, the front line, OF GEN X. Douglas Coupland was born in 1961—-the uberX writer—-whose book came out in 1991, afte rwhich Xers had already been around long enough to form it’s own flavor and become nameable by some writer of any generation. Which means X came to floweriition in the 1980s, was in high school in the late 70s and early 80s. I should know.

  96. Hey there.  I stumbled across this page quite by accident.  I am also an XY cusp that sometimes feels out of step with both generations.  I have an answer to your question about where to self-identify based upon your writing above.  I mean this sincerely, and am not just being snarky.  The fact that your research for the post above seems to have been internet research only, and the fact that you have enough faith in Wikipedia to quote it, tells me you are a Millennial (or Echo boomer or Gen Yer or whatever you want to call it).   The fact that you have links to Twitter and Facebook further confirms this.  The fact that you mention you mention Apple in your brief self-description, the fact that you belong to a Social Media club, and the fact that you have a leadership role in it, all further support the argument that you are a comfortable Gen Yer.

    I am a young Xer, definitely, but the traits are there.  

    I was born in 1979.  I played Atari, Sega Mastersystem, Nintendo, IBM PC Jr., and Comodore 64 growing up.  The last video game system I owned was the original Sony Playstation in 1996.  I got it for Xmas and sold it a year later, as I was not particularly interested in video games any longer.  

    I don’t loathe reality TV as much as I was never interested in it after Season 3 of the Real World.  Shows I watched growing up include:  (The Brady Bunch, The Waltons, He-Man, Transformers, the A-Team, Knight Rider, Happy Days, Charles in Charge, Growing Pains, Mr. Belvedere, Alf, Saved by the Bell, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Tour of Duty, and on Nick at Night:  Mr. Ed, The Patty Duke Show, My Three Sons, and Donna Reed, and on MTV: Yo MTV Raps, HeadBanger’s Ball, and 120 minutes)

    Other than some purely text games on the pre-world-wide-web Internet, I have never participated in online gaming.  I did play D&D and Robotech with paper and dice in middle school, which I entered in 1989.  

    I begrudgingly started a facebook page 4 years ago.  Though I have committed recently to checking it weekly, I once went 18 months without logging in to it.  I still don’t get the appeal.  It’s just Email with a horrible interface.   

    I haven’t liked a song I heard on TV or the radio in at least 10 years.  Lady Gaga’s most recent song just sounded vaguely like a bad version of Madona’s “Express Yourself”.  

    I don’t belong to any clubs.  I am certainly not a community manager.  

    The only apple product I have is a four-year old iPod.  

    I don’t have any profile picture with a smile half as big as the one you’ve got in your pic, at least not in digital format, but rather in old school photos from college.  

    I just noticed the word snarky above was underlined in red, so I looked it up in a paperback dictionary just to be sure it was a word.  

    Again, not playing a better or worse than you game.  I just see honest differences between X and Y and even though it can be hard to tell where you fit in, I think you are solidly in Camp Y.  Hey, often I wish I were.  You guys seem much more optimistic, much better at working in groups, and much more civic minded.  In camp X, we just take occasional breaks from the crushing isolation of our detached, underemployed, apathetic, cynical lives to pen disorganized missives on the Internet under our real names.

    Garth Olcese

  97. The birth years of 1980-1982 have long been disputed as to which generation they fall in. Many experts say Y, others say X, some just call them XY.

  98. 1980 here. I think 20 years is far too big of a time period to group people
    together in, while income levels and cultural interests can also affect which
    generation you identify with. I grew up poor and we had a black and white TV
    into the early nineties. I remember my uncle coming up for a visit in 1991 and
    he had a car phone, so I thought he must be a millionaire. On the other hand,
    my first grade classroom had computers.

     

    So I think I could lay a claim to X, but then again, Kurt Cobain’s
    death was meaningless to me (I listened to top 40 at the time) and Ronald Reagan was a
    nice grandfather president who I didn’t have an opinion on. Since not everyone
    was into grunge or certain video games or cartoons, I think Reagan is an
    excellent dividing line. If you loved or hated his conservatism, morning
    in America etc, you’re X, if you were too young to think about such things,
    you’re not.

     

    I think 75-85 should be grouped together- (How about early Computers?), where you grew up with video games
    and computers, but not the internet or cellphones. 86-89 would be some kind of
    cusp although this would depend on affluence, family culture etc. I think 90-00
    should be the millenials where most never experienced having trouble getting
    ahold of their friend on the home phone.

     

    If I have to be boxed into either X or Y I’d choose Y. I don’t get X’s
    conservatism and fears of socialism. They seem to love to put people down, while
    Y seems more positive, even if they can sometimes be disrespectful and not eager to pay
    their dues. I hate to say it, but Generation X seems to have much better spelling and grammar than the following generations.

  99. i was born in 1982, and one thing i can say the first time i used the internet was in my early twenties and i did not watched MTV.
    what i am is pessimistic, critical, never takes much at face value and hoping for happiness. i think people put too many labels on themselves. generation x or y it trying to define difference where there is non. there are still people who think the same as they did in the 60s 70s 80s.
    they are the forgotten

  100. Erm, actually kids born in the early 1970s (Edit: and the end of the 1960s) are the first computer and tech savvy generation.  The personal computer and first video game consoles were introduced in 1975 and started entering schools in ~1980.  Much of the internet and current tech. comes from those kids (Linux, PHP, Google, Ebay, Yahoo, etc.).  Although, you make an interesting point, I think part of why they were called generation x is that they were left to themselves as kids, everything that they were into was really a mystery to their parent’s generation.

  101. Gen X were teens in the late 1980s and early 1990s… I think you have your numbers wrong.  Kathleen Hannah is generation X, I guess she could be considered pretentious, but I just find her hot.  I actually think Gen X should be more like 1968 to 1986, early enough to be effected by the Vietnam War and young enough to get in on the first video games and computers before their teens — but also too old for Pokemon.

  102. There were still a lot of kids who didn’t have computers even in the late 90s.  My dad was a computer geek so we’ve always had a computer, but I would say *most* of my friends did not have computers until the end of the 90s.

  103. There were still a lot of kids who didn’t have computers even in the late 90s.  My dad was a computer geek so we’ve always had a computer, but I would say *most* of my friends did not have computers until the end of the 90s.

  104. I think I’d like to add that he has a point about them being a buffer between the old Boomer world and the modern world.  Generation X really did change the world a lot more than they get credit for.  If not for them, Generation Y would not be the happy go luck kids that they are.  Boomers and their parents dragged America into a very bad place (Vietnam, killed the auto industry, the oil crisis, etc.), Generation X rebuilt it into something good again — why do people love to say how awesome the world was in the 90s, but never seem to realize *why* it was so awesome? (Edit: I’m technically Y but identify much more with X).

  105. I think I’d like to add that he has a point about them being a buffer between the old Boomer world and the modern world.  Generation X really did change the world a lot more than they get credit for.  If not for them, Generation Y would not be the happy go luck kids that they are.  Boomers and their parents dragged America into a very bad place (Vietnam, killed the auto industry, the oil crisis, etc.), Generation X rebuilt it into something good again — why do people love to say how awesome the world was in the 90s, but never seem to realize *why* it was so awesome? (Edit: I’m technically Y but identify much more with X).

  106. I totally agree with you.  I find it very odd that there are some Gen Y kids on here that seem to think Generation X is somehow totally different from them, when in reality Generation X is their prototype (Generation Y used to be called Generation X Lite, I think).  X kids are where much of current culture comes from.  I have a cousin who used to babysit me and my sister in the later 80s, he is the first person I ever knew who built his own computers, he also was always into video games and I love the music he listened to.  If I could post a picture here, I have one of him sitting in front of his Macintosh in the early 90s, and I swear if his monitor didn’t look so outdated, you could not tell that it was taken almost 20 years ago.  He’s also the person I called when we had our first LAN parties in 1998 and couldn’t get anything working.  I don’t know his exact age, just that he graduated from high school in 88 or 89. I totally don’t get why other kids don’t realize this, I think maybe the early 1970 just seem like an ancient time to be alive or something.

  107. Holy crap, where are you getting this stuff?!  Gen X thought bar codes were the devil?  They’re the first computer generation, they’re the genesis of what we currently think of as computer savvy youth. Haven’t you seen War Games, that movie was all about teenage hackers that were mucking up the world in the early 80s… the whole hacker/computer culture of today comes from those kids.  Look up Legion of Doom and the hacker wars of the 80s/90s.  I have the entire back catalog of 2600 magazine because my cousin used to read them when he was in his teens and twenties and gave them to me — he is solidly Generation X.

  108. I am a Gen Xer because I am:

    1. Tech savvy.
    2. Support ALL kinds of diversity.
    3. Into the latest music and entertainment.
    4. Patient.
    5. Want a job.

  109. I just looked at the Pew report and none of what you say is accurate :-/
    32% of Y thinks gay marriage is bad for society, while 36% of X thinks the same… 4% difference.  59% of Y think that single women raising children is bad for society, and only 54% of X.  You’re trying to say that one group is more tolerant than the other, but each has it’s own set of issues, and the majority of each is totally fine with gay marriage.

    You also seem to think that a huge wave of Y dropped religion, when the number of atheists and agnostics for Y is 3% and 4% respectively, and for X it’s 2% and 2%.

    X even has higher marks in their approval ratings for Obama :-/

    So… WTF yo?

    The truth is, there has been a population shift over the last 30+ years toward urban living rather than rural, and urbanites have generally always been more liberal — Generation Y is the continuation of that trend.

    Personally, I don’t think you have anything in common with either generation.  I don’t have anything in common with you, and you seem to dislike Gen X, so you clearly have nothing in common with them, either.

  110. Having been born in 1976, I agree with most of your comments. I consider myself to be on the XY cusp.

    I would also say anyone born in 1982 is clearly gen y. My sister was born in 1980 and there is a recognizable difference.

  111. Great comments! I love what you had to say, Tj , and thank you Eylsa for citing so many sources in your blog that shows the confusion of generational lines. I was just going off on my blog about Millennials (and the tendency towards entitlement, argh!) and how irritating it is to be on the very blurry line that is XY. I am smack in the middle of the “unknown” being born in 1979. I like who I am, can appreciate the positives of those above and below me, so I suppose the honest answer is I am irritated by those in both generations who lack responsibility to self and their commitments, expect hand-outs regardless of need or effort, and the seeming lack common sense all the way around. 

    Thanks for shedding light on the XYers out there! 

  112. I agree…they want to say that Generation Calanato begins in 1977.. But if you were born between 1974 or 1975 to 1979 you grew up in the 80’s and have the same experiences…Nintendo, MTV, Atari, PAC Man, Smufs, After school specials, come on!

  113. So, I was born in November of 1975…and according to what month you were born in in 1977 I may not even be a year and a half older than you…yet…you can’t relate to me…yet you can relate to someone born in 1981… You have got to be kidding me…lol

  114. Your description would describe me as well…a November 1975 baby….you went waaaayyyy back with floor model Tv’s…

  115. I was born in November 1999, and I consider myself to be Generation Z, as I grew up in the noughties and now the “tens”, but some people tell me I’m Gen Y because I was born in the nineties (only just, though). I wanted to point out that there is no clear cut line that defines different generations, it really depends on how you see yourself.

  116.  well if thats the case then how can both my mother and I be of the SAME generation?? she was born 1961 and  I in 1979…… doesnt make sense

  117. most people date gen y from ’82-2000. i tend to date it from 1982 to 1993-4. i have less connections with people younger then that,  for me the cultural references are
    1. MTV played music videos
    2. remembering the transition away from land line phones
    3. remember the transition to PC’s and the internet
    4. 9-11
    in my opinion after about ’95 you are less likely to remember those events.
    plus traditionally 18-30 year olds fall in the same demographic.  which currently works with the ’82-94 dates.

  118. I was born in 1988 so I am Gen y boy literately. However, I didn’t know any about computer until 7 y/o. It is hard to decide which generation your are by depending on what gadget you had seen because those gadget may be delayed to be popular or well known for some countries (3rd world country perhaps). I feel my self is not belong to gen y but to Gen X if based on the characteristic of gen X. 

  119. i was born in 78 and i also believe people between 75,76 and 85,86 are transitional Generation lets say XY , as u mentioned sharply

  120. You do realize that every generation has believed that the next generation is going to hell…  

    Just think of our grandparents: they thought that their kids, our parents, were hippy revolutionists burning their bras, getting stoned, wearing (gasp) beards, definitely on their way to hell.  And my grandma’s generation – well, they had WWII.  If that isn’t hell, what is?  Before that, the depravity of the 20s with their prohibition-defying speakeasies and flapper dresses, and before that was WWI.  Go back far enough to “Generation A” and I guarantee you that there was some Cro-Magnon housewife who sat around the hearth fire gossiping with her that her son had moved out of the cave and was (OMG) building something called a “house” out of mud and twigs. There goes the neighborhood! There isn’t a single generation that hasn’t had going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket written all over them!  Forget about Gen Z.  Personally, I’m worried that the younger members of Gen Y are going to lose the ability to have meaningful human relationships if they continue to communicate exclusively with texts, tweets and Facebook posts.  They are *totally* going to hell….

  121. You can use all the fancy terms you want in defining the generations, but you can’t overlook the year of a generation – 20 years.  Now maybe you are defining buying or working traits, but that doesn’t designate when the generations are.  20 years!  That makes the Boomers 1946 – 64, Gen Xers 1965 – 84, and Gen Yers 1985 – 2005!  That is it, unless you are redefining what a generation is!

  122. I think it depends on your family and your parents socio-economic status. I was born in 89 and whilst I don’t remember anything of the 80’s my mum loved them so she brought me up on that music and watching those movies. We weren’t well off so didn’t get a computer or awesome tv until the middle of primary school. my mum brought me up to work hard and I am savvy with technology. I have traits from both generations as do probably most people, especially since now people of older generations are learning to use technology just as well as the younger generation, It just depends what you’re interested in. My partners 60+ father loves photography has the last whizz bang camera and all the computer technology to go with it!

  123. I was born in late 77 and consider myself on the tail end of Gen X. I remember rotary dial phones, TVs with knobs and record players. Gen Y grew up in the digital era and these things are foreign to them.

  124. I think.all of what u guys r saying.is right because there is NO general time span yet..give it amother ten years as more historical events happen while generation z coming of age and then the generation after them progresses in age..but if u had to talk in terms of demographics,i would sayfrom 1976-1994,exactly 30 years after the original baby boom….but in terms of social culture,i would say 1980-1995,with 9-11 being the event that ended that generation.

  125. A great book on the subject was written in 1991 by a couple of boomers. Strauss and Howe titled Generations – The History of America’s Future 1584-2069.

    I’m a gen-Xer and have found the insight helpful for understanding my role in the ongoing events of our nation.

  126.  I would kind of have to disagree in part even being born in 1983 to about 1985 is a whole “different world” then it seems even being born in 1989. those that were born in 1989 dont seem to know anything  first hand about gulf war, kosovo. They dont  remember the old 36 floor console tvs or the bag phones. and even growing up the home computers were not even really known of until mid middle school, same with the internet. Personally  in my my opinion  Generation y  is a very short  lived generation. lasting about 10 – 15 years  1989- 2000

  127. Generation X are ALL those individuals born between the year of 1965 – 1981 and Generation Y are ALL those individuals born between the year of 1981-2001.

  128.  gen x did not ” grow up in the 60s or 70s ” ,we are 80s and 90s , my rule of thumb is that if you were born after JFK was shot,( cultural  watershed moment for the silent generation) ,but before john lennon was shot,(cultural watershed moment for baby boomers) you are X, I was born 1966

  129. Gen X is Astro boy, Heman, Transformers, Ren and Stimpy, Star Warz episode 4,5,6
    Gen Y is pokemon and Dragonball Z, and Star warz episode 1,2,3

  130. Looks like I’m Generation Y. I was born in 1985. The 90’s is when I was in Elementary School and from there I have most of my childhood memories. I don’t remember MTV when it first appeared,but I do remember watching some of the very early shows. I remember the old Nickelodeon shows too!

  131. LOL Someone sounds so butthurt because they did not learn to use the computer in time to not get fired.  You cannot even spell “spoiled” , so I would not whine if I was replaced. Piling up all generation into one , and generalizing is downright ignorant. I bet Y is less ignorant, people are more traveled and knowledgeable;  Gen X seems to generalize everyone and think South America is full of indigenous people without TV. Hilarious. The Y generation will face a tougher competition than future generations where just a technical degree sufficed to make a decent living, it will be a generation where if you want decent living you will need a college degree, they will be crushed by unparalleled amounts of debt. So quit your whining, because Y’s were born on the age of technology and they grew with it, just because a Y can learn how to handle a smartphone in the first five minutes and can rapidly adapt to technology,while and you just now are learning the meaning of “blog” and are fearful of switching phones because “its too hard to use”. Generation Y is the generation of the “eat of be eaten”, It’s the area of the catfish and only the fastest salmon will make it. Call it “societal selection.

  132. Hmmm…I am not so sure I agree with Gen Y starting from the late 70s. I’ve met several people who have and they are significantly differ from those who were born in the 80s.

  133. I was born in early 1980 and have no clue as to where I belong; some places say I am a late Gen Xer and some say I am an early Gen Yer. I have both twitter and facebook accounts and use them regularly. I remember I using a computer by the time I was in Grade 3. And I remember when pastels where in the late 1980 and early 1990s. I remember when we had to rent a VHS machine to watch our rented VHS videos when I was a kid. So where does that put me? I have no clue!

  134. But for me, born in 80, also remember those cultural references as well and were significant to me and those of my grad class.

  135. Let’s remember that a generational label is nothing more than a media-invented slogan used to divide people and turn them against each other. As my name indicates, I was born in 1978, and I am a designer who uses UNIX. What does that make me? I don’t really give a ****. But it’s very easy to see, if you read newspapers with any regularity – or for you decrepit folks aged 30+ who may have worked for a dying print joint like I used to – that “Generation X” is nothing more than a media label, handily dashed off by lazy reporters, and fed to a lazy and declining readership by lazy advertisers.

    When I was in my teens, I was called X, in my early 20s, when the Boomers wanted to complain about me graduating from college and having the cajones to send my resume in for entry level jobs that required computer skills I possessed thanks to dedication and hard work, I was a Y, and now that I’m over 30, I’m X again. Don’t believe me? Check out news stories from 2011, and you’ll note that Gen-X ends in 1981, because everyone born then (including my little sister) turned 30 that year. Check out news stories from this year, and Gen-X now ends in 1983, because everyone born that year is turning 30.

    I imagine the media will have to stop X around ’84 or ’85 because a generation much longer than 20 years is ludicrous, but just in the past week, I can’t count how many articles I’ve read that say “The Millennials, ages 18-29” then later on, “Gen-X, born 1965-1983….” So everyone born between 80-83 who wanted to be in X just got their wish. You’re an X now, because you’re 30+, rendering you heretofore and forevermore irrelevant in the pantheon of youth culture. You’re also entitled, from this moment forward, and for the rest of your natural life, to yell at the “kids” to “get off my lawn!” No more will the 30-somethings born in ’82 and the 30-somethings born in ’76 fight, for they all have one thing in common: in the youth-obsessed, unforgiving light of the American media, they are officially over the hill.

  136. I always say the youngest people are the smartest, and your comment proves it. It sure is preferable to grown-assed men of 45 years of age whining about where Gen-X/Y starts and ends, like I’ve seen on other forums.

  137. Hey, birthday twinsies! Just kidding, unless you happen to be born on June 19th. Man, Cobain’s music was on the radio all the time when we were kids, wasn’t it? It was sad when he died (although I was sadder for the demise of Layne Staley, since I’ve always liked harder rock and metal), but I can’t for the life of me understand why younger people feel they missed out on “great alt-rock.” I think the best alt-rock comes from the 70s and early 80s, and the Boomers had all the luck. It bothers young people when I say it, but it’s true: Cobain was to teenagers in the 90s as Justin Bieber is to teens today.

  138. I have been chastised and bullied by a younger supervisor for being too formal in my e-mails and notes to clients. Once I started learning some “txt spk” and inserting it into my emails, she stepped off a little bit, but recently, she’s been bullying me again.

    I’ve been interviewing around the city as well (because this lady doesn’t care for me, and I see the writing on the wall), and have actually been turned away from jobs after being asked my college graduation date and age (the latter’s not a legal question). I labored under the fanciful delusion that I was just too young and ravishing to be hired for about a day; then, my husband pointed out that all the interviewes I was complaining about were under 25.

    If you’re in your mid-30s this year, you are at a weird age: still too young to be respected by Boomers (as if I want their respect or will ever get it anyway), but too old to fit in with many modern workplaces. That’s why, as a former reporter, and now a technology specialist, I don’t like generational labels: they’re used to discriminate against, stereotype, and exclude people.

  139. The world was great in the 1990s thanks to an unprecedented expansion of the economy during peacetime. Relative peacetime; please research some of Clinton’s overseas adventures and remember, America’s always fighting somewhere. Most of the growth during the 1990s was thanks to over-hyped, wildly over-speculated economic “bubbles’ in unstable industries like hi-tech and real estate, which swiftly popped the moment the economy turned south.

    And Clinton did his part to ravage the nation’s economy just in time for the millennial downturn – it was only around 2001, 2002, that we really saw just how poorly policies like NAFTA and welfare reform work when we don’t have bubble economies to prop them up. Gen-X didn’t do anything bad during the 90s, but the vast majority of us were way too young for the majority of that decade to do anything good, either. Most of us were too young to even hold elected office.

    Let’s use the most conservative, narrow definition I’ve seen of Gen-X (albeit reluctantly, since I’m kowtowing to a Baby Boomer label) and assume we were born between 65 and 79. We would’ve been between 11 and 25 in 1990, and between 21 and 35 in 2000. The vast majority of our generation was too young to lay any of the groundwork for the prosperity of the 90s. Some of us served in the military, others staged protests. I wrote letters to politicians and the newspapers – but it is all a drop in the bucket.

  140. Actually, a story came out this year that seems to bust that myth. It claims that Gen-X (b. 1965-1983 according to that reporter) uses technology more frequently, and is more adept at using it than those coming before or after us: http://readwrite.com/2013/01/11/sorry-kids-mom-and-dad-p0wn-you-on-the-net-infographic. And don’t forget that the people who invented Google, which pretty much is the Internet, were born in the early 1970s.

    I think labels for generations are kind of dumb anyway, but when I go on job interviews, it upsets me when young recruiters imply that I can’t possibly know how Facebook works because I’m in my mid-30s. That’s a pretty wrong assumption on their part, since I can actually code pages and apps for it, while none of the new grads I’ve managed knew how. I’ve also seldom met a new grad who understands the UNIX command line on their Macintosh – not a problem, it seldom comes up on the job anyway – because they’ve never used a computer without an interface.

    But I doubt the youth cohort (I think that sounds better and more accurate than Millennials, which is a meaningless term), aka those aged 18-29, would like it if I said something like, “Those guys use social media and browse the web a lot, but they are woefully bereft of scripting and programming skills. So they can’t design and deploy technology – they just consume it.” So all I am asking for in return is the chance to show the younger crowd that I do know more about the internet and social media than they think I do…especially those snooty recruiters! It’s funny; I was talking to my dad about this the other night – he’s 65, which I guess makes him a Boomer? – and we were wondering how the world changed so fast that we’re now both considered dinosaurs when it comes to understanding and keeping current with technology. = (

  141. That’s true. I first used a computer and the internet in 1995, which was the fall of my senior year of high school. We had AOL dial up, which would make the bleep-boop-boop sound when you accessed it by modem. But both of my parents were working white-collar professionals. If you asked the vast majority of my classmates what AOL or the internet or a modem was, they’d have no idea. I grew up in a rural, working-class town. Most dads worked in the trades, and most moms were teacher’s aides, PAs, or housewives. It annoys me when the media assumes that the upper-middle class among us get to define life experiences for everyone.

  142. The birthrates didn’t really rise until the mid-late 80s anyway. I remember when reporters used to gush about the “precipitous spike in birthrates around or after 1980,” and my editor would make me write crap like that, but a quick check of the U.S. birthrate chart shows it isn’t true. The birthrate during the late 60s, for example, was actually higher than the birthrate during the early 80s, and my younger sister (b. 1981), as well as our friends, mostly seem to remember childhoods without a lot of other kids to play with, and abnormally small graduating classes. I was born in ’78 and there just plain aren’t many of us around.

  143. Because you, two years ago, were 28 years old, which meant you had a lot more in common with 33-year-olds than with 18-year-olds. Now you are 30, and you have more in common with 35-year olds than you have with 18 year olds. The media agrees, which is why they call you Gen-X. Like I said in my first comment, you win! You got your wish, and now you’re a member of the generation you’ve always wanted to be a part of.

  144. Seriously, I was born in the SEVENTIES, and I turned 18 in 1996. I get to say I was a 90s kid, but sorry, guy who was born in 1992, you don’t. I post on an Alice in Chains message board, and every so often, we get this annoying influx of kids born the year Nevermind came out or the year Kurt ate a shotgun, claiming they were partying with chicas in flannels and dudes with nipple rings, and remember hearing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” when they were two.

    I vaguely, VAGUELY remember the mid-to-late 80s, 1984-89, when I was between 6 and 11 years old. (Less with each passing year, since my brain seems to delete memories to make room for new stuff…that, or I’m senile…) BUT I don’t pretend I was hanging out with the cool kids in the 80s. Once in a while, in the late 80s, a Depeche Mode song would be played on the Top 40s station. That, and singing “Welcome to the Jungle” and choice cuts from my parents’ Doors records into my hairbrush, was as cool as I got, being 11, and all. ; )

  145. You listened to AIC when you were three. Right. And then you took up smack at 6, and got into the methadone program by nine. All very believable… Are you that chick with 12 names on the Alice in Chains message board who claims she remembers grunge dudes blasting Nevermind when she was chilling in a Baby Bjorn? By the way, the Viacom programming halfway through the 90s SUCKED ASS. I never thought Mark Mothersbaugh (pop quiz: what is Devo?) would stoop to voicing annoying cartoon babies, but Rugrats can’t hold a candle to “You Can’t Do That on Television” – or Pee Wee’s Playhouse (which wasn’t even on a Viacom channel), or Headbanger’s.

    By the way, I did get a cell phone before you did (2004), but the difference is, I turned 26 that year. Even my younger sister didn’t get her first cell phone until her 22nd birthday/college graduation in April 2003. You never experienced living on your own with a landline. You will never know what that’s like, like we did – clearing answering machine messages, waiting around for someone to call, clearing your SCHEDULE so the guy or the job calls you back and reaches you…

  146. I disagree! I was born in 82 and with a heavy influence of sharing a room with an older brother born in 78, I am for sure Gen X! I fit the traits to a T and most of the major events described have had a big impact on me. I didn’t have a cell phone until my Freshman year in college. These generational lines have such gray areas because of the reality of behavioral influences in a person’s culture.

  147. Definitely a Gen XY Born in 77′ to a NASA family on one side and oil (govt’ research) on the other. Not a wealthy family because of Gov’t Contracts, but a highly gifted and educated one. We did not have a TV until 1980 (analog until the 90’s), so my early childhood development was not affected by the distraction of Television – it raises the intelligence during early childhood, if you avoid TV. Music was all country in town (analog radio) before MTV started broadcasting in 1980, then pop rock throughout the 80’s. My uncle (NASA side) built a Dos based dial-up network platform (like instant messenger) in 89-91, in lieu of college, and was an online Tech trouble-shooter for early networkers that invested heavily in early custom networks. This is pre-windows and AOL folks, so individual (project) achievement and mentor based study was stressed over formal education, especially because the educational community could not offer high tech customized educational opportunities that are required to keep the attention, focus and energy of a genius raised youth. “Doing someone else’s work” (and because of NASA’s decline after Apollo/Voyager) was all that was on offer in the 80’s and 90’s (still is in the Millenium – for the most part). New 21st century opportunities should become available for those raised outside of the constraints of the under-educated and intellectually unstimulating educators and employers of today’s society.

  148. You’re out of your 20s so you’re in X now. When Gen-X and Gen-Y both came on the scene as media-invented terms, the original date range for each was no longer than 12 or 14 years. A generation can’t be that short because teens barely into puberty can’t reproduce (not safely, anyway – pregnancy kills girls that age). But the media made them short so they could backfill Gen-X until it had an 18-to-20-year range, and add more kids to Gen-Y as they were born. The first Gen-X cohort of the 90s stopped in 1973, and Gen-Y began in 1974, ending in MAYBE 1990 at most. That’s all changed today.

    The Boomers were born from either 1945 or 1946-64, so the next 18/19 years – aka “Gen-X” – are 1965 to either 1983 or 1984. Starting in the mid-2000s, Gen-X has gotten one year longer each year. This year, I’m seeing tons of stories stating that X ends in 83, 84, or 85. I think 1985 will ultimately wind up being the hard line between X and Y. It can’t go any longer, because the generations would be lopsided – and there was a legitimate baby boom starting in 1988, while the mid-60s through mid-80s had very low birthrates.

    The reason for this generational stupidity has to do with sales and pageviews. You need to divide people up into groups that are roughly 20 years long so you can get them to fight on the internet and decide who to sell what to. Once you’re in Gen-X, you are pitched mortgages, cars, household cleaners, and educational toys for your children and you are told how shitty everyone under 30 is. It’s lovely, isn’t it?

  149. My Dad taught me how to use an IBM Pc Jr. with a command line in 1987. But now, in my 30s, I am becoming increasingly technologically irrelevant. It took me a full day to learn how to use an iPhone, and I still can’t do much on them.

  150. You may hate the kids today, but they write a lot better than you do. Maybe you hate them because they’ll make more money and get better jobs than you do. It was why I hated them – until I grew the fuck up, acted my age, and got over it.

  151. Labeling shit is a Boomer trait. They can’t stand anything if it isn’t labeled and divided, like they are. The next time a Boomer calls me Gen-X, I’ll call them “old fart.”

    p.s. You turned 30 this year, so now you’re in X. Welcome to the machine.

  152. I was born in June ’78 and I relate fine to anyone born in the first half of the 80s. I find it funny how often people born in the late 70s, who are in or approaching their mid 30s, scream and howl about the people ages 30, 31, 32, and 33, who are just so “alien” to them. So you’re 35 and have more in common with a 46-year-old than a 33-year-old. Wow. How does that work? And when you’re 75 and the “alien” is 73, will you be hanging out exclusively with the 100-year-olds? I bet not.

  153. There is a lot of hostility in some of these posts, or rather some negative stereotyping. Assuming gen Y includes those born from 82-90, that is actually still quite a divide. I was born in 86 and was never coddled in any sense of the word. I didn’t have television beyond the old antenna 2/5/11 three channel line-up, I got my first computer in 96 at ten years old. I only got the computer because I refused to skip the two grades my school wanted me to (I’m no uber-genius, I just grew up in the bible belt lol) so my family decided to get me a computer and a stack of AOL trial discs so I wouldn’t get bored with education. I have a sister who was born in 89 and she was coddled far more, though I’m not sure why. She and her friends and peers seem to be more self-entitled and have inflated egos, but not to the extent of every person I’ve met born after 91 or 92. There seems to be a much larger difference with the current generations, like comparing a current 27 year old and a 17 year old. While you may find a few 27 year olds who are whiny, illiterate douchebags, you’ll find that 95% of 17 year olds are that way.

    As I said, I was born in 86 and I’m absolutely appalled at the behavior of most people under 25. They answer phones in job interviews, they text and drive (and not a quick “k” without glancing at the phone), they choose bath salts and MDMA over the classic youth experimentation. They care nothing for history, nothing for politics, nothing for the world around them. There are some in my generation that behave that way, but not in the huge numbers of the latest generation that has reached its teens. I genuinely feel bad for them. My middle and high school years did include the fear of mass shootings, but that fear was relegated to troublesome students. We are the youngest generations to see the decline in our country, but it seems like the newest gen doesn’t care that they are a big part of the problem. People in their late 20s seem to care more and be more politically active, whereas anyone under 21 doesn’t care for anything in the world beyond their iPhone and some pop music act that exploits minority groups or celebrates the systematic dumbing down of society for the sake of record sales. My generation may be a bit apathetic, but the apathy is only towards ourselves. We care about the big picture, but these 19 year olds today are like a Monet up close; just meaningless dots with no real connection.

  154. Stop. Just stop. Your not getting bullied. Your not being discriminated against. You aren’t above being labelled and categorized. Get over yourself. You sound Generation Y.. “Why me?!”

  155. Well, I was born in the wrong generation altogether. I am a traditionalist, and would have done well to be born in the 1920’s, and dead or near death at this point. I sort of envy my grandmother who passed before Obama destroyed America. I was born in 79, but would prefer to have grown up without TV, or internet, or computers. I am a teacher and a homemaker, and adventurer and a sewer, and absolutely loathe the constant interruptions of today’s technological world. It makes me cringe everytime my cell phone rings, and we don’t watch much TV at my house (maybe one show once every 2 weeks). The internet is mildly entertaining at times, but if it disappeared altogether in the next 5 seconds, I would not miss it at all, ever. I would like to stroll through the woods with my gun and my dog, buy rice in a burlap sack, and receive written updates of distant relatives’ lives without the minute-by-minute, play-by-play of today’s society that I find to be an incredibly (an unnecessary) draining roller coaster ride of emotions.

  156. Well I would say I’m part of Gen XY as well and I was born in 75. So I agree on these gray lines. What both of you have stated fits me as well. MTV, Computers becoming of age, Grunge Music of the 90’s. Well that’s me. With so many having different views where these generations end and begin I would say it would stretch to those born in 82. With a two year difference between 75 and 77 I don’t see much change for I think all of us experience the same changes in Pop Culture etc… Not sure what to make of the Y Gen yet. Even though I’m ahead of that Generation I honestly feel what they are feeling because people in my age group are struggling and looking for work or going back to school to hopefully find a better job. The world has gotten bigger (people wise) and smaller with the internet and with so much greed and no light at the moment we are living indeed in strange times. Yes we have had many strange times in human history or a void so to speak. The 90’s were a great decade for the most part. Not because it was my Generation but because people all seemed to have work and Pop Culture was producing good music etc. at the that time. It seems these are times to be self made. No guarantees for work or even if you have work will it last. Who knows! I just hope we get it together soon and that everyone has a chance to prosper and be successful in their own way.

  157. So I stand corrected and agree with a poster below that computers were new but out to the market in exactly the year I was born 75.

  158. Hes done a great job so far. Just ask ambassador Stevens or the twelve members of seal team six whose deaths were covered up. I wonder how all those ”rebels ” in Syria got their weapons. It must have been the evil Reagan or Nixon who increased a trillion dollar deficit to sixteen trillion.

  159. I wonder which 90s did you live in ? Maybe crime was low where you lived, but for those of us in the people’s Republic of Baltimore, it was always a third world shithole. Could it be that your rise colored view of that decade, I s due to the reign of a certain great and ” trustworthy ‘”president. After all, he was just the best. Wasn’t he?

  160. I agree with you. I possess all of same traits you have. There is absolutely no way that I can identify with someone born in 2000 for example.

  161. What patriotism? How reactionary and racist of you.tsk tsk Dont let homeland insecurity or the Nsa find out . ( sarcasm)

  162. Yes we are All supposed to be good little “citizens of the world”, with no discernable national, ethnic, or even gender identity.

  163. Those crazy right extremists. Imagine actually liking the country you live in and speaking about it in a positive way, rather than always bashing it like those cool , “moderate” progressives .

  164. Wow! somebody got a little worked up there. When in doubt always go on the offensive and attack the person because you are unable to refute the position. This particular conversation had nothing to do with you in the first place, so, take a couple deep breaths , count to ten, and calm down. It’s a big world out there, and we’re all entitled to our own opinions. Have a nice day.

  165. No need to apologize. If a little free speech pits someone’s nose out of joint, than so be it. It only tells what you already know about that sort of person. When they start to foam at the mouth, I know that I’ve succeeded in getting my point across. Nice chatting with you.

  166. The eighties sound like an interesting time period to be living in. It’s to bad I wasn’t old enough to really appreciate it. I’m thirty thirty.

  167. Do people born in the late seventies to early eighties qualify as part of a cusp group in your opinion?

  168. That’s true it’s all subjective. I like both the boomers and the Xers despite the negative stereotypes about them . Which generation are you a part of?

  169. Well, even with all the venom and vitriol, at least we’re talking to each other. That’s always a good sign. At the end of the day, were all humans, left , right, center, etc. First wave, it’s nice chatting with you and I did not mean to come off as pompous. I actually liked some of your one liners. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.

  170. Gen Y or Millennials end in 1992. The Information Generation or iGen begins for those born after “Connect Day” of 1992, but born before 9/11. These are people who have never lived life without online access open to the general public.  As to when Gen Y began, I’ve heard the defining element is that you came of age during the first decade of the New Millennium. So, if you turned 18-21 between 2000/2001-2009, you are Gen Y. When it comes to Gen X, a college professor of mine once said that began for people born after the passing of the Civil Rights Act and the beginning of the Western Cultural Revolution. So, mid-’60’s. Hope that helps.

  171. @Kelly She’s Gen Z. My brother was born on Jan 2, 2001 and he’s Gen Z. My sister was born in 1997 and she is somewhere between my brother and me generation-wise. I was born in ’86.

  172. @Mike You’re the same age as my mom and she remembers all the stuff you mentioned. She got me into a lot of it too. I’m a Gen Y’er. Remember Sid and Marty Kroft, H.R. Pufnstuff? Lol. She always played those old TV shows for me as a kid. I got to experience a lot of Gen X, even though I’m technically a Y, because I had a young mom.

  173. @bchris02 I must be on the cusp of the cusp. Lol. I was born at the VERY beginning of ’86 and I remember everything you mentioned. Getting our first DVD player from Costco was SO cool. The DVDs we bought came in cardboard (w/a little bit of plastic on the handle where they close). My dad’s first DVD that he bought for us was “U.S. Marshalls”. Yeah, I wasn’t too stoked about that. Lol. I remember having “Titanic” on a two-cassette set. I hated rewinding my VHS tapes. I remember seeing ‘Titanic’ 12 times in theaters (yes, I’m embarrassed to admit that I was one of THOSE girls). I was like 11 or 12 at the time. Facebook came out when I had just started college in Boston and it was only available to Boston-area college students at the time. I remember awful dial-up. I can’t believe how long we had to wait to just get online or how long it took for a page to load. These complications are fond memories though. It was a slightly more simpler time, in my opinion, though old people would probably disagree. Everything is relative though.

  174. @corina I agree, but being a kid in the 90’s was pretty fun too. I was born in ’86 and I loved the 90’s. I didn’t get into grunge and all that until AFTER it was done though, in the late nineties, when I was in middle school/just starting high school. So, I fail to see how someone born in ’91 could have been into it when it was popular. I was only like 7 when Nirvana was at its peak. Meaning, the poster above was only 2 years old. Lol.

  175. @sabby You’re DEFINITELY not Gen X. I was born 9 years before you and I am not Gen X. You’re Gen Y, like me. I’m on the early end, you’re on the late end.

  176. @Cath_erine “I was born July 1978 – definite Gen Xer – I cannot identify with Gen Y
    at all. They are almost an alien species to me. Seventies kids, and
    maybe those born into the early eighties, are the people I understand,
    relate to, and share common values with. Gen X (particularly the latter
    half) is, in my experience, hardworking, adaptable and independent, with
    some techno savvy but none of the egocentricity, impatience and sense
    of self-entitlement that typifies Gen Y.”
    Lol. Of course, you ascribe all positive attributes to the latter half of Gen X, YOUR half. That’s not ego-centric at all. Sorry, but the irony is hilarious. And people call Gen Y “narcissistic”.

  177. @Katie Agreed. My mom is Gen Y. I was born in ’86 and I am DEFINITELY not the same generation as my mother. I so don’t get her love of REO Speedwagon and Fleetwood Mac. Lol.

  178. @Sharonatw Agreed. What ridiculous comment. As someone born in ’86, I consider both you and Lenora Gen Xers. I don’t relate as much to people born in ’77 as I do to people born in the mid-80’s.

  179. @Sharonatw Err. I don’t think that someone born in ’74 is Gen Y in any shape or form. Too old.

  180. I have to throw this in here. Its rediculous to describe millennial as ending in 1992 since the new millenium startes in 2000. The last of the millenials would be born after 2000. Otherwise why would they be called the millennials?

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