Talk:2165: Millennials

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Revision as of 12:34, 20 June 2019 by 162.158.89.187 (talk) (Original of millenials)
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I never understand the american obsession with naming generations, and it deeply confuses me. --Lupo (talk) 14:22, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

You're calling it an American obsession, but I've never been obsessed with it myself. Instead, I suspect it's an American media obsession, and I'd prefer not to be associated with them. Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 14:46, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
Indeed, the idea of naming generations is primarily a media phenomenon, and none of the generation names more recent than the Baby Boomers have taken hold as strongly as "Baby Boomers" did. --172.69.90.34 15:25, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
There are a couple different things that create the obsession. First is a 19th century and early 20th century European sociological theory. The notion of a particular cohort being different from others really became popular after the First World War when people started talking about the Lost Generation (also mostly a European thing). In that case it referred to a cohort which really had gone through some very unique experiences (a huge chunk of the world's population of a certain age died either as a result of the First World War (which included a few genocides) or from the influenza pandemic and all sorts of trauma was experienced by the survivors). This in turn inspired a famous theory that there is a grand cyclical pattern to generations in American history. Combine the (pretty obvious) theory that living through a major war or disease pandemic will affect a generation (see also the post-WWII baby boom) with the (thoroughly-discredited-but-still-popular-in-America) idea of generational cycles and you end up with an ongoing tendency to name, define, and redefine the boundaries of distinct "generations" and to describe them will all sorts of sweeping generalizations.172.69.170.28 18:33, 19 June 2019 (UTC)


This is very similar to comic https://xkcd.com/973/ in which White Hat criticizes a different generation. 172.69.160.134 15:03, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

I was under the impression that 'millenials' were those born in the 90s, in between gen y and gen z. I think there is a 'slight' trend that my generation has trouble 'growing up' even as adults. Many friends, if they haven't had kids they might still be living at home. Some even have kids and are still living with their parents. Myself, I don't see why a family structure couldn't work that way and still be healthy, I think the 'issue' comes from the older generations trying to keep the societal norms steady, and in the 1950s, when a boy turned 18 he became a 'man' and was promptly kicked out of the house, like a bird from a nest, or something like that... 162.158.58.75 15:05, 19 June 2019 (UTC) Sam

Yes. Those that were born millennials were born in the '90s, but most millennials were recruited from other generations.172.69.170.88 16:31, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

In fairness to White Hat, one might plausibly assume from the word "millennial" that it was meant to refer to people born around the turn of the millennium, or people born in the current millennium which is still fairly new as millennia go. It's not obvious that a person born 18 or 19 years before the turn of the millennium is supposed to be a millennial, while a person born 1 year before or 1 year after the turn of the millennium isn't. --172.69.90.34 15:25, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

As I understand it, the term was intended to refer to the generation that would enter adulthood around the beginning of the 21st century, rather than those born in it. But it's certainly easy to assume differently, if you don't remember that the term was around for more than a decade before the turn of the millenium (Wikipedia says it was coinced in 1987).Barmar (talk) 19:28, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
It is meant to refer to everybody that was a teenager in millenial decade from 2000 to 2010, so from 19 years before 2000, to 13 years before 2010.. It is defined by their shared childhood/young adulthood.162.158.89.187 12:34, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

The title text begins with the word Ironically, but is the statement really ironic? I think a more appropriate word might have been Frustratingly instead, but I wonder if his choice of words means something as well. Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 15:30, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

Just to continue this thought, while Alanis Morissette is not a millennial herself, her song Ironic was released in 1995, just as the earliest millennials were about to enter their teen years. Not sure it means anything, but perhaps millennials have a part in perpetuating the misunderstanding of this word. Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 15:37, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
In all fairness, in 1995, the only millennials were still babies. Those in their teens at the time wouldn't become millennials until much more recently.172.69.170.88 16:34, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
What? The current explanation states that the first millennials were born in 1982, making them 13 in 1995. Are you having the same problem as White Hat? Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 16:51, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
That's the CURRENT definition, not the original one. If the definition hasn't changed, then where did Gen Y go? When were they born? EDIT: Actually, I was mistaken, because a more recent definition has people born as early as 1980 defined as millennials. If you think I'm having the same problem as White Had, read what I wrote below.172.69.170.112 16:55, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
Along those same lines (or perhaps perpendicular to them), I don't consider myself a Baby Boomer, despite my birth date. Ok, now that we've straightened that out, what about Randall's choice of Ironically in the title text? Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 17:06, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
I'm not that worried about people misusing the word, "ironic," as it's prety difficult to define any other way than example.172.69.170.22 17:08, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

I have a theory that the definition creep of the word is an attempt to eliminate the generation gap (a failure to understand each other due to too large an age difference) and ageism in society in general. If we're all part of the same generation, then where can the prejudice be? If this is true, then I support it, and proudly call myself a millennial, even though I was not one when I was born.172.69.170.28 16:46, 19 June 2019 (UTC)


Being a millenial by that definition, I agree with white hat. 162.158.111.91 10:05, 20 June 2019 (UTC)