Not Your Average Millennial: Living Rent-Free in a Gen Z World
Growing up, the term “generation gap” seemed a bit obscure. Stands to reason, since my young mind was primarily preoccupied with my own experiences and how I function in the world as I knew and understood it. It was limited; or perhaps ‘focused’.
Based on the societal definitions, I’m categorized as a “Millennial” (born within the years 1981–1996). Good luck guessing my actual age…??
But when I seemingly kept current on a recent trend on Tik Tok which sparked recognition from a few of the “Gen Zs” (born 1997–2010) in my team I’ve started to ponder… Why “own” this generational label?
I ventured into some light research (aka Googling – since the days for heading to a library and scouring the indexed lanes to find information are long gone) – and it turns out that the way generations are defined and studied can be quite a controversial topic. There’s a tendency to categorize generations by age “cohorts” with assumptions made around historical and social events that can influence how groups of people perceive and respond to the world around them. But arguably, someone could very likely be born in a certain age range without having been exposed to or experienced the same events in a similar manner. Within the same “generational cohort”, individuals can have vastly different life experiences – a simple reference could be drawn if we consider that a person born in the late 1980s in the United States might share different cultural memories with someone from the same era in the Caribbean based on their upbringing, way of life and degree of exposure to technology advancements to name a few.
One can easily become consumed in the theory, but there is a statement which I dare say travels through ‘generations’ (however the word be interpreted) – “Change is the only constant”. And the question of why societies change appears to have been a driving factor behind Karl Mannheim’s theories when “The Problem of Generations” was written in 1952. While there could be endless arguments around how we define and categorize, it is undoubtedly fair to say we have all experienced a changing world, changing society and personal change in some way or the other. As a simple example we can consider that the evolution of digital communication affects how people interact, learn, and share information. This constant change can be very new, intimidating and challenging to adapt to for some, but very common and expected for others based on their unique circumstance. ?
Which takes me back to my question – Why own the Millennial label? While the socially acceptable method of categorization might place me there, I am constantly adapting in the way I work, my interactions, how I learn, how I communicate, how I show up for my team and my family… I won’t identify with an artificial box of age cohort definition. I believe I get to use all the information available to me (from the past, present and what I do not yet know but will in the future) to my advantage in my adaptability. Embracing change is more valuable than adhering to a label.
So, in ode to the Tik Tok trend that got me on this train of thought, I share a photo from my local office’s Summer/JAVA Event which gave me pause… as I considered my younger colleagues in this beautiful moment…
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Special Thank You to:
Bria Paul for being my Editor and the creative mind behind the Title for this piece.
Seth Timothy for being the first person to read it and share his thoughts.
Dynamic Agile Leader | Outcome Driven | Value Oriented | Agile Coach
5 个月This was very demure, very mindful Shan LOL ....jokes aside the categorization for me feels like a distinction of the experiences that have shaped each "generation". As a fellow non-average millennial ?? I think we had the best of both worlds and we are the generation that connects the ones before us with the ones after us. Cheers to us!