To continue with this chart:
Now with the Millennial Generation:
Millennials usually go from 1982-mid to late 1990s, coming of age in the early 21st century. If you implement the cultural aspect of the generation, the historical events of the generation besides the actual baby boom, and the technological aspect, the generation is definitely going to shift.
Starting with the historical aspect of Millennials: They grew up in the 1990's and the 2000's as children, and grew up in the Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama era as kids, and the Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama era as teens. They witnessed the OJ Simpson trial, Windows 95 release, OKC bombing, 1996 election, 2Pac and Biggie murders, Princess Diana's death, Monica Lewinsky scandal, Stock Market crash, Columbine shooting, Y2K, 2000 election, turn of the century, 9/11, start of the Afghanistan War, establishment of Homeland security, Iraq War, MySpace release, Facebook release, YouTube release, Hurricane Katrina, Twitter release, iPhone release, Great Recession, and 2008 election, all in school. So that could relate to anyone born as early as 1977 and as late as 2006 (for the Iraq War), for being in school for those events. So in total Millennials would stretch from 1977-2006. But to narrow it down, I think you should turn between ages 5 and 20 for a certain event to be a Millennial, the first age where you will most likely pick up memory and the last age of typical adolescence:
- OJ Simpson - 1975-1990
- OKC bombing - 1975-1990
- Windows 95 release - 1975-1990
- 2Pac assassination - 1976-1991
- 1996 election - 1976-1991
- Notorious B.I.G. assassination - 1977-1992
- Princess Diana's death - 1977-1992
- Monica Lewinsky scandal - 1978-1993
- Stock Market crash - 1978-1993
- Columbine shooting - 1979-1994
- Y2K - 1979-1994
- 2000 election - 1980-1995
- Turn of the century - 1980-1995
- 9/11 - 1981-1996
- Start of the Afghanistan War - 1981-1996
- Establishment of Homeland Security - 1982-1997
- Iraq War - 1983-2006
- MySpace release - 1983-1998
- Facebook release - 1984-1999
- YouTube release - 1985-2000
- Hurricane Katrina - 1985-2000
- Twitter release - 1986-2001
- iPhone release - 1987-2002
- Great Recession - 1987-2004
- 2008 election - 1988-2003
Combining all of these definitions and events with the start date from 1975-1988, the median start date is 1982, while combining the end dates of 1990-2006, then the median end date is 1998. So historically, Millennials are 1982-1998. Being in school works historically as well:
- OJ Simpson - 1977-1989
- OKC bombing - 1977-1989
- Windows 95 release - 1978-1990
- 2Pac assassination - 1979-1991
- 1996 election - 1979-1991
- Notorious B.I.G. assassination - 1979-1991
- Princess Diana's death - 1980-1992
- Monica Lewinsky scandal - 1980-1992
- Stock Market crash - 1981-1993
- Columbine shooting - 1981-1993
- Y2K - 1982-1994
- 2000 election - 1983-1995
- Turn of the century - 1983-1995
- 9/11 - 1984-1996
- Start of the Afghanistan War - 1984-1996
- Establishment of Homeland Security - 1985-1997
- Iraq War - 1985-2006
- MySpace release - 1986-1998
- Facebook release - 1986-1998
- YouTube release - 1987-1999
- Hurricane Katrina - 1988-2000
- Twitter release - 1989-2001
- iPhone release - 1989-2001
- Great Recession - 1990-2003
- 2008 election - 1991-2003
Combining all of these definitions and events with the start date from 1977-1991, the median start date is 1984, while combining the end dates of 1989-2006, then the median end date is 1998. So historically, Millennials are 1984-1998.
Combining the historical start date of 1982 with basing the events by being 5-20 and the historical start date of 1984 with basing events by being in K-12, would make the definitive historical start date of 1983. Historically, Millennials make sense as 1983-1998 in totality.
Now with the cultural aspect of Millennials: Millennials mainly were children in the late 1980's, 1990's, and the 2000's. They were the first generation that grew up with protective parenting or helicopter parenting, after some dangerous incidents of kids going missing and being kidnapped or even killed in the late 1970's/early 1980's. They grew up with grunge, gangsta rap, teen pop, boy bands, pop punk, punk emo, mainstream emo, scene, R&B, bling rap, etc. They grew up as children during the Disney Renaissance. Some cultural aspects of the Millennials Generation are things like popular entertainment that included movies like Clueless, American Pie, Mean Girls, White Chicks, Freaky Friday, Twilight, Hunger Games, etc., TV shows like That 70's Show, Malcolm In the Middle, Boy Meets World, FRIENDS (this show was also popular TV shows for Gen X), Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Full House, The George Lopez, Degrassi: The Next Generation, All That, Kenan & Kel, The Amanda Show, Drake and Josh, etc., and cartoons like Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, Ren & Stimpy, Doug, Catdog, Spongebob Squarepants, Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, Jimmy Neutron, Proud Family, etc. Artists and musical groups such as the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child, Blink-182, Avril Lavigne, Hanson, Aaron Carter, Jesse McCartney, Eminem, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, etc., were musical icons for this generation. I'm not really sure about how to define too much of the cultural definition of Millennials, but I think that it makes sense to start Millennials culturally in 1978 because the 1978 birth year is the first to seem more culturally Millennial than X culturally, as well not remembering the 1970's, spending most of high school when Kurt Cobain died, and were still in college in the year 2000, and the actors born in 1978 seem a bit more Millennial than the 1977 borns, though some 1977ers seem pretty Millennial. I think the end date should probably be 1997 because they were probably the last to have any memory of the 20th century and maybe even the 1990's, depending on the individual, graduated high school before Donald Trump ran for president, they were the last in high school during the Iraq War, and they most likely graduated college before the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, they were born before overtly stereotypical Gen Z celebrities like XXXTentacion, Jaden Smith, Juice Wrld, MrBeast (?), in 1998. This might have not been as thorough as it should have been but I didn't want to spend days on this. Culturally, Millennials should be 1978-1997.
Finally with the technological aspect: Millennials were the first generation to grow up with the internet as it started to become available to Americans in the mid '90s. And they were the first generation to grow up with social media. They grew up with a lot of other appliances being manufactured or being invented by then. I will show some of those, too.
To base a generation off of this, depending on when the appliance/gadget, etc. came out, will either be based on those who were either 5-20 during this event. Here are some technological items that came out during the mid-late 1990's, 2000's, and early-mid 2010's:
- Windows 95 - 1975-1990
- PlayStation - 1975-1990
- Java - 1975-1990
- E-commerce - 1975-1990
- N64 - 1976-1991
- DVDs - 1977-1992
- AIM - 1977-1992
- Near-field communication - 1977-1992
- MP3 Player - 1977-1992
- Netflix - 1977-1992
- Gameboy Color - 1978-1993
- HDTV - 1978-1993
- Windows 98 - 1978-1993
- Google - 1978-1993
- DVR - 1979-1994
- Sega Dreamcast - 1979-1994
- Amazon - 1979-1994
- USB flash drives - 1980-1995
- Camera phones - 1980-1995
- Windows 2000 - 1980-1995
- PlayStation 2 - 1980-1995
- Apple Mac OS X - 1980-1995
- Wikipedia - 1981-1996
- Windows XP - 1981-1996
- iPod - 1981-1996
- GameCube - 1981-1996
- XBOX - 1981-1996
- Gameboy Advance - 1981-1996
- Bluetooth headsets - 1982-1997
- Blackberry - 1983-1998
- MySpace - 1983-1998
- Skype - 1983-1998
- Facebook - 1984-1999
- Web 2.0 - 1984-1999
- Nintendo DS - 1984-1999
- PSP - 1985-2000
- YouTube - 1985-2000
- Xbox 360 - 1985-2000
- MacBook Pro - 1986-2001
- Bluray - 1986-2001
- Twitter - 1986-2001
- PlayStation 3 - 1986-2001
- Wii - 1986-2001
- iPhone - 1987-2002
- Kindle - 1987-2002
- Flash memory - 1988-2003
- USB 3.0 - 1988-2003
- Android - 1988-2003
- Apple's App Store - 1988-2003
- Bitcoin - 1989-2004
- Windows 7 - 1989-2004
- iPad - 1990-2005
- Instagram - 1990-2005
- Smartphones overtake dumb phones - 1991-2006
- Snapchat - 1991-2006
- Minecraft - 1991-2006
- Windows 8 - 1992-2007
- Vine - 1993-2008
- Xbox One - 1993-2008
- PlayStation 4 - 1993-2008
- Brain computer interfaces - 1994-2009
- Wireless electricity - 1994-2009
- Self-driving cars - 1995-2010
Combining the 5-20 ages for the start dates from 1975-1995 and the end dates from 1990-2010, the median start date is 1985 and the median end date is 2000, so Millennials would technologically be from 1985-2000 with ages 5-20.
Combining the 1980-1997, 1983-1998, and 1985-2000 definitions will give us the ultimate Millennials range of 1982-1999. The oldest to relate to Millennials historically are those born in 1975, because of the Windows 95 release, while the oldest to relate to Millennials historically are those born in 2006, because of the Iraq War. The oldest to relate to Millennials technologically are those born in 1975 because of the Windows 95 release, while the youngest to relate to Millennials technologically are those born in 2010 because of self-driving cars.
Here are a few articles (but not all) that were used for the Millennials:
https://www.techrepublic.com/pictures/tech-nostalgia-the-top-10-innovations-of-the-2000s/
https://www.businessinsider.com/game-changing-tech-from-the-2000s-2012-8#1-iphone-2007-10
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/iphone-bitcoin-youtube-amazon-skype-5g-wikipedia-streaming-a9257691.html
https://newatlas.com/technolgy-world-firsts-2010/16942/
https://www.nj.com/business/2011/09/smartphones_overtake_feature_p.html
Now with the Generation Z:
Generation Z usually goes from about 1997-2012. If you implement the cultural aspect of the generation, the historical events of the generation besides the actual baby boom, and the technological aspect, the generation is definitely going to shift.
Starting with the historical aspect of Millennials: They grew up in the 2000's, 2010's, and 2020's as children, and grew up in the Bush Jr., Obama, Trump, etc. era as kids, and the Obama, Trump, etc. era as teens. They witnessed the legalization of gay marriage, Donald Trump running for presidency, Paris bombings, Brexit, 2016 election, Fortnite release, tide pod incident, Parkland shootings, release of Tiktok, Trump impeachment, COVID-19 pandemic, and 2020 election, all in school. So that could relate to anyone born as early as 1997 and as late as 2016 (for the end of the pandemic), for being in school for those events. So in total Generation Z would stretch from 1997-2016. But to narrow it down, I think you should turn between ages 0 and 20 for a certain event to be Gen Z (since there are still a lot of Gen Z events to come forward), the first age where you are born and the last age of typical adolescence:
- Donald Trump running for presidency - 1995-2015
- Legalization of gay marriage - 1995-2015
- Paris bombings - 1995-2015
- Brexit - 1996-2016
- 2016 election - 1996-2016
- Fortnite release - 1997-2017
- Tide pod incident - 1998-2018
- Parkland shootings - 1998-2018
- US Release of TikTok - 1998-2018
- Trump impeachment - 1999-2019
- COVID-19 pandemic - 2000-2021
- 2020 election - 2000-2020
Combining all of these definitions and events with the start date from 1995-2000, the median start date is 1998, while combining the end dates of 2015-2021, then the median end date is 2018. So historically, Generation Z are 1998-2018. Being in school works historically as well:
- Donald Trump running for presidency - 1997-2009
- Legalization of gay marriage - 1997-2009
- Paris bombings - 1998-2010
- Brexit - 1998-2010
- 2016 election - 1999-2011
- Fortnite release - 2000-2012
- Tide pod incident - 2000-2012
- Parkland shootings - 2000-2012
- US Release of TikTok - 2001-2013
- Trump impeachment - 2002-2014
- COVID-19 pandemic - 2002-2016
- 2020 election - 2003-2015
Combining all of these definitions and events with the start date from 1997-2003, the median start date is 2000, while combining the end dates of 2009-2016, then the median end date is 2013. So historically, Generation Z are 2000-2013.
Combining the historical start date of 1998 and end date of 2018 with basing the events by being 0-20 and the historical start date of 2000 and end date of 2013 with basing events by being in K-12, would make the definitive historical start date of 1999 and end date of 2016. Historically, Generation Z make sense as 1999-2016 in totality.
Now with the cultural aspect of Generation Z: Generation Z mainly were children in the 2000's, 2010's, and the 2020's. They were the first generation that grew up with post-9/11, not knowing of the pre-9/11 peace and optimism. They grew up with trap rap, rock (though it was dying), mumble rap, EDM, electropop, emo rap, etc. They are the first generation to grow up with rap as the main genre instead of rock or pop. Some cultural aspects of Generation Z are things like popular entertainment that included movies like The Kissing Booth, To All of The Boys I've Loved Before, Sierra Burgess, Tall Girl, The Perfect Date, The Hate U Give, Love Simon, etc., TV shows like On The Block, Riverdale, All American, Outer Banks, Euphoria, Cobra Kai, Stranger Things, etc., and childhood shows like iCarly, Big Time Rush, Wizards of Waverly Place, Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Suite Life on Deck, Hannah Montana, Victorious, Henry Danger, Shake It Up, etc. Artists such as Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, BTS, Drake, XXXTentacion, Pop Smoke, Lil Uzi Vert, etc., are examples of musical icons for this generation. I'm not really sure about how to define too much of the cultural definition of Generation Z, but I think that it makes sense to start Generation Z culturally in 1997 because they were not yet in school for 9/11, they became teenagers in the 2010's, they spent most of high school when Vine was released, could have still been in college during COVID-19, and the actors born in 1997 seem a little Z than the 1996 borns, though some 1996ers seem pretty Z. I think the end date should probably be 2014 because they were probably the last to have any possibility of remembering the 2016 election, depending on the individual, and were in K-12 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Culturally, Generation Z should be 1997-2014.
Finally with the technological aspect: Generation Z were the first generation to grow up with mainly digital technology. And they were the first generation to only know of a world with social media. They grew up with a lot of other appliances being manufactured or being invented by then. I will show some of those, too.
To base a generation off of this, depending on when the appliance/gadget, etc. came out, will either be based on those who were either 0-17 during this event (I think using 0-17 instead of 0-20 or 5-20 for this). Here are some technological items that came out during the early 2010's, 2020's, and early 2030's (anything past 2021/2022 is either a prediction, projected, or speculated to happen then):
- Snapchat - 1994-2011
- Minecraft - 1994-2011
- Windows 8 - 1995-2012
- Vine - 1996-2013
- Xbox One - 1996-2013
- PlayStation 4 - 1996-2013
- Brain computer interfaces - 1997-2014
- Wireless electricity - 1997-2014
- Self-driving cars - 1998-2015
- PlayStation VR - 1999-2016
- Pokemon GO! - 1999-2016
- TikTok - 1999-2016
- Nintendo Switch - 2000-2017
- AMD Ryzen - 2000-2017
- Fortnite - 2000-2017
- Augmented reality - 2001-2018
- Apple TV+ - 2002-2019
- Disney+ - 2002-2019
- 5G - 2003-2020
- Extended reality - 2003-2020
- PlayStation 5 - 2003-2020
- Xbox Series X - 2003-2020
- Artificial Intelligence - 2004-2021
- Quantum Computing - 2005-2022
- Universal Memory - 2005-2022
- Cloud Computing - 2005-2022
- Autonomous AI microscopes - 2006-2023
- New prosthetic models convey sensations of feeling - 2007-2024
- AI-optimized manufacturing - 2008-2025
- First 3D Fast Bus, the Land Airbus, is tested on Chinese roads - 2009-2026
- Dubai World Central "Al Maktoum International Airport" is fully built - 2010-2027
- Hypersonic missiles are in military use - 2011-2028
- Gestures, holograms, and matrix-style mind uploading - 2012-2029
- The 6G standard is released - 2013-2030
- ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics) - 2014-2031
Combining the 0-17 ages for the start dates from 1994-2014 and the end dates from 2011-2031, the median start date is 2004 and the median end date is 2021, so Millennials would technologically be from 2004-2021 with ages 0-17.
Combining the 1997-2014, 1999-2016, and 2004-2021 definitions will give us the ultimate Generation Z range of 2000-2017. The oldest to relate to Millennials historically are those born in 1995, because of the legalization of gay marriage, while the oldest to relate to Generation Z historically are those born in 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The oldest to relate to Generation Z technologically are those born in 1994 because of the Snapchat release, while the youngest to relate to Generation Z technologically are those born in 2031 because of ATHENA.
Here are a few articles (but not all) that were used for Generation Z:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/21stcentury/2030.htm
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2018/12/31/2018-year-technology/2388953002/
https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-most-iconic-tech-innovations-of-the-2010s
https://www.ypulse.com/article/2019/10/08/the-17-musicians-gen-z-millennials-say-represent-their-generations/
https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-about-generation-z/ranker-film
https://www.moderneast.com/entertainment/watch/netflix-top-5-gen-z-teen-movies-220388.html
I tried my best with these, but I was probably still a bit biased with how I arranged these dates, but oh well.
Here is how the generations look historically, culturally, and technologically, as well as all in one:
Historically:
Baby Boomers: 1945-1961
Early Baby Boomers: 1945-1949
Core Baby Boomers: 1950-1956
Late Baby Boomers: 1957-1961
Baby Boomers/Generation X cusp years: 1962-1965
Generation X: 1966-1980
Early X: 1966-1970
Core X: 1971-1975
Late X: 1976-1980
Generation X/Millennial cusp years: 1981 & 1982
Millennials: 1983-1998
Early Millennials: 1983-1987
Core Millennials: 1988-1993
Late Millennials: 1994-1998
Generation Z: 1999-2016
Early Z: 1999-2004
Core Z: 2005-2010
Late Z: 2011-2016
Culturally:
Baby Boomers: 1940-1958
Early Baby Boomers: 1940-1945
Core Baby Boomers: 1946-1952
Late Baby Boomers: 1953-1958
Baby Boomers/Generation X cusp year: 1959
Generation X: 1960-1977
Early X: 1960-1965
Core X: 1966-1971
Late X: 1972-1977
Millennials: 1978-1997
Early Millennials: 1978-1984
Core Millennials: 1985-1990
Late Millennials: 1991-1997
Generation Z: 1997-2014
Early Z: 1997-2002
Core Z: 2003-2008
Late Z: 2009-2014
Technologically:
Baby Boomers: 1952-1967
Early Baby Boomers: 1952-1956
Core Baby Boomers: 1957-1962
Late Baby Boomers: 1963-1967
Baby Boomers/Generation X cusp year: 1968
Generation X: 1969-1984
Early X: 1969-1973
Core X: 1974-1979
Late X: 1980-1984
Millennials: 1985-2000
Early Millennials: 1985-1989
Core Millennials: 1990-1995
Late Millennials: 1996-2000
Millennial/Generation Z cusp years: 2001-2003
Generation Z: 2004-2021
Early Z: 2004-2009
Core Z: 2010-2015
Late Z: 2016-2021
In Total (18 years each; the actual years)
Baby Boomers: 1946-1963
Early Baby Boomers: 1946-1951
Core Baby Boomers: 1952-1957
Late Baby Boomers: 1958-1963
Generation X: 1964-1981
Early X: 1964-1969
Core X: 1970-1975
Late X: 1976-1981
Millennials: 1982-1999
Early Millennials: 1982-1987
Core Millennials: 1988-1993
Late Millennials: 1994-1999
Generation Z: 2000-2017
Early Z: 2000-2005
Core Z: 2006-2011
Late Z: 2012-2017
I know some of y'all won't agree with this, but I think this will be my standard definitions that I will go with from now on, at least I think. We'll see. But I will keep making up new theories besides my new main theory, which is this.
