GenXers, Millennials, and Zoomers Have More in Common Than What Divides Us

How Generations X, Y, & Z can unite to support our common interests

“Kids these days!” goes the clichéd mantra. All of us have been the young whippersnappers dismissed by authority figures. Those of us who live long enough will eventually be in the position where we can end these toxic cycles…or keep them alive.

Personally, I’d prefer to do the former.

In an article from November of 2021, Medium’s Will Leitch writes about how generational tensions between young and old have always been cyclical.

When they were kids, Traditionalists (“the Silent Generation”) and Baby Boomers were undoubtedly scapegoated and demeaned by their GI-Gen (“the Greatest Generation”) and Hemingrebel (“the Lost Generation”) parents — who, in previous decades, had endured such scorn from their own parents.

And, as The Kasasa Exchange blog reminds us, any given generation’s priorities may change over time. None of us will be immune from this flux.

If you’re Gen X, Gen Y, or Gen Z — my plea to you, today, is to remember how we are stronger when working in tandem…rather than being at each other’s throats.

There are 234 million of us who could form a powerful coalition. Not to mention — a formidable voting bloc, electorally.

Who Are We?

For those of you who can’t tell apart one generation from the next, let’s do a quick review of what distinguishes Generations X, Y, and Z from each other.

GenXers were the original letter-designated generation. They were born in the late-1960s up through the early-1980s. The oldest Xers grew up amidst the economic instability leading to the Reagan years. Younger Xers grew up amidst the waning Cold War era and the short-lived Gulf Wars.

In terms of age, they are currently (as of the date of this June 2023 publication) in their mid-forties through their late-fifties.

Millennials (“Generation Y”) were born in the early-1980s up through the mid-1990s. The oldest Millennials grew up during the Clinton years, approaching legal adulthood as the Columbine shootings shook the nation. Younger Millennials grew up against the backdrop of post-9/11 hysteria over terrorism.

In terms of age, they are currently in their late-twenties through their early-forties.

Zoomers (“Generation Z”) were born in the mid-1990s up through the early-2010s. The oldest Zoomers saw their childhood marred by The Great Recession while temporarily sparked by the initial hope of the Obama years. Younger Zoomers had their puberty and teen years upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of age, they are currently in their early-teens through their mid-twenties.

We also must remember that there are “microgenerations” overlapping the cusps of any two adjacent generational cohorts.

For example, as someone born in 1982, I’d be at the tail-end of the “Xennial” microgeneration (shout-out to Sarah Stankorb for originally coining the term!). Our “mini-cohort” would be the very youngest Xers and the very oldest Millennials who bridge the gap between Gen X and Gen Y.

Similarly, “Zillennials” would be the microgeneration comprised of the very youngest Millennials and the very oldest Zoomers. Born approximately between 1994 and 1998, they bridge the gap between Gen Y and Gen Z.

Meanwhile, the oldest Xers share the “Xoomer” microgeneration (aka “Generation Jones”) with the youngest Baby Boomers. The youngest Zoomers share the “Coronazoom” (or “Alphacentennial”) microgeneration with the oldest members of Gen AA (aka “Alphas” or “Coronials”).

None of these labels are scientific or iron-clad. They simply give us a general framework of differences between the cohorts themselves.

What We Share

The cultural divides that so often separate GenXers from Millennials from Zoomers are vivid. They could fill multiple full-length articles — so I won’t belabor them too intricately, at this point.

But, despite the disparate historical circumstances that each of our three generations faced while we each came-of-age, some important parallels should be noted.

First, there is the common experience we share when we’re the target of ageist gaslighting.

Gen X is accused of being argumentative, overly-cynical, and glued to nostalgia. These exaggerated perceptions are rooted in how Xers were the original “Latchkey Kids” from either broken homes or forced to babysit themselves due to overworked parents (even if both parents were still together).

Gen Y is characterized as too sensitive, overly-idealistic, and demanding “participation trophies” (which, as I keep reemphasizing, our parents from the Silent and Baby Boomer generations usually foisted on us against our will). Such stereotypes have arisen due to the culture shock of Millennials morphing from little tykes into teenagers as the Internet rapidly permeated our society.

Gen Z is belittled as addicted to technology, rampantly seeking attention, and appointing themselves to police Call-Out Culture. These depictions are unfairly and hastily stamped onto Zoomers given how controversies of Internet culture have escalated over the past decade.

Our three generations also endured massive socio-economic crises relevant to our respective childhoods, adolescence, and adult salad years

Before reaching the age of 18, most Xers had lived through the 1970s energy crisis. Entering (or getting ready to enter) the workforce, they were suddenly bombarded with the recession of the Bush/Quayle era.

Due to such a lack of stability, is it any wonder why Gen X has been saddled with perhaps more debt than any other generation? To be groomed with conspicuous consumption — and then be branded as “slackers,” in short order, before being sidelined altogether…

I’d be drowning in steroid-induced cynicism, too!

Socioeconomics were no picnic for us Millennials, either. Most of us were in middle school, high school, or just starting college when the fall of the World Trade Center’s twin towers reconfigured our entire world. We were on the frontlines of having our “patriotism” challenged by John Ashcroft & Company while being lectured about how self-absorbed and spoiled we supposedly are.

And then The Great Recession derailed numerous career paths. So many of us were forced to move back in with our parents…which fed into the false image of us as mooching off of their generosity while stockpiling firearms for school shootings.

It’s a mass character assassination against Gen Y, as a whole, that I’ve dubbed “The ‘Living in His Mama’s Basement’ Fallacy.”

In their youth, Zoomers have had to navigate the double whammy of the Great Recession’s aftereffects plus the social and fiscal upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic. For several years, Virtual School became the norm for this generation. Coronavirus forced them to be fed their education in front of computer screens — or “mask up” upon returning to their K-12 school buildings and college campuses.

Despite this, Gen Z has elevated online activism and social media prowess to amazing new heights. They repurposed cyberspace for political networking and audio-visual messaging. They transformed the digital groundwork laid for them by Gen X and Gen Y.

You can’t complain about Zoomers having been conditioned to putting themselves online. If they wanted to receive their diplomas, they had no other choice.

How We Can Pool Our Energy

Lastly, our three generations all desperately want to be heard.

Generations X, Y, and Z have witnessed the pile-up of power abuses from those who came before us. Our ancestors and present-day elders — as well as many of our own peers and contemporaries — refuse to solve problems. They won’t listen to us…or to each other.

Or, they listen…but then ignore what’s actually being said.

GenXers have been rendered invisible and “forgotten” by the media. But, during their own teen and young adult years, they broached multiracial and queer friendships in unprecedented ways. They popularized truly unique subcultures for music, fashion, and pop culture narratives.

Gen X respected authority — but wasn’t afraid to challenge it.

Millennials mainstreamed social media after Xers pioneered its emergence for us. We demanded more visible LGBT+ representation with even greater ferocity. Despite the flak we receive for having our heads in the clouds or being addicted to video games, we won’t conform to “conventional wisdom” just because people don’t want the boat to be rocked.

Gen Y has questioned and challenged everything because we saw how Gen X was mistreated by their own elders. We want to break those patterns.

Zoomers seized upon the technological savvy of the previous two generations…and supercharged it with unprecedented activism. They’ve become outspoken about environmental stewardship, inclusion, and dismantling systemic corruption. They’re being open and vulnerable about the anxiety disorders and shame that previous generations have suppressed.

Gen Z is forcing tough conversations about how our society is going to, collectively, find a way to bust these self-destructive patterns.

While each generation has its own standout identity, we all share a desire to take action. We yearn to see future generations thrive. We hope that oligarchs and media gatekeepers will see the necessity of working with us…rather than using us as pawns.

I propose a movement loosely known as “Unity XYZ.” The idea, here, is that key leaders from Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z should form a compact based on mutual respect and purposeful pragmatism.

This would be sort of like NATO…except in more of a broader social context.

No, we shouldn’t tolerate ageism against everyone who came before Gen X.

But, conversely, we also need to take a stand against anti-youth ageism. Let’s reject the knee-jerk inclination to fight with each other. No more of the cliquey insults or snubs akin to the animosity you’d find between freshmen and sophomores and juniors and seniors at a high school pep rally.

We should combine our enthusiasm and networking skills to boost more Xers, Millennials, and Zoomers who run for electoral offices. But it ought to be in the name of electing reasonable, eloquent, compassionate new legislators.

We can mentor one another. In the workplace. Hanging out in social settings. Mobilizing on behalf of political causes.

As long as XYZ movers-and-shakers keep comparing notes…that will make it all the more difficult for the ruling elite to permanently slam the book shut on us.

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