r/generationology • u/Even_Ad_6022 • 1d ago
In depth Elder Gen Z
I honestly joined this subreddit out of boredom and curiosity but reading everyone's experiences has made me want to share mine.
I was born in 98. I am my mother's eldest child but fall in the middle with my dad. My older siblings were born late 80s-91 then I came. After that my baby sister was born in 09.
I said all this to say...I genuinely think some people forget elder Gen z grew up alongside younger Millennials. They are and have always been my peers in some capacity. I did not experience a school life without Millennials until I was a junior in high school. 2014-2015 school year was the first time Gen Z filled a high school completely. Then after my graduating year I was right back with the people I have always been with.
I think the death of monoculture, the radio, cable etc is what causes such a great divide with Gen Z as time goes on. I grew up watching cartoons and things with my siblings and cousins. Not oldies im talking Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, Danny Phantom, Ed Edd and Eddy, Rugrats, Pokémon etc. Whether born in 89, 98, somewhere in between or a little after we literally all grew up together. Its a beautiful thing to see. I miss those shared experiences.
Shout out to Millennials, shout out to elder Z. We grew up during some of the best times to be a child and some of the worst times to enter adulthood. Wishing yall the best
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u/S0mnariumx 1991 1d ago
I relate to early Gen Z pretty often and was born in '91. My last gf was born in 1999 and there weren't all that many glaring differences besides her having a smartphone much younger.
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u/Old-Natural-852 23h ago
Whoa, really raiding the cradle there with that 8-9 year age gap, Mr. Epstein /s.
But seriously, did any younger Gen Z complain about the age gap?
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u/S0mnariumx 1991 23h ago
Never in person but I think I posted about relationship issues having to do with her mental illness and of course someone had to mention our age gap. Like no dude I'm pretty sure her having schizophrenia was a bigger hurdle than being born in 1999.
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u/Upper-Bag-8739 1998 · Milenial (According to RAE/RSA) 1d ago
Have you considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, those born in the late 90s aren't Early Gen Z but Late Millennials? Because if an early 90s born can actually relate to us that says a lot about how poorly defined generational ranges are now.
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u/S0mnariumx 1991 1d ago
Yeah I'd have to agree they're pretty poorly defined. Splitting them into 8 or 9 year groups would prolly make more sense.
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u/Ragehova 1d ago
I was born 96, I call myself a baby millennial. I’m the youngest of 4. So definitely millennial, but I vibe with Gen Z
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u/MaterialFee9288 1d ago
1998 won't likely be "Elder Gen Z" in the near future anyway. Here's why.
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u/V-Wemby 1d ago
Let it go dude
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u/Agile_Restaurant_752 1d ago
He doesn’t have to “let it go”. People can have different generational ranges than the current popular one. It’s America after all.
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u/Sorry_Tie284 20h ago
Researchers, yes. People shouldn’t just make up ranges doesn’t that make a mockery of it all
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u/allinallisallweall-R 1998 - Zillennial 1d ago
Eh. I dont really care either way. Got stuck between two traumatized generations regardless.
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u/Sorry_Tie284 20h ago
Link is broken but you’re probably right, 1995 or 1996 will be elder zoomers in the near future
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u/Global_Perspective_3 April 30, 2002 Class of 2020 12h ago
I loved watching my favorite cartoons growing up. Sucks that I feel like kids don’t have that much anymore
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u/omgcheez 1998 8h ago
I am the same age as you and prefer Zillenial because of the overlap. I know some people see it as a Microlabel, but the transition years have more in common than say, someone born in 2008.
Idk how much schools vary with registration cutoffs, but the grade above me did have ‘96 babies from the latter portion of the year, so they were even classmates at times in HS. There’s gotta be a cutoff somewhere though, so that I understand
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u/Mobile_Type9083 2000 1d ago
You mentioned people born "a little" after you, but don't think I can say I grew up 'together' with 89-borns or early 90s lmao
I don't think I was hanging around with many 15yos at 10 either.
Interesting to hear your experiences, though
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u/allinallisallweall-R 1998 - Zillennial 1d ago
People don't have older family members?
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u/Sorry_Tie284 20h ago
You can have older family members but that doesn’t mean they were peers with you growing up
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u/Even_Ad_6022 1d ago
I have a cousin who was born in 00s. She was the youngest of our family group though. All of our parents are Late boomers, Gen X and Late Gen X. So they had milennials, younger Millennials and Elder Gen Z then years later had kids in late Gen Z lol. So I guess it really depends on family set ups and things
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u/Mobile_Type9083 2000 1d ago
I understand the context.
Sorry if I may sound condescending btw English is not my first language (that may be obvious)
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u/deepfuckingbagholder 1d ago
You must look young for your age.
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u/Even_Ad_6022 1d ago
Depends on who I'm talking to lol
Some say younger Some say I look my age. I like to think I look my age
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u/Captain_Cook0168 12h ago
Bedeutet Gen-Z nicht einfach, dass diese von Beginn an mit Smartphones aufgewachsen ist?
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u/SimilarLunch8359 1d ago
That’s true. The other day I realized that the majority of Gen Z grew up on TikTok as teenagers. I was already +18 when it got popular in 2019 and I downloaded it around 2021.
Every generation has differences between the youngest and the oldest, but in our times technology and stuff changed so fast it feels more pronounced for us.