Xennials
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The Oregon Trail Generation, also known as Generation Xennial and Generation Catalano (a reference to Jared Leto's character Jordan Catalano in My So-Called Life), is a term referring to those born during the Generation X/Millennials cusp years, typically late 1970s to early 1980s. It is named after the video game Oregon Trail, the Apple II version of which was played by many U.S. members of this cohort in their school computer labs. They are sometimes called The Lucky Ones owing to the perception that they arrived into the workforce just in time to ride out the worst of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008; and that they adopted social media platforms and cell phone usage in their twenties, and as such had teenage years largely free of online shaming, and social media "hyperconnectivity."
Terminology
The term Oregon Trail Generation was used by Anna Garvey in her article The Oregon Trail Generation: Life Before And After Mainstream Tech, published in Social Media Week.[1] Other terms, such as Generation Catalano,[2] Xennials,[3] and The Lucky Ones,[4] were already coined and are referenced in her article. Due to Garvey's article receiving broader coverage, including republications in Huffington Post and PopSugar, Oregon Trail Generation is the term most often used[citation needed] when referencing this generation. The name is a reference to the Oregon Trail game that members of this generation became familiar with as children learning new technology.
Slate defines this cohort as being born from 1977 to 1981, essentially Jimmy Carter's presidency.[2]
Characteristics and traits
Members of this generation share traits with both Generation X and Millennials.[5] They are noted for having "both a healthy portion of Gen X grunge cynicism, and a dash of the unbridled optimism of Millennials," and for their relationship with both analog and digital technology. Members of this group entered their teens as Grunge peaked in the United States and Britpop emerged in the UK, and as such are sometimes thought of as the archetypal "1990s teenager." Indeed, while they may have listened to records - and even used a typewriters - as children, Cassie McClure writing for Las Cruces Sun-News adds that they were the first group of students to have access to personal computers and the Internet.[6]
Anna Garvey describes U.S members of this group as having had an "AOL adolescence" and as being from "the last gasp of a time before sexting, Facebook shaming, and constant communication".[1]
As they began to enter the workforce, their early adulthoods were impacted by the events of the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War.[7]
Many who identify with this generation do so because they don't feel that the typical definitions of Generation X and Millennials are the correct fit for their place in the world.[2][8][9]
See also
References
- ^ a b Garvey, Anna (21 April 2015). "The Oregon Trail Generation: Life Before And After Mainstream Tech". Social Media Week. Crowdcentric Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ a b c Shafrir, Doree (24 October 2011). "Generation Catalano". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Stankorb, Sarah; Oelbaum, Jed (25 September 2014). "Reasonable People Disagree about the Post-Gen X, Pre-Millennial Generation". Good Magazine. GOOD Worldwide Inc. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Singer, Susan (29 April 2014). "The Lucky Ones - Born In Between Gen X and Millenials". Susan Singer tv. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Fogarty, Lisa (7 January 2016). "13 Signs you're stuck between Gen X & millennials". SheKnows. SheKnows Media. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ McClure, Cassie (20 May 2016). "My So-Called Millennial Life: Old West pioneers of digital age". Las Cruces Sun-News. The USA Today Network. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ Monke, Dustin (31 May 2015). "Monke: A generation stuck in transition". The Dickinson Press. The Dickinson Press and Forum Communications Company. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ LaFrance, Adrienne (3 February 2016). "How Generations Get Their Names". The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ Kendzior, Sarah (30 June 2016). "The myth of millennial entitlement was created to hide their parents' mistakes". Quartz. Atlantic Media Company. Retrieved 7 July 2016.