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Xennials, The Microgeneration Between Gen X And Millennials

Because you can be a bit of both.

We're all tired of hearing about millennials, but there's a new group who we're about to be talking about a lot more.

Defined as the generation born between 1982 and 2004, millennials are aged between 13 and 35. The generation before, Gen X, spanned another 20 years, beginning in 1961 and ending in 1981.

With such a large cohort, it's hard to imagine everyone in these demographics identifies with the perceived persona of these generations.

Enter Xennials, the new term being used to describe people born between 1977 and 1983. Like the pessimistic Gen Xers before them, this microgeneration is not as tech savvy as the millennials who are considered digital natives.

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"The idea is there's this micro or in-between generation between the Gen X group – who we think of as the depressed flannelette-shirt-wearing, grunge-listening children that came after the Baby Boomers and the millennials – who get described as optimistic, tech savvy and maybe a little bit too sure of themselves and too confident," Dan Woodman, Associate Professor of Sociology at The University of Melbourne, told Australian lifestyle site Mamamia.

Woodman went on to explain that while millennials have always grown up with technology, Xennials had to make an adjustment to embrace it.

"It was a particularly unique experience. You have a childhood, youth and adolescence free of having to worry about social media posts and mobile phones... We learned to consume media and came of age before there was Facebook and Twitter and Snapchat and all these things where you still watch the evening news or read the newspaper," he noted.

Woodman went on to say that different experiences play a role in how a person identifies with their cohort. For example, a millennial who did not grow up with a lot of money would be less likely to get the same digital experience as a wealthy millennial or even Xennial who would have better access and understanding of technology.

Which group do you identify with? Do you think you're a Xennial? Let us know in the comments below!

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