Is there any cultural divide between 1980s and '90s babies, or are they two halves of one generation?  Is, say, a 1991er more anti-Y than a 1988er?

I think people born in the early '90s are a bit more anti-Y than people born in the late '80s, I've just observed this. But we're still basically both Gen Y. It's sort of the same thing as to how people born in the late '50s and early '60s had alot more anti-boomers, like Doug Coupland, the author of Generation X, and the '80s/'90s alternative rockers like Frank Black and Thurston Moore. They led Gen X and probably people in the early '90s will probably be leading people born from the mid '90s on in whatever Gen Z does. But early '90s is still pretty similar, I reiterate.

I think people born in the early '90s are a bit more anti-Y than people born in the late '80s, I've just observed this. But we're still basically both Gen Y. It's sort of the same thing as to how people born in the late '50s and early '60s had alot more anti-boomers, like Doug Coupland, the author of Generation X, and the '80s/'90s alternative rockers like Frank Black and Thurston Moore. They led Gen X and probably people in the early '90s will probably be leading people born from the mid '90s on in whatever Gen Z does. But early '90s is still pretty similar, I reiterate.


I'd agree.  We're not quite tail-end Gen Y (that's more 1993-1996), and nowhere close to Z, but we're a lit more anti-Y than say a 1986er is.

Yeah, I think alot more people born in the mid-late 1980s are really totally enveloped in the whole Gen Y thing-hipsters, aesthetics, iPods, etc. There're alot more people our age who don't really embrace Gen Y culture, and I think I've noticed this even more around 92-93. We're able to see beyond it alot more.

Yeah, I think alot more people born in the mid-late 1980s are really totally enveloped in the whole Gen Y thing-hipsters, aesthetics, iPods, etc. There're alot more people our age who don't really embrace Gen Y culture, and I think I've noticed this even more around 92-93. We're able to see beyond it alot more.


You know what? I think a typical person born in 1985 or '86 is actually alot more "anti '80s" and "hipster" than someone born around 1990.

Of course this doesn't apply to everyone, but especially a few years back, I definitely noticed a difference between myself (an '81er) and alot of people just four or five years younger than me. I hated when I was 16 and the 12-13 year olds didn't know about anything I grew up with. That was when I started feeling maybe not "old" but "different" or "outcasted" among the emerging youth culture.

There's a reason for this I think -- they were the prime boy band/N'Sync/Pokemon/1999 culture people. When they were around 13, the stuff we have today was just in its early stages (and more "fresh" in the pop culture landscape), so it really imprinted them.

Whereas people more your guys' age I think tend to be more open-minded from having lived with it a few years already. Because we still have a "late 90-ish" pop culture feel in many ways, if you were born in 1990, your teen"years aren't nearly as "hipster oriented", at least not to the extent it was in the past. Therefore you tend to look elsewhere easier, if that makes sense.

I think 1990 is definitely at the tail-end of the hipster thing, I think we're the final year for who that will be a really, really huge cultural thing...there just aren't as many hipster/emo kids born after us, I've noticed this just going around outside and in my schol.

You know what? I think a typical person born in 1985 or '86 is actually alot more "anti '80s" and "hipster" than someone born around 1990.

Of course this doesn't apply to everyone, but especially a few years back, I definitely noticed a difference between myself (an '81er) and alot of people just four or five years younger than me. I hated when I was 16 and the 12-13 year olds didn't know about anything I grew up with. That was when I started feeling maybe not "old" but "different" or "outcasted" among the emerging youth culture.

There's a reason for this I think -- they were the prime boy band/N'Sync/Pokemon/1999 culture people. When they were around 13, the stuff we have today was just in its early stages (and more "fresh" in the pop culture landscape), so it really imprinted them.

Whereas people more your guys' age I think tend to be more open-minded from having lived with it a few years already. Because we still have a "late 90-ish" pop culture feel in many ways, if you were born in 1990, your teen"years aren't nearly as "hipster oriented", at least not to the extent it was in the past. Therefore you tend to look elsewhere easier, if that makes sense.



Yeah, I was born in '82 and my sister in '87, so that's 5 1/2 years difference (my b-day is in June, hers in December) and when we were younger, that was a huge chasm.  I remembered time without cable, answering machines, VCRs, cell phones, stuff like that whereas she turned 16 in 2003......well into the age of cable, cell phones, internet, etc,.  Also, when that teen pop movement was at its peak, I was 18, she was 12-13, so she was in their target demographic. 

I think if she had been born a few years later, she'd have even more different experiences than me.

I don't really know, while I am in to gen y culture, I don't confine myself to gen y things. I like modern music, but I like a lot of other stuff as well. I like modern tv shows, but I like a lot of older ones as well. Same with movies and everything else. I think a lot of people around my age are the same way. I think a lot of 13 and 14 year olds are pretty much confined to liking hip-hop or emo. I think I like late '90s music more than they do because that was kinda the first music that I really got into.

You know what? I think a typical person born in 1985 or '86 is actually alot more "anti '80s" and "hipster" than someone born around 1990.

Of course this doesn't apply to everyone, but especially a few years back, I definitely noticed a difference between myself (an '81er) and alot of people just four or five years younger than me. I hated when I was 16 and the 12-13 year olds didn't know about anything I grew up with. That was when I started feeling maybe not "old" but "different" or "outcasted" among the emerging youth culture.

There's a reason for this I think -- they were the prime boy band/N'Sync/Pokemon/1999 culture people. When they were around 13, the stuff we have today was just in its early stages (and more "fresh" in the pop culture landscape), so it really imprinted them.

Whereas people more your guys' age I think tend to be more open-minded from having lived with it a few years already. Because we still have a "late 90-ish" pop culture feel in many ways, if you were born in 1990, your teen"years aren't nearly as "hipster oriented", at least not to the extent it was in the past. Therefore you tend to look elsewhere easier, if that makes sense.


I totally agree.

You'd still say 1990 (and even up to 1994ish) is still pure Gen Y though, right?  I think those born from like September of 1989 upwards are more anti-Y, since like you said they're more used to the "1999" culture of the 1997-2006 period and tend to disdain both the "mainstream Y" hip hop culture and the "hipster/emo" alternative "smart Y" culture.

But, we're still the peers of those born in the 1980s moreso then we are the peers of mid and late 1990s kids, and we're definitely more like 1980s kids than 2000s kids.  But, we will be the ones that entertain Gen Z I think.  

Take Drew Barrymore vs. Dakota Fanning for instance.  Barrymore seems like a tail-end X more than an early Y, but is an entertainer of Ys.  Fanning seems like a tail-end Yer that will entertain Zs in the 2010s.

Yeah, I had that thought...early '90s people will be the entertainers of Zs and probably start the movements that are popular with them. Like most popular '80s musicians were tail-end boomers born in the early '60s or so, but Gen Xers constituted the mainstay of their audience, and people like John Lennon and Janis Joplin were born during World War II at the tail-end of the Silent Generation but developed the ideas that entranced the boomers.

Yeah, I was born in '82 and my sister in '87, so that's 5 1/2 years difference (my b-day is in June, hers in December) and when we were younger, that was a huge chasm.  I remembered time without cable, answering machines, VCRs, cell phones, stuff like that whereas she turned 16 in 2003......well into the age of cable, cell phones, internet, etc,.  Also, when that teen pop movement was at its peak, I was 18, she was 12-13, so she was in their target demographic. 

I think if she had been born a few years later, she'd have even more different experiences than me.


Yeah, I even remember some of the most minute things. Such as getting our first VCR in 1984 when I was either 2 or 3. Even the late '70s were somewhat influential to what I liked, so even if they were a little before my time, I never felt they were "old" or anything.

Even as a kid it was really easy for me to get a picture of how a 1970-born teenager in the '80s would've lived and what they were into. That's why when I started hearing '86-born people talking about 1989 like it was their parents' generation, it was like "WTF??????" ;D

Yeah, I had that thought...early '90s people will be the entertainers of Zs and probably start the movements that are popular with them. Like most popular '80s musicians were tail-end boomers born in the early '60s or so, but Gen Xers constituted the mainstay of their audience, and people like John Lennon and Janis Joplin were born during World War II at the tail-end of the Silent Generation but developed the ideas that entranced the boomers.


Isn't that odd?

Isn't that odd?


Yeah, it is. Most "boomer" icons of the '60s and '70s were really tail-end Silent Generation people born in the early-mid '40s during World War II.

Yeah, it is. Most "boomer" icons of the '60s and '70s were really tail-end Silent Generation people born in the early-mid '40s during World War II.


That's true.

During the 2010s and 2020s the early '90s babies will be aged 20-39, the prime entertainment age.  Even the '80s babies will be old by then!  ;D

I totally agree.

You'd still say 1990 (and even up to 1994ish) is still pure Gen Y though, right?  I think those born from like September of 1989 upwards are more anti-Y, since like you said they're more used to the "1999" culture of the 1997-2006 period and tend to disdain both the "mainstream Y" hip hop culture and the "hipster/emo" alternative "smart Y" culture.

But, we're still the peers of those born in the 1980s moreso then we are the peers of mid and late 1990s kids, and we're definitely more like 1980s kids than 2000s kids.  But, we will be the ones that entertain Gen Z I think.

Take Drew Barrymore vs. Dakota Fanning for instance.  Barrymore seems like a tail-end X more than an early Y, but is an entertainer of Ys.  Fanning seems like a tail-end Yer that will entertain Zs in the 2010s.


It's hard to say 'cause the age of entertainers (at least among the hipster crowd) has gone down. For the Gen X Brat Packers in 1985, some of their entertainers may have been born as far back as the Boomer Cusp of circa 1943, if we're talking about people like Chevy Chase or older rockers like Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart. Although it would center on people born around 1958 (Madonna, Prince, etc).

And I find it ironic that Gen X-ers (people who tend to hate the '90s grunge era) are actually the ones who made it come around in the first place. Kurt Cobain was a 1967-er.

Drew Barrymore seems like an X/Y cusp as far as her audience. She's been around since 1995 or so (at least as an adult - albeit she's still got that "young/party chick" attitude about her, so she doesn't really seem old).

Yeah, all three massively successful '80s entertainers were born in 1958, making them at the peak age of about 26 in 1984, the peak of the '80s: Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince.

You'd still say 1990 (and even up to 1994ish) is still pure Gen Y though, right?  I think those born from like September of 1989 upwards are more anti-Y, since like you said they're more used to the "1999" culture of the 1997-2006 period and tend to disdain both the "mainstream Y" hip hop culture and the "hipster/emo" alternative "smart Y" culture.

It probably is, but in a slightly different way. Just as the 1968-71 people are prime Brat Pack-ers, I think circa 1985-ers are the prime boy band/Internet generation, so they're more noticibly Gen Y.

There's a huge difference between your average 1990 person and 1984 person. The 1984-88 girls for instance, were BSB and Hanson's "Ohmigooood! They're sooooo hoottttt!" audience of 12 year olds back in the late '90s. ;D

Like I said, you guys don't have as much of a "phenominon" in pop culture to be like that with, so that's probably why in all honesty, I probably can relate to a modern 16 year old more than a modern 20 year old (even if you guys are more like younger siblings to me and I share slightly more personal experiences with a 1985-er).

It was the 1985-ers that made me feel very old/uncool in 1998-2003. ;)

But really I believe it's just two halves to the same generation. Those born 1993-1996/7 or so do seem like a different generation at times to me, but they're really just the tail end of gen y. I believe the early '90s born are overall pretty similiar to us mid-late '80s born.

It probably is, but in a slightly different way. There's a huge difference between your average 1990 person and 1984 person. The 1984-88 girls for instance, were BSB and Hanson's "Ohmigooood! They're sooooo hoottttt!" audience of 12 year olds back in the late '90s. ;D

Like I said, you guys don't have as much of a "phenominon" in pop culture to be like that with, so that's probably why in all honesty, I probably can relate to a modern 16 year old more than a modern 20 year old (even if I share slightly more personal experiences with a 1985-er).


That was the 4th/5th grade girls in 1997 in my class, they all loved hanson.

People my age were old enough to like  Hanson and the Spice Girls and Britney Spears, but not to get really, really into them the same way people to about '87 were, and particularly people in the mid-80s. I don't even think '92 and '93 were old enough to even like them, really. IMO, 77-80 is cusp XY, 81-93 is Y, and 94-96 is cusp YZ, with probably more Z than Y.

People my age were old enough to like  Hanson and the Spice Girls and Britney Spears, but not to get really, really into them the same way people to about '87 were, and particularly people in the mid-80s. I don't even think '92 and '93 were old enough to even like them, really. IMO, 77-80 is cusp XY, 81-93 is Y, and 94-96 is cusp YZ, with probably more Z than Y.


True, although if you apply my experience, it's possible for someone your age to be into Hanson (not likely, though). ;)

I bet if you compiled all the people born in 1981 and '82's musical tastes, even the ones who have a more wide-reaching or early tastes (such as myself) would be more into 1989 (New Kids, MC Hammer, very late hair metal).

Whereas I always loved 1984 and '85 arena rock and synthpop as much as a Brat Pack-er.

'80s babes (depending on how early in the decade they are born) tend to appreciate more the things that they have now, because they had the bare minimum in the 80's

Yeah, alot of mid-80s babies to about '87 view the '00s as the "best decade ever", moreso than early '90s people, definitely. They like it because it's aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced, and don't really see beyond that, most of them, anyway.

Yeah, alot of mid-80s babies to about '87 view the '00s as the "best decade ever", moreso than early '90s people, definitely. They like it because it's aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced, and don't really see beyond that, most of them, anyway.


I'm not so sure about that. I think the '90s are the best decade ever, though the '00s are alright as well.

Yeah, alot of mid-80s babies to about '87 view the '00s as the "best decade ever", moreso than early '90s people, definitely. They like it because it's aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced, and don't really see beyond that, most of them, anyway.



I was born in '87 so I went to school with the people that your talking about up to last year and I would say your correct. There is a difference between 80's and 90's born people but not a huge one. I was 12 in 1999 and alot of my classmates(even me lol) got into rap and others pop which as was mentioned before there prime target age but someone born in '90/'91 would have been 9/8 years old and may or may not have been into it.

It's hard to say 'cause the age of entertainers (at least among the hipster crowd) has gone down. For the Gen X Brat Packers in 1985, some of their entertainers may have been born as far back as the Boomer Cusp of circa 1943, if we're talking about people like Chevy Chase or older rockers like Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart. Although it would center on people born around 1958 (Madonna, Prince, etc).

And I find it ironic that Gen X-ers (people who tend to hate the '90s grunge era) are actually the ones who made it come around in the first place. Kurt Cobain was a 1967-er.

Drew Barrymore seems like an X/Y cusp as far as her audience. She's been around since 1995 or so (at least as an adult - albeit she's still got that "young/party chick" attitude about her, so she doesn't really seem old).


That's true.  I mean, look at Rihanna.  She's a 1988er, less than two years older than me.  And JoJo, believe it or not, is born in 1990, and she's from 2004!
But generally, I think the entertainers of Gen Z will be born in the '80s, '90s, and '00s.

Yeah, that's true about Barrymore.  A lot of her fans are probably Gen Xers; she's definitely X herself because of her '80s presence in "ET" and such.

Would you call Grunge a Gen Y phoenomenon?  I wouldn't say it is, but it's weird that many if not most Gen Xers hate it.  I think of it more as an XY cusp thing, but since that part of Y is basically the same as Gen X in many respects Grunge is still largely a Gen X thing.  Basically, the 1975-1984 demographic is the one that would like it most, but it's not totally out of style even today.

I was born in '87 so I went to school with the people that your talking about up to last year and I would say your correct. There is a difference between 80's and 90's born people but not a huge one. I was 12 in 1999 and alot of my classmates(even me lol) got into rap and others pop which as was mentioned before there prime target age but someone born in '90/'91 would have been 9/8 years old and may or may not have been into it.


In 1999 I did not like rap, I pretty much liked mostly pop. But by 2001 I started to get into hip-hop, though I still liked pop as well.

I think the peak of that crowd who loved grunge were born from about 1972-1980.

Would you call Grunge a Gen Y phoenomenon?  I wouldn't say it is, but it's weird that many if not most Gen Xers hate it.  I think of it more as an XY cusp thing, but since that part of Y is basically the same as Gen X in many respects Grunge is still largely a Gen X thing.  Basically, the 1975-1984 demographic is the one that would like it most, but it's not totally out of style even today.



Yeah alot of Gen Xers turned against it when it became too commerical too mainstream. It is ironic that now more Gen Yers probably like it than Gen Xers.

I was born in '87 so I went to school with the people that your talking about up to last year and I would say your correct. There is a difference between 80's and 90's born people but not a huge one. I was 12 in 1999 and alot of my classmates(even me lol) got into rap and others pop which as was mentioned before there prime target age but someone born in '90/'91 would have been 9/8 years old and may or may not have been into it.


I'd agree.

I'm lucky enough to have a brother that's a year older than me, and a lot more culturally affluent, so I was aware of pop culture beginning in 1999 (although also bits and pieces of 1993/'94-1998, but mostly kid stuff).

So basically, I was aware of pop culture in 1999/2000, and kind of liked it and never thought of it as "before my time" at all and still don't, but honestly I don't have any first-hand experience of pre-1999 music, except for a few things like hearing the Macarena in 1996/'97 or something like that.  But still, I've never seen it as before my time, even if only because so much of it is still around today.

I agree about '85ers being the "core" Gen Yers though, 1990ers and even up to 1996 are Yers too, because they're the peers of 1980s babies and have a similar perception of time, but they're a bit less "core" Y and a little more anti-Y since the culture has been there all along for them pretty much.  But still, they're nowhere close to Gen Z, even if they're a teeny bit more "Zish" then the '80s kids that love the '00s and hate the '80s because they had minimal '80s experience and find them easier to hate.

That's true.  I mean, look at Rihanna.  She's a 1988er, less than two years older than me.  And JoJo, believe it or not, is born in 1990, and she's from 2004!
But generally, I think the entertainers of Gen Z will be born in the '80s, '90s, and '00s.

Yeah, that's true about Barrymore.  A lot of her fans are probably Gen Xers; she's definitely X herself because of her '80s presence in "ET" and such.

Would you call Grunge a Gen Y phoenomenon?  I wouldn't say it is, but it's weird that many if not most Gen Xers hate it.  I think of it more as an XY cusp thing, but since that part of Y is basically the same as Gen X in many respects Grunge is still largely a Gen X thing.  Basically, the 1975-1984 demographic is the one that would like it most, but it's not totally out of style even today.


Grunge is really an XY cusp thing like you said, those mid-late '70ers and early '80ers grew up with it.

Grunge is really an XY cusp thing like you said, those mid-late '70ers and early '80ers grew up with it.


I think the '90s in general were X/Y boundary realm, not straight Y, except maybe for 1999 and in some ways (such as South Park) 1997 and 1998, but not Emo/Myspace Y either.

I think the '90s in general were X/Y boundary realm, not straight Y, except maybe for 1999 and in some ways (such as South Park) 1997 and 1998, but not Emo/Myspace Y either.


Yea I would agree the '90s in general are split between x & y, with the early '90s being more x and the late '90s being more y.

Yea I would agree the '90s in general are split between x & y, with the early '90s being more x and the late '90s being more y.


Would you say 1997 is the first Y year?  Because 1995 and 1996 are really just washed-out 1993 and 1994 culture, which is still pretty X-ey to me.

I think the '90s in general were X/Y boundary realm, not straight Y, except maybe for 1999 and in some ways (such as South Park) 1997 and 1998, but not Emo/Myspace Y either.


I think the '90s was more the last run of Gen X as opposed to the first run of Gen Y, even if the '90s and '00s are relatively similar (at least compared to most other decades). Someone born in 1968 was still only 25 in 1993 and 28 in 1996 and therefore kind of part of the Melrose Place/20-something crowd, ya know?

1997 felt like a huge change to me, even at the time. 1999 is when the "1997ish" stuff really kicked in.

Yeah, I think '97, maybe '96 a little, was the first Y year, for early-run early '80s Yers. Kids stuff excepted, of course.

I am a pure gen yer all the way. I try to be more varied in what I like, and in the last few years I have come to like a lot of other music that I didn't use to listen to. I'm not really into myspace though I like looking up people on there I haven't seen in a while. In 2003, my favorite song was probably "Get Busy" by Sean Paul. In 2002 I loved "Dilemma" and "Hot in Herre".

I think the '90s was more the last run of Gen X as opposed to the first run of Gen Y, even if the '90s and '00s are relatively similar (at least compared to most other decades). Someone born in 1968 was still only 25 in 1993 and 28 in 1996 and therefore kind of part of the Melrose Place/20-something crowd, ya know?

1997 felt like a huge change to me, even at the time. 1999 is when the "1997ish" stuff really kicked in.



No doubt 1997 is the first Y year. And yeah alot of stuff from '99 began to take off in '97 including teen pop and that year also seemed like a huge year for rap.

Would you say 1997 is the first Y year?  Because 1995 and 1996 are really just washed-out 1993 and 1994 culture, which is still pretty X-ey to me.


Yea I would say 1997.

I think the '90s was more the last run of Gen X as opposed to the first run of Gen Y, even if the '90s and '00s are relatively similar (at least compared to most other decades).

1997 felt like a huge change to me, even at the time. 1999 is when the "1997ish" stuff really kicked in.


Yeah.  Even though I can't remember much of 1997's pop culture (although I remember a lot of the year itself) besides King of the Hill and the Mike Tyson ear biting incident (wasn't that hilarious?  ;D), by the end of that year even I sort of half-noticed a change in the air, even though this was just before my 8th birthday.  1994 and even 1996 seem much more old school then 1997 and 1998, although even 1999 is looking pretty good these days  :(

I think Y stuff will probably be over by about 2011, in the teen realm, anyway, and it'll be cuspers who are alot more like Z, really. I'm peak Gen Y, but I don't see myself like that, I'm probably part of the "anti-Y" group of people who hates current culture and will lead the backlash against it of the 94+ Gen Z and YZ Cusp people in the 2010s. Or I want to be, anyway. And yeah, I think I noticed a change in the air in '97 or '98, even though I was like in 2nd grade...it just felt slightly different.

Yeah, I think '97, maybe '96 a little, was the first Y year, for early-run early '80s Yers. Kids stuff excepted, of course.


I just had another random thought now.

Well, I have ALWAYS been perplexed when someone relatively my age says they didn't remember/get into pop culture until 1995 when they were 13 or whatever. Of course just because the '80s were such an instrumental part of my childhood, I could never understand how any of my peers could dislike or not remember it then (even if they came to like it later).

However, I have a theory. Just judging from what I saw going to school and watching TV, I think it was getting more common in the '90s for kids to be raised in, say foster homes, grouphomes, or single parent households, etc. Many kids I knew like this or that I heard about, were really sad cases and probably helped shape my view of the whole world.

As a result of that, maybe other 6 year old kids in 1988, or even 10 year olds in 1991/92 were clueless (at the time) because of growing up in this kind of environment.

So the first stuff they liked may've been Grunge and stuff. Perhaps one reason alot of the "urban/cutting edge" styled music and fashions of the '90s were so popular had something to do with that. They appealed to kids who were angrier.

That was way different than my own situation - raised in a suburban house with "cooler" parents, so I probably wouldn't know what it's really like to live in a more troubled kid's shoes and vice versa.

Just another (slightly off topic and random) theory. ;)

I just had another random thought now.

Well, I have ALWAYS been perplexed when someone relatively my age says they didn't remember/get into pop culture until 1995 when they were 13 or whatever. Of course just because the '80s were such an instrumental part of my childhood, I could never understand how any of my peers could dislike or not remember it then (even if they came to like it later).

However, I have a theory. Just judging from what I saw going to school and watching TV, I think it was getting more common in the '90s for kids to be raised in, say foster homes, grouphomes, or single parent households, etc. Many kids I knew like this or that I heard about, were really sad cases and probably helped shape my view of the whole world.

As a result of that, maybe other 6 year old kids in 1988, or even 10 year olds in 1991/92 were clueless (at the time) because of growing up in this kind of environment.

So the first stuff they liked may've been Grunge and stuff. Perhaps one reason alot of the "urban/cutting edge" styled music and fashions of the '90s were so popular had something to do with that. They appealed to kids who were angrier.

That was way different than my own situation - raised in a suburban house with "cooler" parents, so I probably wouldn't know what it's really like to live in a more troubled kid's shoes and vice versa.

Just another (slightly off topic and random) theory. ;)


Yeah, that may be true.

Even in the '80s, though, I think families were becoming less traditional.  "Full House" is a perfect example of this, LOL  ;D

I just had another random thought now.

Well, I have ALWAYS been perplexed when someone relatively my age says they didn't remember/get into pop culture until 1995 when they were 13 or whatever. Of course just because the '80s were such an instrumental part of my childhood, I could never understand how any of my peers could dislike or not remember it then (even if they came to like it later).

However, I have a theory. Just judging from what I saw going to school and watching TV, I think it was getting more common in the '90s for kids to be raised in, say foster homes, grouphomes, or single parent households, etc. Many kids I knew like this or that I heard about, were really sad cases and probably helped shape my view of the whole world.

As a result of that, maybe other 6 year old kids in 1988, or even 10 year olds in 1991/92 were clueless (at the time) because of growing up in this kind of environment.

So the first stuff they liked may've been Grunge and stuff. Perhaps one reason alot of the "urban/cutting edge" styled music and fashions of the '90s were so popular had something to do with that. They appealed to kids who were angrier.

That was way different than my own situation - raised in a suburban house with "cooler" parents, so I probably wouldn't know what it's really like to live in a more troubled kid's shoes and vice versa.

Just another (slightly off topic and random) theory. ;)



That's very true. People who like grunge do tend to relate to the music through some sort of inner pain. But most 80's music is typically much more upbeat in nature.

That's very true. People who like grunge do tend to relate to the music through some sort of inner pain. But most 80's music is typically much more upbeat in nature.


That's part of why I like '80s music.  I don't like it too cheesy, but give me hollow snares and keyboards over acoustic guitar!

Yeah, that may be true.

Even in the '80s, though, I think families were becoming less traditional.  "Full House" is a perfect example of this, LOL  ;D


Yeah, there were alot of these, like Charles In Charge. ;)

But I think these were examples of a more happy non-traditional family. The '90s was more of an unhappy nontraditional family life.

One movie that kinda hits close to home is Mrs Doubtfire. That came out when I was 12, and coincidentally my own parents were going through what I call a casual separation (luckily only for a couple years, and they still were friendly during this period). Not to mention Robin Williams sort of reminds me of my dad, just humorwise. This is a very good snapshot of the time in that sense.

I also think the '90s was the time you had more kids/teens leaving home to live on the streets or do drugs (something way more prevalent than in the '80s).

Maybe it's from watching too many Dateline's and talk shows, but it kinda gave me a good view of the world. Though sometimes I only had to look as far as my own school. Don't wanna turn this into a downer, but I became aware of things like child abuse and alcoholism - stuff I was very knowledgeable on in 1994 that I'd never heard of in 1990.

Grunge and original gangsta rap does have those undertones to it, IMO.

Yeah, there were alot of these, like Charles In Charge. ;)

But I think these were examples of a more happy non-traditional family. The '90s was more of an unhappy nontraditional family life.

One movie that kinda hits close to home is Mrs Doubtfire. That came out when I was 12, and coincidentally my own parents were going through what I call a casual separation (luckily only for a couple years, and they still were friendly during this period). Not to mention Robin Williams sort of reminds me of my dad, just humorwise. This is a very good snapshot of the time in that sense.

I also think the '90s was the time you had more kids/teens leaving home to live on the streets or do drugs (something way more prevalent than in the '80s).

Maybe it's from watching too many Dateline's and talk shows, but it kinda gave me a good view of the world. Though sometimes I only had to look as far as my own school. Don't wanna turn this into a downer, but I became aware of things like child abuse and alcoholism - stuff I was very knowledgeable on in 1994 that I'd never heard of in 1990.

Grunge and original gangsta rap does have those undertones to it, IMO.


I have to agree.  I mean, aside from the huge tragedy of Pam dying, the Full House family were really better off than most traditional families. 

Kids were really f*ed up in the nineties.  Not all of them, of course, nowhere close, but a lot more than in the eighties or even compared to now.  However, this may be an illusion created by the proliferation of information technology, as a lot of kids growing up in the '80s were quite unhappy (although I'm glad to hear that you generally weren't :))

I have to agree.  I mean, aside from the huge tragedy of Pam dying, the Full House family were really better off than most traditional families. 

Kids were really f*ed up in the nineties.  Not all of them, of course, nowhere close, but a lot more than in the eighties or even compared to now.  However, this may be an illusion created by the proliferation of information technology, as a lot of kids growing up in the '80s were quite unhappy (although I'm glad to hear that you generally weren't :))


Yeah, even though Pam was mentioned several times, it was only when necesarry (i.e. the one latter episode where DJ and Kimmie were at a party, and Kimmie was mad that DJ stopped her from leaving after she had a few drinks). The show wasn't afraid to be sentimental, but they focused on the happier side of things IMO - that's what made what really was a tragic story into sort of a "PG-rated party atmosphere" ya know?

BTW thanks, I had a few spans of time that s*cked (i.e. 1995 wasn't a good year), mainly when my parents were separated and such, but even in my worst, I'm sure I still had it better than some of my peers I saw everyday did at their best, so I always tried to be accepting of everyone.

Yeah, even though Pam was mentioned several times, it was only when necesarry (i.e. the one latter episode where DJ and Kimmie were at a party, and Kimmie was mad that DJ stopped her from leaving after she had a few drinks). The show wasn't afraid to be sentimental, but they focused on the happier side of things IMO - that's what made what really was a tragic story into sort of a "PG-rated party atmosphere" ya know?

BTW thanks, I had a few spans of time that s*cked (i.e. 1995 wasn't a good year), mainly when my parents were separated and such, but even in my worst, I'm sure I still had it better than some of my peers I saw everyday did at their best, so I always tried to be accepting of everyone.


You're welcome :)

Would you Full House is to Gen Y what the Brady Bunch is to the Boomers?  I can see a lot of similarities; Joey would agree with me, LOL.

^I think Joey once mentioned the similarities between them and the BB. ;)

I always considered BB to be more of a "modern looking '60s show" even though it was from the '70s. Sort of how today still has alot of late '90s-ish things, just in updated form.

^I think Joey once mentioned the similarities between them and the BB. ;)

I always considered BB to be more of a "modern looking '60s show" even though it was from the '70s. Sort of how today still has alot of late '90s-ish things, just in updated form.


I think BB started in 1968 or '69 and went up to 1974.  It was still very much a "Sixties" show though, just like FH is an "Eighties" show even though it's technically primarily 1990s.

Yeah, alot of mid-80s babies to about '87 view the '00s as the "best decade ever",
I'm not one of them.  ;D

I was born mid-80s (1985... about as close to "mid-80s" as you could possibly get!) and probably fit into your description of "anti-Y" than most people my age. I prefer more music/TV/movies etc made pre-1999 than music post-1999. But I guess I'm the exception to the rule.

Glad I found this topic cause I need some help.

I was born in November of 1989 and I'm not sure what generation I am. Even though I'm sorta anti-00's and pro-80's and 90's, what generation am I?

You're peak Generation Y in number and "anti-Y" in persona, Roadgeek.

Yeah, alot of kids did seem very f*cked up in the '90s...watch My Own Private Idaho, it seems like there were alot of runaways, gutterpunks, and street kids then roughly in their teens, and there was the whole school shooting thing. There were alot more kids like that in the '90s, I think...I'm not sure why, but I think it has to do with the people being born in the late '70s and early '80s having alot of "nontraditional" ex-hippie parents and people who were drug addicts. Nontraditional families had been fairly common since the '60s or '70s with Generation X's inception, but the divorce rate was very high in the 1970s and early 1980s, and this probably impacted that group of '90s teens pretty badly. As to the whole school shooting thing, I think it had to do with culture at the time in the late '90s, which was pretty saturated with that sort of thing, and alot of teen alienation in the '90s. Also, I think teen drug use peaked again in the '90s, though I explain this away by that the parents of that group of teens contained ALOT of ex-'60s people who were pretty damn casual about drugs.

Glad I found this topic cause I need some help.

I was born in November of 1989 and I'm not sure what generation I am. Even though I'm sorta anti-00's and pro-80's and 90's, what generation am I?



Yep you're peak Gen Y alright. IMO the peak of Gen Y lasted until 1990. I think Gen Y countinued to '97 but once you get to '91+ I consider that to be past the "peak" of the generation.

IMO, pure Gen Y goes to '93, mid-90s is YZ cusp, late '90s-2010 is Z.

Yep you're peak Gen Y alright. IMO the peak of Gen Y lasted until 1990. I think Gen Y countinued to '97 but once you get to '91+ I consider that to be past the "peak" of the generation.


Is January 1990 peak also then?  ;D

I think "peak" is 1986-1990, 1991-1996 is late, 1981-1985 is early/cusp.

I just wanted to revive this thread. I was going to say that I think the early '90s will be equivalent to the 58-60 period for baby boomers in that it'll produce Gen Z entertainers.

My cultural generational table:

1946-1963: Baby Boomers
-1958-1963: Late Baby Boom (Boomer-X Cusp)
1964-1977: Generation X
1977-1980: XY Cusp
1981-1993: Generation Y
1994-1996: YZ Cusp
1997-2009 (?): Generation Z

I think people forget that while somebody may be "into" the culture of their pre-13 years, it's usually changed by their teen years, which have the most impact on what they're perceived as. Like plenty of Gen Xers were into '70s culture in their preteen years but abandoned it for the '80s by their teen years.

^That table seems accurate; the only thing I disagree with is making the YZ cusp so small; I think it's more like 1994-2000.  But we agreed to disagree on that one ;)

I just wanted to revive this thread. I was going to say that I think the early '90s will be equivalent to the 58-60 period for baby boomers in that it'll produce Gen Z entertainers.

My cultural generational table:

1946-1963: Baby Boomers
-1958-1963: Late Baby Boom (Boomer-X Cusp)
1964-1977: Generation X
1977-1980: XY Cusp
1981-1993: Generation Y
1994-1996: YZ Cusp
1997-2009 (?): Generation Z

I think people forget that while somebody may be "into" the culture of their pre-13 years, it's usually changed by their teen years, which have the most impact on what they're perceived as. Like plenty of Gen Xers were into '70s culture in their preteen years but abandoned it for the '80s by their teen years.


I still like everything I liked when I was younger except I am aware of a lot more things now.

The biggest difference? 90's babies are far more spoiled (technologically speaking) than 80's in their childhood. My brother, although born in 1987 almost never got spanked and he grew up with cable tv at age 3, nintendo at age 6 and a personal computer when he was 10. This also seemed to be the case with many of my younger relatives who usually grew up with more technology, bought from their parents at an earlier age.

I think the boomer cusp thing is sort of difficult, because you could include all boomers too young to remember the Kennedy Assassination accurately in it. Again, we agreed to disagree, but there's a difference between liking something as a kid and liking something as a teen-up to '00 will be influenced more than '00+ by Y but I think '97+ will be pure Z enough to be called pure Z, like the mid-60s is X enough to be called X though it was more influenced by the boomers than those born starting in the late '60s.

but there's a difference between liking something as a kid and liking something as a teen-up to '00 will be influenced more than '00+ by Y but I think '97+ will be pure Z enough to be called pure Z



Yeah I tend to disagree with people who say that Gen Z starts in 2003/'04. I really believe that '97 is the first true birth year that's pure Z since someone born that year wont even be a teenager until 2010. I think the Y/Z cusp will be a little smaller the X/Y cusp. I say 1993/'94-1997.

Yeah I tend to disagree with people who say that Gen Z starts in 2003/'04. I really believe that '97 is the first true birth year that's pure Z since someone born that year wont even be a teenager until 2010. I think the Y/Z cusp will be a little smaller the X/Y cusp. I say 1993/'94-1997.




Yeah, I agree with that. It'll be like 94-96 or 97 but more predominately Z or mixed, but I definitely think they'll be different than Y culturally but with heavy than Y influences. You could probably say 1967 is the first "really X" year without any baby boomer shadings, but I still think 1964-1966 are more X than boomer. 94-96/97, as teens in a majority Non-Y decade, will probably be different enough culturally than Y to count as the early, cusp part of a different generation.

^^Yeah, I agree with both quotes, for the most part.  I mean, am I really the same generation as a baby born a couple years ago?  No, that's absurd, I'm 16 years old now and they won't even be able to remember 2006.  At the very latest, 2000 is Y, but even that's a little too late.  You have to remember 1999 at least a tiny bit to be Y, it's the ubuitiquous van guard year for Y culture.

Yeah, I think 1993 is pretty much pure Y but just a little cuspy, 1994-1996 is transitional but more Y.  1997-1999 is also transitional, but more Z.  The XY transition is huge between Gen X and Y aren't that different compared to other gens, but Y and Z will be a huge, more clearly marked change, because of the Digital Revolution, 9/11, Bush, and Iraq.

^^Yeah, I agree with both quotes, for the most part.  I mean, am I really the same generation as a baby born a couple years ago?  No, that's absurd, I'm 16 years old now and they won't even be able to remember 2006.  At the very latest, 2000 is Y, but even that's a little too late.  You have to remember 1999 at least a tiny bit to be Y, it's the ubuitiquous van guard year for Y culture.

Yeah, I think 1993 is pretty much pure Y but just a little cuspy, 1994-1996 is transitional but more Y.  1997-1999 is also transitional, but more Z.  The XY transition is huge between Gen X and Y aren't that different compared to other gens, but Y and Z will be a huge, more clearly marked change, because of the Digital Revolution, 9/11, Bush, and Iraq.



Yeah I think they'll be a much larger rift than X and Y like you said. And it is absurd that I would be in the same gen as someone born in 2003. I was 16 when they were born. That's almost old enough to be there father!(Well I guess technically it is old enough ;))

Yeah 2003 is definitely too late for gen y, the latest possible gen y year in my opinion would be like 1999.

I sort of think of Generations X and Y as two subdivisions of a larger late twentieth-century generation born between 1964 and 1994ish. Now, who do we think Generation Z will be more like, of the generations, in personality?

My reasons for putting 1994 as the crossover date for more Gen Zish/YZ Cusp:

-20th century before their time, basically, particularly the pre-digital age. Probably can't grasp pre-digital world.
-Somebody can be part of culture before their teen years, but their teen years is usually what fits them into a cultural generational framework. 1994+ will be more 2010s teens as opposed to 2000s teens. A good example for this is Generation X, lots of them were into the '70s in their preteenish years but later disowned it for the '80s...and yet they're not counted as baby boomers. There's a difference between child experience and teen experience and how they're remembered and impact adults. The 1994-1996 teens are definitely more Y than 1997+ but they are still probably more Generation Z because of that sudden rift. They will like '00s culture but will be more "'10s people."

I sort of think of Generations X and Y as two subdivisions of a larger late twentieth-century generation born between 1964 and 1994ish. Now, who do we think Generation Z will be more like, of the generations, in personality?

My reasons for putting 1994 as the crossover date for more Gen Zish/YZ Cusp:

-20th century before their time, basically, particularly the pre-digital age. Probably can't grasp pre-digital world.
-Somebody can be part of culture before their teen years, but their teen years is usually what fits them into a cultural generational framework. 1994+ will be more 2010s teens as opposed to 2000s teens. A good example for this is Generation X, lots of them were into the '70s in their preteenish years but later disowned it for the '80s...and yet they're not counted as baby boomers. There's a difference between child experience and teen experience and how they're remembered and impact adults. The 1994-1996 teens are definitely more Y than 1997+ but they are still probably more Generation Z because of that sudden rift. They will like '00s culture but will be more "'10s people."




You do make a good point.

How about this "compromise"?  In overall outlook on the world, the 1994-1996ers are more Z, but pop-culturally they're more Y.  Actually I think 1996 is the last Y year; at least they would know VHS tapes, even if they were more comfortable and used to DVDs.

My reasons for putting 1994 as the crossover date for more Gen Zish/YZ Cusp:

-20th century before their time, basically, particularly the pre-digital age. Probably can't grasp pre-digital world.
-Somebody can be part of culture before their teen years, but their teen years is usually what fits them into a cultural generational framework. 1994+ will be more 2010s teens as opposed to 2000s teens. A good example for this is Generation X, lots of them were into the '70s in their preteenish years but later disowned it for the '80s...and yet they're not counted as baby boomers. There's a difference between child experience and teen experience and how they're remembered and impact adults. The 1994-1996 teens are definitely more Y than 1997+ but they are still probably more Generation Z because of that sudden rift. They will like '00s culture but will be more "'10s people."



Very true. Someone born in '94 will be 13 in 2007 so that gives them a little time in the 00's as a teen though.

Yeah, that's very true.

Perhaps my prime reason for 1994-1996 being more Y is because unless you add in the late '70s (which I'm very reluctant to do), Gen Y is just too small.  I mean, 1981-1993 is not long enough for a generation, even if we're talking about a cultural one.

Alot of boundaries with generations are pretty amorphous, you could say both X and Y own the late '70s.

Alot of boundaries with generations are pretty amorphous, you could say both X and Y own the late '70s.


Agreed.  I also think X and Y co-own the early '80s.  1981 is my "offical" bound, but it's only an average.

Agreed.  I also think X and Y co-own the early '80s.  1981 is my "offical" bound, but it's only an average.


What about the boomers/Gen Xers and the early-mid '60s? I think early '80s has definite X influences, more than mid-'80s, but it's still basically early-end Gen Y.

What about the boomers/Gen Xers and the early-mid '60s? I think early '80s has definite X influences, more than mid-'80s, but it's still basically early-end Gen Y.


Yeah, probably.  I think Boomers are 1946-1963, but early '40s is borderline.  Gen X starts either 1964 or '65, I go with '64.

Yeah, that's very true.

Perhaps my prime reason for 1994-1996 being more Y is because unless you add in the late '70s (which I'm very reluctant to do), Gen Y is just too small.  I mean, 1981-1993 is not long enough for a generation, even if we're talking about a cultural one.



I think they will be more Y especially '94ers since there already 12 but times changed quick. I dont think I have much in common with someone born in 1994 but I might have more in common with someone born 10-15 years before me.

Yeah, probably.  I think Boomers are 1946-1963, but early '40s is borderline.  Gen X starts either 1964 or '65, I go with '64.


I go with '64, someone who didn't come of age until 1980 is not baby boom. Machinehead, I totally agree with that, but I think Gen Z will be free of some of Gen Y's pretensions and sh*t.

I go with '64, someone who didn't come of age until 1980 is not baby boom. Machinehead, I totally agree with that, but I think Gen Z will be free of some of Gen Y's pretensions and sh*t.



Me too. btw I also think Gen X started in '64 because like you guys said alot of famous Gen Xers were born that year.

I think they will be more Y especially '94ers since there already 12 but times changed quick. I dont think I have much in common with someone born in 1994 but I might have more in common with someone born 10-15 years before me.


IMO 1993's the last 100% Y year, since they'd be able to remember 1996, the last year of the Analog Age really well.

I'd say:

Core Y: 1986-1992, inclusive

Cusp:

1993: 85% Y, 15% Z (almost core, but not quite)
1994: 65% Y, 35% Z (Clearly Y, but with a major Z element of not knowing pre-1997 times at all)
1995: 55% Y, 45% Z (Cuspy, but leaning to Y for cultural reasons.  They would probably know 2004 like yesterday)
1996: 51% Y, 49% Z (Very cuspy.  A tiny, tiny bit to Y)
1997: 45% Y, 55% Z (Cuspy, leaning to Z because they would only be 4 during 9/11 and probably wouldn't remember the New Millenium)
1998: 35% Y, 65% Z (Z, but with Y elements because of the '00s influence)
1999: 25% Y, 75% Z (ditto 1998)
2000: 15% Y, 85% Z
2001: 100% Z

I personally think the divide should be those born about 87-88. Those born afterwards would have never known a life without the internet, mobile phones, ipods, being able to walk around freely on the streets without your parents worrying about safety. I don't think I have much in common with the kid's of today at all; now they have Harry Potter, Anime, and mp3 players. It seems in my 'generation' life was simpler, and you were a kid for longer. The change about around the late 90s...

I personally think the divide should be those born about 87-88. Those born afterwards would have never known a life without the internet, mobile phones, ipods, being able to walk around freely on the streets without your parents worrying about safety. I don't think I have much in common with the kid's of today at all; now they have Harry Potter, Anime, and mp3 players. It seems in my 'generation' life was simpler, and you were a kid for longer. The change about around the late 90s...


I would have to disagree.  Ipods came out in 2001, and cell phones weren't really essential until the early '00s.  I'd put the line more at 1992 or 1993.

I'm really talking about kids in the 8-12 year old range. You, for example, were born in 1990 so by the time 3D games had become mainstream (about 96-97) you would have been only 6-7, hence on the young side to play the old '2D' games. So you probably don't remember a time when the SNES and VCR were the principle forms of entertainment. lol.

I'm really talking about kids in the 8-12 year old range. You, for example, were born in 1990 so by the time 3D games had become mainstream (about 96-97) you would have been only 6-7, hence on the young side to play the old '2D' games. So you probably don't remember a time when the SNES and VCR were the principle forms of entertainment. lol.


Yeah I'd agree for video games, but not DVDs.  But I guess I've never been a huge video game person, so it doesn't really matter that much.  I do remember the PlayStation and Nintendo commercials of the mid-to-late nineties, but yeah I can't honestly grasp the 2D era.

Music to me is CDs (although I am familiar with cassettes), but movies aren't DVDs to me, or at least they weren't for the first 10-12 years of my life.  I am not a child of the DVD, they weren't beginning to become popular until 1999; before then I knew only the VHS.  Even today, I'm still as comfortable with a VHS deck.

Just face it, Donnie Darko, you're not like us!  ;)

Yeah I'd agree for video games, but not DVDs.  But I guess I've never been a huge video game person, so it doesn't really matter that much.  I do remember the PlayStation and Nintendo commercials of the mid-to-late nineties, but yeah I can't honestly grasp the 2D era.

Music to me is CDs (although I am familiar with cassettes), but movies aren't DVDs to me, or at least they weren't for the first 10-12 years of my life.  I am not a child of the DVD, they weren't beginning to become popular until 1999; before then I knew only the VHS.  Even today, I'm still as comfortable with a VHS deck.



Yeah the dvd didnt become really popular until really 2000 when the PS2 came out and made dvd sales go through the roof. dvd didnt overtake vhs fully until 2001. As far as video games go the first 3 video games systems I got were 2D.

Just face it, Donnie Darko, you're not like us!  ;)


I'm only four years younger than you :)

By 1999, DVD players/DVDs were very prevalent and it was clear that VHS was on the way out, though VHS did remain the most popular format until 2002 or so. I've had so many game systems over the years that it's crazy. My first video game system was a SNES in 1992. In 1994 I got a Genesis CDX, which is a Genesis with a built in Sega CD, it's also a portable CD player, I still have it today. I had a game boy, and a game gear. I had a Virtual Boy as well which I got in 1995, I still have that too. I got Playstation in '96, and traded it in (along with my 15 games) for a Dreamcast the day it came out. Did I mention I had a Saturn as well, lol.

By 1999, DVD players/DVDs were very prevalent and it was clear that VHS was on the way out, though VHS did remain the most popular format until 2002 or so. I've had so many game systems over the years that it's crazy. My first video game system was a SNES in 1992. In 1994 I got a Genesis CDX, which is a Genesis with a built in Sega CD, it's also a portable CD player, I still have it today. I had a game boy, and a game gear. I had a Virtual Boy as well which I got in 1995, I still have that too. I got Playstation in '96, and traded it in (along with my 15 games) for a Dreamcast the day it came out. Did I mention I had a Saturn as well, lol.


Yeah, while it definitely was alot faster than CD's replacing tapes, it still took a few years to really pick up. Laserdiscs were around a bit in, like 1992-94 (at the time I thought they were pretty cool and hi-tech looking, but didn't really anticipate them replacing VHS - which of course, they didn't), but didn't last.

1997 was when I first heard of DVD's. They started becoming household by '99, but I wouldn't say they started becoming "essential" until 2002/03ish. So, by that logic, a 5 year old kid who paid reasonable attention to stuff at the time (born 1998) could still claim to VHS were at the tail end of "their time".

A 1995-er or before who wasn't living under a rock would clearly recall it too.

Like I've said before, I think age 6-7 is clearly the beginning of when you can remember stuff perfectly. So just take off that number of years before something, and there's at least a chance those people will remember it (i.e. audiotapes declined notably in about '98 so a 1991/92-er could still remember them or possibly even owned a few).

Audio casettes occupied a small corner in music stores by 96/97...another thing that's been wiped out really fast are floppy discs. A mere four years ago or so floppy disks seem to disappear overnight.

Audio casettes occupied a small corner in music stores by 96/97...another thing that's been wiped out really fast are floppy discs. A mere four years ago or so floppy disks seem to disappear overnight.


Yeah, they're just about gone. Floppy Drives have disappeared from most new computers in the last couple years. Some Floppy Disks are still available, but nobody uses them anymore with thumb drives and CD-RW. Theres still a few casette tapes around as well, Wal Mart has a really small area with a few casettes over here, but they're pretty much gone.

I personally don't think the CD will die too soon, rather I think it will evolve with the technology in the years to come therefore I don't expect them to be obsolete when Gen Z becomes of age.

I would have to disagree.  Ipods came out in 2001, and cell phones weren't really essential until the early '00s.  I'd put the line more at 1992 or 1993.


I agree...I was not born with an iPod in my ears! Those things didn't become popular until I was 14, cell phones weren't essential until I was 12 or so, I never went on the internet until I was 7, VHS was the main form of entertainment until I was 12 though I first saw a DVD at 10, etc.

I personally think the divide should be those born about 87-88. Those born afterwards would have never known a life without the internet, mobile phones, ipods, being able to walk around freely on the streets without your parents worrying about safety. I don't think I have much in common with the kid's of today at all; now they have Harry Potter, Anime, and mp3 players. It seems in my 'generation' life was simpler, and you were a kid for longer. The change about around the late 90s...



I think that just because someone born 89+ would have been fairly young when dvd, ipods, internet, cell phones, etc. became essential dosent mean they cant remember a time before they were. Someone born in say 1990 would have already been about 11/12 years old before dvd became essential. Same with the internet ipods and cell phones as well which have only been absolute nessesities since the begining of this decade.

Yeah, while it definitely was alot faster than CD's replacing tapes, it still took a few years to really pick up. Laserdiscs were around a bit in, like 1992-94 (at the time I thought they were pretty cool and hi-tech looking, but didn't really anticipate them replacing VHS - which of course, they didn't), but didn't last.

1997 was when I first heard of DVD's. They started becoming household by '99, but I wouldn't say they started becoming "essential" until 2002/03ish. So, by that logic, a 5 year old kid who paid reasonable attention to stuff at the time (born 1998) could still claim to VHS were at the tail end of "their time".

A 1995-er or before who wasn't living under a rock would clearly recall it too.

Like I've said before, I think age 6-7 is clearly the beginning of when you can remember stuff perfectly. So just take off that number of years before something, and there's at least a chance those people will remember it (i.e. audiotapes declined notably in about '98 so a 1991/92-er could still remember them or possibly even owned a few).


So would you say 1996 and up are the "children of the DVD"?  That makes sense to me, however I think a 1994er or 1995er could be a DVD child if they had a really awful memory.  1993 and earlier is VHS (and also firmly Y, although 1993 is just the tiniest bit cuspy with Z).

I think that just because someone born 89+ would have been fairly young when dvd, ipods, internet, cell phones, etc. became essential dosent mean they cant remember a time before they were. Someone born in say 1990 would have already been about 11/12 years old before dvd became essential. Same with the internet ipods and cell phones as well which have only been absolute nessesities since the begining of this decade.


Yeah, I mean there's a difference between first using something when you were 8-13 years old and being born under it.  Some incorrectly equate the two; it's not like late Gen Yers from the 1989-1993 period do not remember the pre-digital era of the late '90s and early '00s at all.  Although my clear memory does begin c. 1997, I can faintly remember back to 1993 or 1994 I'm pretty sure.

So would you say 1996 and up are the "children of the DVD"?  That makes sense to me, however I think a 1994er or 1995er could be a DVD child if they had a really awful memory.  1993 and earlier is VHS (and also firmly Y, although 1993 is just the tiniest bit cuspy with Z).

I was born in 89 and I'm hybrid. I have a lot of DVD's and a lot of VHS. But still, I think everyone should still have at least 1 VCR. You never know when it could come in handy.

Yeah, I mean there's a difference between first using something when you were 8-13 years old and being born under it.  Some incorrectly equate the two; it's not like late Gen Yers from the 1989-1993 period do not remember the pre-digital era of the late '90s and early '00s at all.  Although my clear memory does begin c. 1997, I can faintly remember back to 1993 or 1994 I'm pretty sure.



Yeah to not remember a time before vhs was essential you coulnt have been any older than 5 or 6 in 2001.

Yeah to not remember a time before vhs was essential you coulnt have been any older than 5 or 6 in 2001.


Agreed.

Maybe 1996 is the first Z year.  I want to say 1997, since I kind of think of it as a "magic year", but perhaps 1996 makes more sense as the beginning of Z.

Still though, I tend to consider Gen Y to be 1981-1996.

Agreed.

Maybe 1996 is the first Z year.  I want to say 1997, since I kind of think of it as a "magic year", but perhaps 1996 makes more sense as the beginning of Z.

Still though, I tend to consider Gen Y to be 1981-1996.



Me too. The farthest I'd go would be to put '96 on the Y/Z cusp. I still say 1997 is the first year that will be pure Z.

Me too. The farthest I'd go would be to put '96 on the Y/Z cusp. I still say 1997 is the first year that will be pure Z.


Where would you say Y becomes more Z?  I think 1993/'94-1999 is the entire cusp, but I see 1995 or '96 as the last year that's on the Y side.  But, 1993-1996 would all have a "gateway" to Z, although I think 1994 is the first Y year that's more like Z than X. 

Really, the kids of the early 1990s STILL have an Xish vibe to them all Yers have.  It's not until you get into the mid 1990s births that we start to encounter youths that are not Xy at all.

Where would you say Y becomes more Z?  I think 1993/'94-1999 is the entire cusp, but I see 1995 or '96 as the last year that's on the Y side.  But, 1993-1996 would all have a "gateway" to Z, although I think 1994 is the first Y year that's more like Z than X. 

Really, the kids of the early 1990s STILL have an Xish vibe to them all Yers have.  It's not until you get into the mid 1990s births that we start to encounter youths that are not Xy at all.



I think that 1995 is the first Y year that's more Z. I would say '94 but there 12 now and probably tilted slighty more Y but once you get to '95+ I think there more Z.

I think that 1995 is the first Y year that's more Z. I would say '94 but there 12 now and probably tilted slighty more Y but once you get to '95+ I think there more Z.


Yeah, you're probably right.  1995ers do seem kind of clueless on the late 1990s.  I'd still say Y ends in 1996 though, because the late '70s people seem more Xy to me since their years would be the early 1990s which are a very Gen Xy time.

But yeah, "indisputable" Gen Y is 1986-1992, inclusive.  I would probably say 1983-1985 and 1993 are also almost purely Y.  1994 is really borderline, but people like Dakota Fanning seem to be more the end of my generation than the beginning of the next.

Yeah, you're probably right.  1995ers do seem kind of clueless on the late 1990s.  I'd still say Y ends in 1996 though, because the late '70s people seem more Xy to me since their years would be the early 1990s which are a very Gen Xy time.

But yeah, "indisputable" Gen Y is 1986-1992, inclusive.  I would probably say 1983-1985 and 1993 are also almost purely Y.  1994 is really borderline, but people like Dakota Fanning seem to be more the end of my generation than the beginning of the next.



It's too bad no 1994ers or 1995ers come onto the site so we can see how they really feel. Maybe we could get some answers then ;)

It's too bad no 1994ers or 1995ers come onto the site so we can see how they really feel. Maybe we could get some answers then ;)


Yeah.

Do they use the Internet?  ;D

Yeah.

Do they use the Internet?  ;D


Yeah, but they're too busy on Nick.com or Disney.com, lol.

Yeah, but they're too busy on Nick.com or Disney.com, lol.


;D

Yeah, but they're too busy on Nick.com or Disney.com, lol.



Too true. Maybe they'll stumble across it one day though. Then it's on ;)

Too true. Maybe they'll stumble across it one day though. Then it's on ;)


2008 is when they'll start to pour in.

Then, maybe we can judge if the 1994-96 crowd is more Y or Z better. 

Wouldn't you say 1993 is the last solid Y year?