People Discuss the Unique Experience of 'Middle Millennials'

It feels like just yesterday we were learning of the specific subset of millennials dubbed "geriatric millennials." The date range for the group varies. Some websites say it's 1981-1984. Others say it's 1980-1985. Either way, the term feels a little derogatory. As someone who was born in 1988, I have to admit that I relate to some of the micro-generation's experiences. I wasn't nearly as plugged in as younger millennials - I didn't have a cell phone until my freshman year of college (even then I had to get my crush to co-sign, a move that would enrage his father when I moved back to Brooklyn from Toronto). Though I spent a lot of time on chat rooms and on MySpace and AIM, I didn't experience any of the cruel cyber-bullying that was a reality for the younger set. We weren't allowed to be members of Facebook until we had a university email. Things were different. That said, I don't really feel I belong to this older group. And it would seem I'm not the only person in my mid to early thirties who feels this way.

In a recent tweet, Twitter user @svershbow suggests there is another micro-generation that grew up both with and without the internet and finished high school as the social media wave crested.

There's an important micro-generation of millennials born between 1987-1992 who both grew up with and without the internet and finished high school right as the social media wave crested.
— Sophie Vershbow (@svershbow) February 25, 2022

While it's a little strange to claim that the social media wave had crested back in '06 when Facebook was still devoid of crazy essential oil moms, @svershbow may be onto something. The tweet inspired people who were born around that time to share their own experiences from the era - the most unifying being the frequenting of internet chat rooms. We may not have had Instagram, but it was incredibly easy to enter a room of people and pretend to be someone drastically different than a bored and probably horny pre-teen with too much access to the internet - or ignorant parents.

Despite all the support, there were, of course, plenty of people who took issue with the designation. Mainly people from Gen X who felt it's an erasure of a more universally shared experience. We appreciate the opposition, but prefer all the mentions of A/S/L and cringey Facebook "night out" albums. Even without a name, our experience happened, and this walk down memory lane reminds us that it was weird as hell.

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via @argyleminx

This user suggests that "middle millennials" have an advantage in the fact-checking and skepticism department.
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via @TheRevDrLeslie
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via @MelissaMWear
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via @d_curmudgeon
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via @skynetwashere
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via @Disoriented_Sam
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via @LoisSanborn3
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via @JoeTyner5
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via @reckoncraft
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via @DecadeScrolling
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via @svershbow
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via @boop
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via @jeff_is_trying
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via @Chinchillazilla
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via @MartyMoss3
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via @dobryguy
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via @ToriSandifer