Too Young to Be a Millennial, Too Old to Be Gen Z
Do you often feel like you relate more to Millennials on some things, and more with Gen Z on others? Like you're too young for one generation but too old to be part of the other? You might be a Zillennial, the micro-generation that generally encompasses people born from 1993 to 1998—and we've compiled 20 signs to prove it. How many of these can you relate to?
1. Vine Was TikTok
Before the boom of TikTok in 2019, you remember Vine. In fact, some of the most viral clips, jokes, and memes on there are still seared into your memory. TikTok is great and all, but to you, it still doesn't beat the nostalgia and oddity of Vine.
2. Snapchat Felt Revolutionary
You remember life before Snapchat. You might even remember when it just came out and everyone was downloading the app in class, sending selfies to friends sitting just two rows away. Gone were the days you had to text your friends your photos; Snapchat let you do that much more efficiently, and pictures had an expiry.
3. You Remember When Skinny Jeans Were Cool
Sure, baggy jeans and wide-legged pants are all the rage nowadays, but you remember when fashion was different. You remember layering tank tops, velvet tracksuits, low-riding jeans, denim on denim. Heck, you remember when skinny jeans were cool until just a few years ago, even though it seems unfathomable to you now to wear them.
4. You Remember "Burning" Disks
Before the era of streaming music through Spotify or Apple Music, you had iTunes. And before that, you had to burn individual songs onto a disk to be able to play them in your car. On that note, you remember when laptops came with a built-in CD drive, and downloading software wasn't as easy as clicking a button.
5. When Bluetooth in Cars Wasn't a Thing Yet
While CD players have sort of gone obsolete, given the rise of the modern era of digital streaming, back then things weren't so easy. Those disks you burned? Yup, they were all crammed into a CD storage case. That meant if you wanted to listen to a song that was on a different disk, you had to pull the case out and flip through to find the correct CD, then swap it in.
6. When iTunes Wasn't a Thing Yet
Before iTunes came out in 2001, listening to your favorite song was a... challenging process. Almost an impossible process, really. Your best bet was to catch it on TV when MTV (or MuchMusic in Canada) were running through the top songs and music videos, or buy the physical album and play it on a boombox. Or you had to use Windows Media Audio.
Mickfuzz at English Wikibooks on Wikimedia
7. Renting Movies at Blockbuster
Twenty years ago, you probably would've never predicted that businesses like Blockbuster would become obsolete. Streaming movies and TV shows right from your laptop? No way. That's crazy futuristic talk. The norm back then was going up and down the aisles at Blockbuster to choose your favorite movie to watch for the weekend.
8. When R&B Was the Genre
Remember when R&B was the genre? Sure, pop and rap were still just as popular, but in the '90s and early 2000s, we had iconic songs from Usher, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, Aaliyah, Ne-Yo, Brian Knight, Mary J. Blige... the list goes on. Replaying these hits now smacks you with a wave of nostalgia.
Universal Records on Wikimedia
9. You Remember DVDs, VCRs, Floppy Disks, & Cassette Tapes
You don't just remember the DVD/CD era or Blockbuster and VCRs. You remember the classic old school stuff—the floppy disks, the cassette tapes, the Walkmans, the rotary dial telephones. You might even still own some of these items for the sake of nostalgia.
10. You Had to Disconnect the Internet to Use the Phone
Remember when dial-up internet was a thing? You could be surfing the web one second, only to have to disconnect because your parents or siblings had to hog the phone line (and then you sometimes picked up another phone to eavesdrop). That wasn't the annoying thing about dial-up internet, it was also maddening to wait for it to reconnect.
11. Emails & MSN Messenger Were the Rage
Before phone numbers and texting became the norm (heck, you probably didn't even have a phone until end of middle school or start of high school), exchanging emails was the way to go. Why? Obviously so you could hop on MSN Messenger after school to chat with your friends online. (Spamming Winks and nudges, anyone?)
12. You Remember Life Before YouTube
You probably can't imagine a day without YouTube now, but back then it wasn't so convenient to just watch videos online. You remember how revolutionary it was when YouTube launched; you recall the stars born from that early era. You likely even remember when most music videos were under Vevo.
13. Heck, You Remember Life Before the Internet
You don't just remember MSN Messenger, YouTube, and dial-up internet—you remember life before the internet. The days when you would run outside and skip rope or watch cartoons late into the night. The days when you had no idea what "going online" or "using the internet" even meant.
14. You Owned At Least One Tamagotchi
There's a reason why Tamagotchis still haven't quite gone out of trend; in fact, Bandai even released remakes of their earlier lines to celebrate their 20th anniversary. But you probably still have your OG Tamagotchi—the one buried deep in a box in your closet or hidden in the pile of clothes you outgrew. Something about feeding and caring for a digital pet was so fun when we were kids.
15. Your First Phone Was Probably a Flip Phone
You might own a smartphone now, but remember your first ever phone? If it wasn't a Nokia or a Motorola flip, it was probably one with a full physical QWERTY keyboard, like a BlackBerry. You probably even recall taking grainy pictures, setting funny ringtones, and playing classic games like Snake and Bejeweled.
16. You Grew Up Watching Lizzie McGuire, That's So Raven, Etc.
Those late nights you spent staying up to watch cartoons? Yeah, you probably also watched reruns on the Disney Channel, where shows like Lizzie McGuire, Hannah Montana, That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Kim Possible, Proud Family, and more were iconic hits. Honestly, you still think you grew up in the best TV shows era.
17. You Remember Other Search Engines
You likely use Google as your main and only search engine now, but back then there were various others to choose from. Yahoo was one, but remember AskJeeves? AltaVista? Excite? Most are defunct now, but you probably wouldn't even be able to imagine using a search engine other than Google (or Bing).
18. You Remember Watching Bill Nye at School
Ah, nothing could beat that feeling of going to class in elementary school and seeing the TV on the rolling cart at the front of the room. You knew that setup could only mean one thing: you were going to watch Bill Nye or a movie. Which meant no lessons or school work!
19. You Learned Cursive Writing in School, But Never Used It
Remember cursive writing? Back then, it was mandatory to learn, and you were probably forced to do all your writing assignments using handwriting only. And yet, despite it being in the curriculum, you barely used it outside of school. Now, it's just a cool skill (or memory) you have.
20. You Remember a Different Era of Social Media
Social media wasn't always how it is nowadays, with TikTok and Instagram and Snapchat. Back then you had a cringey Myspace account, followed by a cringey Facebook account. Honestly, you kind of envy the kids who grew in this era, because they probably didn't have to go through that embarrassing phase.
