Before Generation Z there was generation Y, or if you prefer the buzz term: Millennials! Sometimes known as the me me, me generation. Now, what is a Millennial you might ask? You might not, it’s your choice. But broadly speaking they are the generation born between the late seventies and the late nineties. Although there’s a fair bit of debate about the cut-off point!
So what is the defining characteristic of this generation of ours? And I say of “ours” as a proud Millennial! Well here are some of the ways you can spot one!
If you had a NES or a Master System you are probably a Millennial!
Yes, that’s right people of generation weren’t born surrounded by the high-res, HD graphics that the modern generation get to play on. Although most of us probably play these now! Instead, we were treated to podgy, blocky Italian plumbers jumping on mushrooms. And bright blue hedgehogs beating up fat guys and stealing rings. Mario and Sonic for the uninitiated.
If you remember before mobile phones were really a thing you might be a Millennial
Yes, I have a mobile and yes I guess it is true that mobile phones were around in the eighties…you know if you were a yuppy! But it isn’t really until the nineties that they went from being a tool used exclusively by the rich to something that every mother and their dog has. Incidentally please don’t buy a mobile phone for your dog, it’s tacky. When I was a teenager the thought of ten-year-olds having their own personal phone was the stuff of pure fantasy and now look at us!
If using the internet used to wake up your next door neighbour.
These days it’s all broadband and fibre optic and web pages that load up in an instant. It was very different for Millennials. Especially the older ones. We were there at the internet’s advent when a dial-up modem made so much noise that you daren’t use it after midnight! Of course, we would sneak on when the parents were in bed and mute the sound with a pillow because our generation are rebels! However not much has changed in so much as the internet is still primarily to look at nude pictures.
If you eat mung beans and tofu you could be a millennial
Sorry about the slightly unfair stereotype. But ours seems to be the generation that really embraced Veganism and Vegetarianism. Not only that but we are the generation that “invented” lactose intolerance and all that jazz. Sorry about that! By the way, I know lactose intolerance was a thing before us! But we made it big – the hipster generation!
If you vote left you could be a millennial
Yes, there is a suggestion, certainly from the voting figures in the UK and the US that Millennials are largely a liberal bunch. That’s not to say you can’t find right-leaning Millennials, of course, you can. But demographics don’t lie, well okay sometimes they do, but you see my point!
If you are comfortable talking about sex and stuff you might be a Millennial.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the liberal nature of this generation our views on sex are also fairly liberal. More so than most of the generations before us we are open about our use of pornography, sex toys and even just talking about sex in general. What a time to be alive.
What we aren’t
We often get labelled as lazy, but this in itself is lazy. Millennials are often smart, occasionally too smart for their own good, but are a generation who aren’t afraid to work hard.
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