I am part of the in-between generation. The misfit generation. What we who fall under this cusp refer to as a “Xennial”. According to Jia Wertz, contributor for Forbes magazine,
“The term Xennial refers to people born between 1977 and 1983. This microgeneration doesn’t quite fit either Generation X or Millennials; instead, they possess a hybrid of traits from both generations. And the group is uniquely positioned …”
Born in 1983, I consistently found myself not quite relating to Generation X or Millennials. I was part of the generation that witnessed the birth of the internet. Wedged between analog and digital, my entire childhood was the evolution of mass media. I am of the generation that had to be outside and stay outside “until the streetlights came on” – no iPads for us in the early 90s. I am of the generation where we met and hung out with kids from the neighborhood – until the advent of AIM. I am of the generation that started with
rotary phones with curly cords attached – until the advent of cordless phones, then pagers, then mobile phones. I’ve dedicated a plethora of social media posts to how thankful I am that many of my childhood moments happened before things like Facebook existed! I am of the first generation to have had internet access and learn how to live in a digital world. I am of the generation that best understands the complexities of our current media world and has the distinct opportunity to speak on the effects of mass media from both sides of innovation.
I was fortunate to see mass media evolve throughout my most formative years. It started with television. I watched the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before Will Smith became Will Smith. Our TV still had “rabbit ears” and we had to check the TV Guide to see when shows would come on. I grew up in the generation of soap operas and sitcoms. A large part of my Friday nights was dedicated to WVEC’s Channel 13 TGIF lineup of Family Matters, Full House, Boy Meets World, and Step by Step. I watched Saved by the Bell and 90210. Even then, sitcoms were touching on subject matter before its time: racial profiling on Family Matters, teenage drinking and child abuse on Full House, addiction on Saved by the Bell. In a generation where our parents didn’t dare talk about taboo subjects, we had sitcoms. Television served as entertainment during my “latchkey” years, a trend you do not see today. As we watched television unfold, so did our telephones. We were the generation that still had landlines and had to memorize phone numbers! Our phones came with cords and were attached to our walls, then went to cordless models with the fancy “voicemail”. Several years later, all the cool kids would be carrying pagers sending messages like 07734 for “hello”, 911 for “call me now or emergency”, and the illustrious 143 for “I love you”. Then came the “brick” phones
and the Motorola MicroTAC, the T-Mobile Sidekick, and the coveted Nokia TracFone which became my very first cell phone at age 19 during my freshman year of college! I will note that that same year I purchased my very first laptop computer for school, a DELL.
Perhaps the greatest media evolution I witnessed was with music. I recall my father listening to a lot of 8-TRACK but I was a product of the boombox. We were the cassette tape generation. We recorded mixtapes. We had to wait for the DJ to play the Top
9 at 9 to record the good hits. We would have another boombox and blank tape set, and our fingers hovering over the “record”
and “play” buttons which you had to hit simultaneously at just the
right time to make sure you had a clean intro and outro. But I was also the generation that burned mix CDs using Napster, and Kazaa, and iTunes. To get a mixtape or mix CD was a privilege considering the thought and the hard work that went into one. If you had a computer with the ability to burn CDs, you were “it”. What once was a liberated generation now becoming progressively more connected. Mass media was evolving right before our eyes and, so were we.
As a Xennial, the media evolving around me had a profound impact on some of the most emotional moments during my lifetime so far. For many of us, that began with the events of September 11th. I clearly recall the news channels switching to “Breaking News” as the events of that day unfolded and watching the second plane hit the South Twin Tower. It is an image I will never forget. The media coverage that followed showed the devastation of the terrorist attack, the heroes that were dutifully saving lives in the aftermath, and the way Americans came together during that fateful time. It was the first of a few formative events of my time. It was only a few years prior in 1999 that the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, CO occurred and, tragic as it was, most of us (I was a freshman in high school at the time) went on to finish high school without another incident of that caliber. And then there was Sandy Hook. I had just become a mother and had a younger sister who was in elementary school and the unfolding of this horrific day just rattled my soul. The image of these young babies forever ingrained in my brain. I couldn’t
comprehend how we found ourselves in this situation and, like many, took to Facebook to voice disbelief. The events of Sandy Hook brought about tense and heated discussions concerning the Second Amendment, school safety, and mental health – many of which happened on social media.
Another pivotal media moment that impacted me was when Hurricane Maria devastated the
island of Puerto Rico in 2017. Still reeling from torrential rain and a dilapidated power grid that the U.S. had yet to concern itself with, the island was hit by the category 5 monster and left to fend for itself. It was a brutal blow to an already struggling island population, which included many of my immediate family. The subsequent inadequate handling of hurricane relief efforts by the current government of the United States didn’t help to alleviate the situation and left many of us at a complete loss for words.
Feature films have also been making strides of their own, especially when you consider the evolution of Disney/Pixar. Say what you will about them, they have been listening to their fan base and putting in work to make significant changes to the products they create for their audience. What started with diverse representation of the Disney Princesses, morphed into representation across other aspects of their films. They have taken the time to bring ethnically diverse stories to life with films like Encanto, which featured a Columbian family dealing with generational trauma, and Turning Red,
which featured a Chinese family dealing with childhood trauma and puberty.
They also have ventured into deeper subject matter like depression, mental health, and emotional intelligence with the movie Inside Out and the meaning of life and the question of our human existence with the movie Soul. These were concepts I would have never dreamt of seeing on film and that I wish I would have had growing up. I am forever grateful to have these to share with my son and hopeful that they continue to push the envelope.
Just like Joe in the movie Soul, we all seek to be connected to something larger than ourselves and so do I. Media’s interconnectedness has helped me to stay in touch with those in my sphere, whether it be family in other states or countries, reconnecting with high school friends, or networking with colleagues. But media has gone one step further in its globalization. Now more than ever, I connect with others around the world who expand – and challenge my worldview. Even now, as an online student, I spend much of my day interacting with others across the state, the nation, or the world! A technology that I have been fascinated with lately is 3D photography. On Facebook, I can explore inaccessible locations via 3D photography with a 360° view – my passion being ancient Egyptian tombs!
If you really want to get a sense of what it is like to connect with something larger than us, there is no better way to do so than exploring space. While I grew up doing so with the technology from the Hubble Telescope, the recent images of the James Webb telescope are nothing short of remarkable! Just one look at the “Pillars of Creation” from the Webb Telescope is sure to leave an impact. Speaking of impact, I cannot ignore the opportunity to touch on the impact that media had during the pandemic. From the exponential rise in Netflix subscribers due to binge-worthy shows like Tiger King, Squid Game, and Click Bait, to the rise of TikTok, and the huge hit that the movie industry took from the inevitable lockdowns. It was media that kept me going during the unprecedented COVID19 pandemic, through entertainment and connectedness. But the affects of media weren’t all positive.
If media helps us to gain new perspectives, then the recent years of media immersion sure have played an integral role. Enter the Era of Misinformation.
Unfortunately, lockdowns and grappling with mortality weren’t the only effects of the COVID19 pandemic. During this time, there was an overabundance of misinformation permeating the media. From where and how the virus began, to the proper protocols for containment, to the dissemination of information concerning the vaccine –
erroneous information was spread like wildfire.
Many instances of misinformation led to issues concerning First Amendment protections and left me, and others, asking ourselves “where do we draw the line?” Access to mobile media began allowing people to expose the harsh realities of living in the U.S. –
from the death of George Floyd, to “airing out Karens”, the hate crimes against Asians and Asian-Americans due to the “China virus”, and the homophobic hate speech, all of which became subject matter for my podcast (that coincidentally started during the pandemic as well). The revelations didn’t stop with mobile media.
The advent of “cancel culture” infiltrated my social media feed. Soon enough, celebrities, business owners, influencers, and even friends were feeling the heat for things said and posted on “Al Gore’s Internet” – which is forever. This left me asking myself the same question I posed earlier, “where do we draw the line?” When, and how, do we show people grace for personal growth.
And so, lastly, I touch on media’s influence on my personal growth. I learned through the text of the term bibliotherapy which the text defines as “a form of self-therapy involving an individual who is seeking enlightenment and transformative change by reading self help books or inspirational novels.”
I did not realize there was a term for my self-growth journey until coming across this term; however, my bookshelf clearly reflects it. I have been on a journey of enlightenment since about 2016 and it has been a tough yet rewarding experience thus far. Part of that path to personal growth involved an extensive look at my personal use of technology, especially social media. Learning about “social media detox” was crucial for me as my use of social media for work began bleeding into my personal life. I diverted my focus to using mass media for good, creating content revolving around resilience through my Instagram and my podcast. In doing so, I was able to find my voice and share it with the world.
I find that I relate to the description of the Xennial generation more and more.
My generation discovered how much technology changed us and the world around us. As new technology was placed in front of me, I began to change and adapt. I became tech-savvy. The evolution of the media I was able to access pulled at my heartstrings bringing emotional stories to me in more immersive ways. The advent of the internet opened the door to new perspectives from diverse people and places and connected me to concepts and movements larger than me. Lastly, several aspects of mass media including books, social media, and podcasting opened the door to personal growth and enlightenment.
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