Baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials (aka Gen Y), Gen Z, and up-and-coming Gen Alpha are the official generations we’re all familiar with. But it seems like every time we turn around, there’s a new label for those in the gray space between two generations. We’ve got Generation Jones, Xennials, Zillennials, and now, apparently, Gen Zalpha.

These microgenerations may be the butt of jokes and trigger eye-rolling among some folks, but let’s take a step back. Yes, we tend to over-label ourselves in this era, but microgenerations are one place where some subdivision actually does make sense.

Cultural acceleration has changed how generations are defined

There are many ways to define “generation”, so we need to put the word into context. For genealogists, a generation is around 25 to 30 years, but if we’re talking about cultural generations, such as Boomers, Gen X, etc., a generation spans 15 to 20 years:

Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1964

Gen X: Born between 1965 and 1980

Millennials: Born between 1981 and 1996

Gen Z: Born between 1997 and 2012

Gen Alpha: Born between 2013 and 2025

However, we’re living in an age of incredibly rapid technological changes that only seem to be getting faster. Twenty years........

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