Oregon Trail Generation

The Oregon Trail Generation is a name given to those with birth dates falling between (or overlapping with both) Generation X and Millennials, typically the late 1970s or early 1980s. It is named after the video game Oregon Trail, the Apple II version of which was played by many members of this cohort in their school computer labs.

Terminology

The term Oregon Trail Generation was used by Anna Garvey in her article The Oregon Trail Generation: Life Before And After Mainstream Tech, published in Social Media Week.[1] Other terms, such as Generation Catalano,[2] Xennials,[3] and The Lucky Ones,[4] were already coined and are referenced in her article. Due to Garvey's article receiving broader coverage, including republications in Huffington Post and PopSugar, Oregon Trail Generation is the term most often used when referencing this generation. The name is a reference to the Oregon Trail game that members of this generation became familiar with as children learning new technology.

Characteristics and traits

Members of this generation share traits with both Generation X and Millennials.[5] They have a relationship with both analog and digital technology. While they may have listened to records and used a typewriter as children, Cassie McClure writing for Las Cruces Sun-News says they were the first group of students to have access to personal computers and the Internet.[6]

As they began to enter the workforce, their choices were impacted by the events of September 11 and the Iraq war.[7] Nathan Heller writing for The New Yorker described older Millennials as follows: "People coming of age in that era of inevitable evils tend to be conservative in their life-style ideals...having reached adulthood on unstable ground, they’re opportunistic entrepreneurs, restless climbers, and deferential compromisers"[8]

Many who identify with this generation do so because they don't feel that the typical definitions of Generation X and Millennial are the correct fit for their place in the world.[2][9][10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Garvey, Anna (21 April 2015). "The Oregon Trail Generation: Life Before And After Mainstream Tech". Social Media Week. Crowdcentric Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 Shafrir, Doree (24 October 2011). "Generation Catalano". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Stankorb, Sarah; Oelbaum, Jed (25 September 2014). "Reasonable People Disagree about the Post-Gen X, Pre-Millennial Generation". Good Magazine. GOOD Worldwide Inc. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Singer, Susan (29 April 2014). "The Lucky Ones - Born In Between Gen X and Millenials". Susan Singer tv. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Fogarty, Lisa (7 January 2016). "13 Signs you're stuck between Gen X & millennials". SheKnows. SheKnows Media. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  6. ↑ McClure, Cassie (20 May 2016). "My So-Called Millennial Life: Old West pioneers of digital age". Las Cruces Sun-News. The USA Today Network. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Monke, Dustin (31 May 2015). "Monke: A generation stuck in transition". The Dickinson Press. The Dickinson Press and Forum Communications Company. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Heller, Nathan (30 May 2016). "The Big Uneasy: What's roiling the liberal-arts campus?". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  9. ↑ LaFrance, Adrienne (3 February 2016). "How Generations Get Their Names". The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Kendzior, Sarah (30 June 2016). "The myth of millennial entitlement was created to hide their parents' mistakes". Quartz. Atlantic Media Company. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
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