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Have you ever wondered why naming generations is a thing?
The greatest generation. Baby boomers. Generation X.
Those names get me amped. They sound legit. Like if I were in any of their respective age groups, I’d be part of a superhero squad or something. Except, I’m a millennial. I was born in 1985. Throughout my time of being a part of this cool crop of humans, we’ve been called Cuspers, Xennials, the Oregon Trail Generation and Gen Y.
Big news: If you thought we didn’t have enough names for one age group, you couldn’t be more wrong. The latest label to hit the feed is geriatric millennial.
Ouch.
The term first exploded in popularity after author and teamwork expert Erica Dhawan referred to it in a Medium article on April 21. She described geriatric millennials as those born between 1980 and 1985.
I believe this glorious micro-generation is poised to change the world—from how we do business to how we live our lives, it’s almost unfair to everyone else. We grew up without the instant gratification of today’s internet, experienced the rise of the early web, watched the dot-com boom and bust and then boom again with social media and, of course, the smartphone. We know what it’s like to live without the internet and aren’t afraid to grow with it as it changes by the minute. Being able to bridge that gap between generations is a highly unique skill.
If that makes me geriatric, then where’s my AARP card?
Let’s get serious for a second, though. What can my fellow geriatric millennial marketers do with this label? Embrace it.
As much as it sucks, understanding the meaning behind it and using that as the impetus to create something great is more important. Marketers that fit this category should be leveraging what they grew up having to do (be resourceful) and combine that with new media opportunities.
Geriatric millennials should be using our knowledge of a variety of generations as well as our skills as multiplatform communicators to bridge the gap between marketing and communities. Leaning into the unique positioning of our age group should absolutely be top of mind when working in marketing, as it can provide us the opportunity to succeed in ways other generations have to work exponentially harder to do.
How geriatric millennials lead
The most obvious way is by being the translator of experiences to both digital adapters (baby boomers) and digital natives (Gen Z). This will make for both a better internal culture and happier clientele.
In my company, we deal with a lot of enterprise clients whose teams are usually short-staffed and don’t have the right people in positions to succeed. My superpower is being able to jump on a phone call with a baby boomer or Gen Xer and decode their needs and pass them along to a fellow millennial or Gen Z creative to deliver the project. I once despised that role, but after embracing it and being the liaison, I realized it’s a great skill to possess.
Use the ability to stay on top of trends and emerging media to your advantage. Think about starting an internal emerging trends newsletter or video series for your team and/or your clients. Give it to them in ways they’ll be able to understand, and they’ll want to discover more rather than feel forced to adapt.
Be inclusive. Geriatric millennials are typically more comfortable working with and around people of various backgrounds. And it’s no surprise that they also aren’t afraid to speak up when there’s opportunity for change.
By leaning into the traits that come naturally to them, geriatric millennials are not only a secret weapon, but also the next generation of leaders across organizations and in our world. By developing their own leadership style from these strengths, it will have a tremendous impact across companies and communities.
