The 40-ish folks of Twitter were in an uproar over the weekend after a Medium post calling folks on the boundary of the Gen X and Millennial generations "geriatric millennials" reminded them of their mortality.
"Geriatric millennials" (born between 1980 and 1985) are best positioned to lead teams that will thrive in the hybrid workplace," writes @ericadhawan. https://t.co/e0jSyj6eJY
— Medium (@Medium) May 14, 2021
"'Geriatric millennials' (born between 1980 and 1985) are best positioned to lead teams that will thrive in the hybrid workplace" read the lede in the post published by Erica Dhawan. The term "geriatric millennials" is certainly an eye-catching oxymoron: "Geriatric" calls to mind senior citizens in retirement homes, while Millennials, of course, calls to mind Web 2.0, SpongeBob SquarePants and Only 90s Kids Will Remember This posts.
"The first time I heard ‘geriatric millennial’ I thought it was an oxymoron. Sarcastic, even," writes Dhawan. "But as I thought more deeply about it, I realized how perfectly it describes so many of us. Geriatric millennials are a special micro-generation born in the early 1980s that are comfortable with both analog and digital forms of communication. They were the first generation to grow up with technology like a PC in their homes."
The general point of her piece is that people who grew up in the late 80s and early 90s are best equipped to handle leading workforces that feature older and younger employees due to their familiarity with both older forms of technology and modes of thought as well as the digital space and how younger workers think. Of course, few Twitter users dived that far into the article and mostly responded to the term "geriatric millennials" heralding their imminent trip to the grave.
every week I have to post this pic.twitter.com/1Vx6NjhfcS
— yodeling intensifies (@Sedna_51) May 14, 2021
— Micah Coffee (@jewcoffee) May 14, 2021
— Bucky/Sam/Joaquin Agenda (@NotNicoleTheRed) May 14, 2021
I want whoever came up with the term “geriatric Millennial” prosecuted to the full us extent of the law https://t.co/50TG08TfGx
— Tommy McFLY (@TommyMcFLY) May 14, 2021
Medium did their best to come up with a new term to describe the 40-ish crowd, but their options mostly poured salt on the wound.
We understand some are having feelings about this title.
Taking votes for a new one:— Medium (@Medium) May 14, 2021
Still, at least the Gen X/Millennial border crowd doesn't have to worry about being called "Millennial Falcons," as one user suggested.
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