Xennials (of Turkey)
As someone born in the mid-70s, I have never identified myself as a Generation X. The main reason behind this was the situation in Turkey during the 70s and 80s. Turkey was an isolated country from the rest of the world in terms of art, music, and popular culture in general, like so many other areas thanks to two coup d'etat we had.
All those definitions about 'generations' in the US and Europe were not matching with the reality of us. For the first time in the late 80s in a hotel room, I have watched MTV, where foreign channels were available. Then we had only two channels in the country run by the state broadcasting company. We were simply detached from the world.
Along with that, I had my first email account in 1993 through a dial-up connection due to liberalization led by Turgut Özal, then president of Turkey. The huge gap between Turkey and the rest of the world had narrowed during the 90s, and we became more integrated.
However, it was too late for us to become a Gen-Xer. Whether we were born in the 70s and fall under Gen-X by definition, there was something wrong. So we simply skipped that and focused on our new life and world of the internet.
A few weeks ago, when I read the definition of Xennial, I thought that it defines me more than Gen-X. I think that that shift in the timeline made most of us a Xennial, but we could not name it.
Who is Xennial (of Turkey)?
It can be a micro-generation for the world, but it represents a wider group of people in Turkey. I am not the expert who can define it precisely, but I think that we can easily stretch the years as 1970 - 1985, reduce the millennial optimism and add being apolitical. Suggestions and comments are welcomed.
Bonus for marketers:
Always bear in mind that every country has different and unique generation definitions.
Are you Xennial?
Take the quiz of The Guardian; https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jun/27/are-you-a-xennial-take-the-quiz
All those definitions about 'generations' in the US and Europe were not matching with the reality of us. For the first time in the late 80s in a hotel room, I have watched MTV, where foreign channels were available. Then we had only two channels in the country run by the state broadcasting company. We were simply detached from the world.
Along with that, I had my first email account in 1993 through a dial-up connection due to liberalization led by Turgut Özal, then president of Turkey. The huge gap between Turkey and the rest of the world had narrowed during the 90s, and we became more integrated.
However, it was too late for us to become a Gen-Xer. Whether we were born in the 70s and fall under Gen-X by definition, there was something wrong. So we simply skipped that and focused on our new life and world of the internet.
A few weeks ago, when I read the definition of Xennial, I thought that it defines me more than Gen-X. I think that that shift in the timeline made most of us a Xennial, but we could not name it.
It can be a micro-generation for the world, but it represents a wider group of people in Turkey. I am not the expert who can define it precisely, but I think that we can easily stretch the years as 1970 - 1985, reduce the millennial optimism and add being apolitical. Suggestions and comments are welcomed.
Bonus for marketers:
Always bear in mind that every country has different and unique generation definitions.
Are you Xennial?
Take the quiz of The Guardian; https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jun/27/are-you-a-xennial-take-the-quiz
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