I was born in late 1981, but -- even though I like several 90's things -- I always have considered the 80's to be more my "home" time. Of course, I'm really not "typical" in many ways - I think most kids don't start liking pop culture until they're maybe 10-12 (I was around 3, so I got a headstart!). :)

In any case, judging by what I remember, my immediate peers (we'll say b. 1979-84) were split about evenly from those who thought the world began with Nirvana and 90210, and those who still thought 80's (and older) stuff was cool.

Today though, would the "average" person my age consider the early-mid 90's more "their" time than the 80's? And if so, what's their views on the 80's culture itself - both then and now?

I was also thinking how another irony is - just like how a fashion trend or a decade will be at its most "uncool" with a backlash right after it ends, I think 13-14 year olds are the ones who hate/rebel against their chidhood, in part because it just ended a couple years before. So even if a 13 year old in 1994 liked/remembered some 80's, they might've purposely dissed it just because they wanted to "be a teen" and draw a line by forgetting all traces of their childhood culture.

At the risk of repeating myself (what's one more time gonna do!?), I was born at an extremely "turbulent" time concerning coming of age - just as bound to hear, "Miami Vice ruled" as I am to "Def Leppard is lame". :D

I turned 13 in the late 90s, and I can tell you that when I was 13, i didn't really care much about the 80s. But now, Here are my opinions:
The 80s was a better musical decade. You had better songs out in the 80s, and even the unbearable ones don't seem that bad when you've listened to some of the tripe that came out the 90s (Prodigy, Spice Girls etc)
I hated clothes and fashion in the 80s. I much preferred the clothes which came out in the 90s
Kids were more well behaved in general in the 80s, but in the 90s you started to get little spoilt brats and dirty little kids who thought it okay to drink and smoke and stuff
I suppose I consider the 90s more my time than the 80s, because in the 80s i couldn't really understand what was going on (I was a toddler), whilst in the 90s was when i was growing up as a child, and the 90s still hold some of my fonder childhood memories - the Sonic The Hedgehog games for the Sega Mega Drive being one of them!

I was born in 84... and I loved the 80's....


Ace music, great clothing (bum bags, illuminous pink and yellow track suits) and good cartoons (Thundercats, Transformers) which just don't get these days.


I can't say I enjoyed the 90's as much, but I think it just comes back to me always wanting to re-live my childhood as life's rather repetative at the moment.

I was born in 77'.

The eighties were.. and will always be utter crap to me.

ESPECIALLY the music, but also the ATTITUDE.

I think people got really embarrased of the 80s by 1993-94(sometimes being mocked).  Nowadays, it's the 90s' turn :P

(I still love them both, though.)

I don't think the 90s will ever get backlash.  The 90s to 2000s transition was too slow for it really to happen.  I'd say by 2003 it was 100% 2000s, but 1997 to 2002 is all pretty much the same.  Today, in 2004 and 2005, things are finally fully to their own, but the 90s are a long time ago now.  Think about it, a modern day 18 year old's memory would START in 1990 or 1991 most likely.  I'll think they will become a retro decade before they get hate, although to be honest the 90s are probably still cool only to about 40% of today's kids.  1990 is as much a joke as the 80s, and 1991-1996 is largely forgotten though, besides for Grunge and Dre and Snoop.

I don't think the 90s will ever get backlash.  The 90s to 2000s transition was too slow for it really to happen.  I'd say by 2003 it was 100% 2000s, but 1997 to 2002 is all pretty much the same.  Today, in 2004 and 2005, things are finally fully to their own, but the 90s are a long time ago now.  Think about it, a modern day 18 year old's memory would START in 1990 or 1991 most likely.  I'll think they will become a retro decade before they get hate, although to be honest the 90s are probably still cool only to about 40% of today's kids.  1990 is as much a joke as the 80s, and 1991-1996 is largely forgotten though, besides for Grunge and Dre and Snoop.


I'd have to disagree about 1997-2002, I put it more at 1997-2000. 2002 is way more like 2005 than 1997. 2001 is kind of a transition year.

I'd have to disagree about 1997-2002, I put it more at 1997-2000. 2002 is way more like 2005 than 1997. 2001 is kind of a transition year.


Come to think of it, you're probably right.  If you watched the Disney Channel around 2000-2003 you'd notice how shows like "Lizzie McGuire" and "That's So Raven" had a different feel than late 90s-early 00s shows like "So Weird" and "The Famous Jett Jackson".  "Even Stevens" is kinda in between in atmosphere.

Come to think of it, you're probably right.  If you watched the Disney Channel around 2000-2003 you'd notice how shows like "Lizzie McGuire" and "That's So Raven" had a different feel than late 90s-early 00s shows like "So Weird" and "The Famous Jett Jackson".  "Even Stevens" is kinda in between in atmosphere.


Well I haven't watched disney regularily in years, lol. So i can't really speak for it. I'm talking about the music and the overall pop culture, there is about a 1% difference in between 2002 and 2005 pop culture, if that. 2002 is still kinda like yesterday to me, but 2000 seems a lot more dated already.

1 example that the 90s aren't appreciated anymore is that VH1 did I Love the 90s and ILTN Part Deux so soon, and people weren't that interested in it at all.

1 example that the 90s aren't appreciated anymore is that VH1 did I Love the 90s and ILTN Part Deux so soon, and people weren't that interested in it at all.


I remember in one of their episodes the commentators were even complaining that the 90's were too recient, especially the episode about 99.

My 13 to 19 year was in the 90's so I'm solidly a 90's teen. The 80's were childhood but I thought of the decade as the last truely optimistic decade, tackyness and all. The 90's were way more advanced but being moody and grungy\gangstany was.

(Born in the mid 80's)

Debbie Gibson sure beats Britney Spears  ;D  :D

Oh, wait her music has gotten better over time unlike Madonna...

Madonna and Michael Jackson were cool and made great music

New wave was good


Hated Journey, though still can't stand them to this day...



For rap, I first gotten into the old school in 2000, though I grew up areound the hip hop community, which I grew to like  :)

Wow, this is an ancient topic (by my standards). ;D

My writing and comprehension has gotten better since then (hence one reason I liked asking alot of these questions back then), but it's fun read what my younger self wrote. :)

Come to think of it, you're probably right.  If you watched the Disney Channel around 2000-2003 you'd notice how shows like "Lizzie McGuire" and "That's So Raven" had a different feel than late 90s-early 00s shows like "So Weird" and "The Famous Jett Jackson".  "Even Stevens" is kinda in between in atmosphere.


Maddie from "Suite Life of Zack & Cody" is '90's, IMO since she reminds me of a bit of "Dana" from "Step by Step" with her views and is sarcastic like David Spade. Also the actress was born in 1985, which she grew up in the '90's.

Also reminds me of somebody I knew in junior high

Wow, this is an ancient topic (by my standards). ;D

My writing and comprehension has gotten better since then (hence one reason I liked asking alot of these questions back then), but it's fun read what my younger self wrote. :)


Yeah, it seems like ages ago ... but 1989 was 1500% longer ago!  ;D

I've always gotten the impression '90s teens weren't too crazy about the '80s, from 1991-1992 on, anyway. By '90s teens I mean people born from like 1975-1982 or so...the excess of the '80s really contradicted with the '90s mindset, and I think alot of late Xers and early Yers were embrassed they once liked the '80s. I could see this applying to somebody born in say, 1977-1979 especially.

I've always gotten the impression '90s teens weren't too crazy about the '80s, from 1991-1992 on, anyway. By '90s teens I mean people born from like 1975-1982 or so...the excess of the '80s really contradicted with the '90s mindset, and I think alot of late Xers and early Yers were embrassed they once liked the '80s. I could see this applying to somebody born in say, 1977-1979 especially.


Yeah, that's because of the '80s backlash.

The '00s backlash will probably cause 1993/'94+ ers to hate the '00s.

Yeah, that's because of the '80s backlash.

The '00s backlash will probably cause 1993/'94+ ers to hate the '00s.


Exactly! I think that's what'll make people graduating in 2012 part of a different generation.

Exactly! I think that's what'll make people graduating in 2012 part of a different generation.


Well, a lot of the people born in the '70s who backlashed the '80s are still considered Gen X.

But yes, September of '93 to August of 2000 is what I call the "Echo Buster" demographic.  The Y/Z line is like 1997, if you had to draw one, but Y and Z bleed together for a few short years.

Well, a lot of the people born in the '70s who backlashed the '80s are still considered Gen X.

But yes, September of '93 to August of 2000 is what I call the "Echo Buster" demographic.  The Y/Z line is like 1997, if you had to draw one, but Y and Z bleed together for a few short years.


I think it might be more 1995 that it gets more Z than Y, but we've argued this before... ;). However, if you consider a "generation's time" is about 13 years, Y will probably get the late '90s and the '00s to claim as its own, the way X got the 1983-1996 period or so.

I think it might be more 1995 that it gets more Z than Y, but we've argued this before... ;). However, if you consider a "generation's time" is about 13 years, Y will probably get the late '90s and the '00s to claim as its own, the way X got the 1983-1996 period or so.


I would a generation's time (and birthspan) is more like 16-19 years.  For instance, 1963-1980 was the Boomer cultural era and 1981-1996 was the X era.  The Y era is probably 1997-2012.

I think Gen Y got the last 2 or 3 years of the '90s, the entire '00s and the part of the 2010s that will still be like the '00s.

I would a generation's time (and birthspan) is more like 16-19 years.  For instance, 1963-1980 was the Boomer cultural era and 1981-1996 was the X era.  The Y era is probably 1997-2012.

I think Gen Y got the last 2 or 3 years of the '90s, the entire '00s and the part of the 2010s that will still be like the '00s.


Yeah, you're probably right. One theory I have as to why "pre" and "post" time spans are created is that it's before a true total backlash has occurred at the end of a decade and after a decade's culture has worn itself out, with lots of new elements waiting to take over in the wings, visible. With the '90s, this would be the mid-1989 to mid-1991 period, for example.

^I agree.

I think Gen Y is the '00s generation.  If you were old enough to get into pop culture for at least half the decade, you're a Y.  The 1990s is XY, originally it was almost purely X, but I think Gen Y is starting to reclaim it as the Xers cling back to the '80s.

^I agree.

I think Gen Y is the '00s generation.  If you were old enough to get into pop culture for at least half the decade, you're a Y.  The 1990s is XY, originally it was almost purely X, but I think Gen Y is starting to reclaim it as the Xers cling back to the '80s.


Yeah, I think alot of Xers, even those who weren't too crazy about the '80s when they were teens and were more enthusiastic about Kurt Cobain et. al. in their '20s are starting to get in on the '80s nostalgia and retreat from anything after the early '90s. They want the '80s as totally their own, which it probably is.

I think the 2020s will the be the Z decade.  The 2010s will be ruled by people born from the early '90s to the early '00s, like the '00s are the domain of the 1980-1993 age faction.

I think the 2020s will the be the Z decade.  The 2010s will be ruled by people born from the early '90s to the early '00s, like the '00s are the domain of the 1980-1993 age faction.


I think about 2013 (the last 2/3 of the 2010s or so) to the early 2020s will be YZ Cusp and Z, with peak Z culture (people born from say 1997-2003), peaking in the mid-late '10s. The mid-2020s will start to have more influence of whatever comes afterwards.

If Gen Z's birth started in 1995, even if we agree it both had cuspy elements until 1997, the "peak" Gen Z years would be about 1997-2005, so the peak of Gen Z would be like 2013-2025. Probably the early 2010s be the start of real, non-cusp Gen AAers being born, who'll dominate the later 2020s and the 2030s.

If Gen Z's birth started in 1995, even if we agree it both had cuspy elements until 1997, the "peak" Gen Z years would be about 1997-2005, so the peak of Gen Z would be like 2013-2025. Probably the early 2010s be the start of real, non-cusp Gen AAers being born, who'll dominate the later 2020s and the 2030s.


I'd agree.  The generation after Gen Z will be the 2030s and 2040s generation (my god, that's far into the future!  ;D).  They will probably be a lot like Gen Z the way Gen Y is like Gen X.

Again, I think 1995 is a tad too early for Gen Z, I still think 1995ers and 1996ers are just barely Gen Y, because they can probably remember 9/11.  Just like 1962 and 1963ers were only 5-7 years of age during the Moon Landing, but are still Boomers, 1995ers and '96ers were ages 4-6 years of age during 9/11, and thus could barely squeeze in. But, just like 1960-1963 boomers have an X element, 1993-1996 Yers have a Z element.

I'd agree.  The generation after Gen Z will be the 2030s and 2040s generation (my god, that's far into the future!  ;D).  They will probably be a lot like Gen Z the way Gen Y is like Gen X.

Again, I think 1995 is a tad too early for Gen Z, I still think 1995ers and 1996ers are just barely Gen Y, because they can probably remember 9/11.  Just like 1962 and 1963ers were only 5-7 years of age during the Moon Landing, but are still Boomers, 1995ers and '96ers were ages 4-6 years of age during 9/11, and thus could barely squeeze in. But, just like 1960-1963 boomers have an X element, 1993-1996 Yers have a Z element.


I think it's probably dominant enough culturally from about 1995 on to make the Y more a formative influence than what they will become, especially if pop culture changes alot 2011-2013, which we both think it will. If a majority of 1995ers end up hating the '00s, they'll probably be early Zers. I think you could probably put the Y end date anywhere in the mid-90s. I can't see someone graduating HS in 2014, a 1995-1996er, sharing that much in common with a late '90s-'00s Yer. Sure, they'll have more in common with a Yer than a 1998er, but I think they'll still be more Z, most likely.

I know you're reluctant to make "true Gen Y" only about 13 years long, but I think the length can be extended to 16 if the late '70s are about equally shared with Gen X. Alot of 1977ers, 1978ers, and 1979ers seem to consider themselves more to be in between the two or of both than Gen Xers or Gen Yers, or just "children of the '90s."

Also, I don't think someone born in 1995 could've fully gotten the impact of 9/11, alot of them don't remember it or thought it was made-up at the time. That, and they couldn't remember the pre-digital world, etc. And if culture changes as we expect, with a heavy '00s backlash, they'll be more Zers with lots of Y in them than Yers with alot of Z in them.

I think it's probably dominant enough culturally from about 1995 on to make the Y more a formative influence than what they will become, especially if pop culture changes alot 2011-2013, which we both think it will. If a majority of 1995ers end up hating the '00s, they'll probably be early Zers. I think you could probably put the Y end date anywhere in the mid-90s. I can't see someone graduating HS in 2014, a 1995-1996er, sharing that much in common with a late '90s-'00s Yer. Sure, they'll have more in common with a Yer than a 1998er, but I think they'll still be more Z, most likely.

I know you're reluctant to make "true Gen Y" only about 13 years long, but I think the length can be extended to 16 if the late '70s are about equally shared with Gen X. Alot of 1977ers, 1978ers, and 1979ers seem to consider themselves more to be in between the two or of both than Gen Xers or Gen Yers, or just "children of the '90s."

Also, I don't think someone born in 1995 could've fully gotten the impact of 9/11, alot of them don't remember it or thought it was made-up at the time. That, and they couldn't remember the pre-digital world, etc. And if culture changes as we expect, with a heavy '00s backlash, they'll be more Zers with lots of Y in them than Yers with alot of Z in them.


That's a really well-written post.  You know, I think you've convinced me for the most part.  Because 1994ers do seem like the end of Y, whereas people born in the second half of the '90s seem pretty clueless on the '90s.  Hell, 1999 would seem ancient to them. I would say basically Gen Y consists of those born in the '80s, those born in the first half of the '90s and some people born in the late '70s.

I would say Gen Y is 1979-1994. 

Here's how I would classify all the years 1976-2001:

Gen X:

1976: 80% X, 20% Y
1977: 70% X, 30% Y

XY Cusp:

1978: 60% X, 50% Y
1979: 50% Y, 50% X (X/Y border)
1980: 55% Y, 45% X
1981: 60% Y, 40% X
1982: 65% Y, 35% X
1983: 75% Y, 25% X

Gen Y:

1984: 90% Y, 10% X
1985: 95% Y, 5% X
1986: 100% Y
1987: 100% Y
1988: 100% Y
1989: 100% Y
1990: 100% Y
1991: 100% Y
1992: 100% Y
1993: 80% Y, 20% Z

Y/Z Cusp:

1994: 70% Y, 30% Z
1995: 50% Z, 50% Y (Y/Z border)
1996: 60% Z, 40% Y
1997: 75% Z, 25% Y

Gen Z:

1998: 80% Z, 15% Y
1999: 90% Z, 10% Y
2000: 95% Z, 5% Y
2001: 100% Z

That's a really well-written post.  You know, I think you've convinced me for the most part.  Because 1994ers do seem like the end of Y, whereas people born in the second half of the '90s seem pretty clueless on the '90s.  Hell, 1999 would seem ancient to them. I would say basically Gen Y consists of those born in the '80s, those born in the first half of the '90s and some people born in the late '70s.

I would say Gen Y is 1979-1994. 

Here's how I would classify all the years 1976-2001:

Gen X:

1976: 80% X, 20% Y
1977: 70% X, 30% Y

XY Cusp:

1978: 60% X, 50% Y
1979: 50% Y, 50% X (X/Y border)
1980: 55% Y, 45% X
1981: 60% Y, 40% X
1982: 65% Y, 35% X
1983: 75% Y, 25% X

Gen Y:

1984: 90% Y, 10% X
1985: 95% Y, 5% X
1986: 100% Y
1987: 100% Y
1988: 100% Y
1989: 100% Y
1990: 100% Y
1991: 100% Y
1992: 100% Y
1993: 80% Y, 20% Z

Y/Z Cusp:

1994: 70% Y, 30% Z
1995: 50% Z, 50% Y (Y/Z border)
1996: 60% Z, 40% Y
1997: 75% Z, 25% Y

Gen Z:

1998: 80% Z, 15% Y
1999: 90% Z, 10% Y
2000: 95% Z, 5% Y
2001: 100% Z


I have nothing to do with Y being born in 1976. Please fix those inappropriate averages!

I have nothing to do with Y being born in 1976. Please fix those inappropriate averages!


Well, that's for all people born in 1976.  You're 100% X. :)

What would you call Y?

That's a really well-written post.  You know, I think you've convinced me for the most part.  Because 1994ers do seem like the end of Y, whereas people born in the second half of the '90s seem pretty clueless on the '90s.  Hell, 1999 would seem ancient to them. I would say basically Gen Y consists of those born in the '80s, those born in the first half of the '90s and some people born in the late '70s.

I would say Gen Y is 1979-1994. 

Here's how I would classify all the years 1976-2001:

Gen X:

1976: 80% X, 20% Y
1977: 70% X, 30% Y

XY Cusp:

1978: 60% X, 50% Y
1979: 50% Y, 50% X (X/Y border)
1980: 55% Y, 45% X
1981: 60% Y, 40% X
1982: 65% Y, 35% X
1983: 75% Y, 25% X

Gen Y:

1984: 90% Y, 10% X
1985: 95% Y, 5% X
1986: 100% Y
1987: 100% Y
1988: 100% Y
1989: 100% Y
1990: 100% Y
1991: 100% Y
1992: 100% Y
1993: 80% Y, 20% Z

Y/Z Cusp:

1994: 70% Y, 30% Z
1995: 50% Z, 50% Y (Y/Z border)
1996: 60% Z, 40% Y
1997: 75% Z, 25% Y

Gen Z:

1998: 80% Z, 15% Y
1999: 90% Z, 10% Y
2000: 95% Z, 5% Y
2001: 100% Z


I totally agree with your post, it was very well-written  :) .