Cusper

{{Short description|Person born near the border separating two generations}} {{redirect|Cuspers|the life stage|Twixter}} {{distinguish|Cusp (astrology)}}

A '''cusper''' is a person born near the end of one generation or the beginning of another. While the precise birth years defining when this microgenerations start and end vary,<ref name="MayoClinic2005">{{cite web |author=Mayo Clinic Staff |date=July 6, 2005 |title=Workplace generation gap: Understand differences among colleagues |url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/working-life/WL00045 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316032442/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/working-life/WL00045 |archive-date=March 16, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Twenge2023">{{cite book | last=Twenge | first=Jean M. | title=Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future | publisher=Simon and Schuster | date=2023-04-25 | isbn=978-1-9821-8163-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zsV0EAAAQBAJ&q=Generations:+The+Real+Differences+Between+Gen+Z,+Millennials,+Gen+X,+Boomers,+and+Silents%25E2%2580%2594and+What+They+Mean+for+America%2527s+Future+For+Jean+M.+Twenge+micro+generations | access-date=2025-04-19 | page=}}</ref> people born in these circumstances tend to have a mix of characteristics common to their adjacent generations and do not closely resemble those born in the middle of their adjacent generations.<ref name="Codrington2008">{{cite web |last1=Codrington |first1=Graeme |title=Detailed introduction to generational theory |pages=1–15 |date=2008 |url=http://ngkok.co.za/sinode2016/intro-generations.pdf |publisher=TomorrowToday Ltd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419201935/https://ngkok.co.za/sinode2016/intro-generations.pdf |archive-date=2022-04-19 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Hammill2005">{{cite journal |last1=Hammill |first1=G |title=Mixing and managing four generations of employees |journal=FDU Magazine Online |volume=12 |issue=2 |url=https://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm}}</ref><ref name="Giancola2006">{{cite journal |last=Giancola |first=Frank |title=The generation gap: more myth than reality |journal=Human Resource Planning |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=32–7 |date=2006 |issn=0199-8986 |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/24173545/generation-gap-more-myth-than-reality}}</ref><ref name="Smit2017">{{cite journal |first=Deon |last=Smit |title=Do you have enough "Generational Glue" in your organisation? |journal=HR Future |volume=2017 |issue=Dec 2017 |pages=22–23 |url=https://journals.co.za/content/journal/10520/EJC-b978fc1a0 |issn=1608-8506 |date=December 2017}}</ref> Generational profiles are built based on people born in the middle of a generation rather than those on the tails of a generation.<ref name="Claire2003"/> Generations may overlap by five to eight years.<ref name="Claire2003">{{cite web |author=Claire Raines Associates |title=Generations at Work: Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.generationsatwork.com/FAQ.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060808091854/http://www.generationsatwork.com/FAQ.htm |archive-date=2006-08-08 |access-date=2019-02-02 |date=2003 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Kupperschmidt2000">{{cite journal |last1=Kupperschmidt |first1=Betty R. |title=Multigeneration Employees: Strategies for Effective Management |journal=The Health Care Manager |volume=19 |issue=1 |year=2000 |pages=65–76 |issn=1525-5794 |doi=10.1097/00126450-200019010-00011 |pmid=11183655}}</ref><ref name="Taylor2018"/> As such, many people identify with aspects of at least two generations.<ref name="Claire2003"/>

The term "Cusper", at least with respect to generations, was coined by writer and journalist Joe Wilcox, who started calling himself a Cusper in the mid-1990s, then registering Web domains ''cusper ''and'' cuspers dot com, net ''and'' org'' in January 2001 and then using the term for the first time on his blog in January 2004: "''Boom, Bust, or Cusp?.''" However, Wilcox recognized that authors Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman put the term meaningfully into the public record much sooner with their book ''When Generations Collide: Who They Are. Why They Clash. How to Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work'' (2002-2003).<ref>https://joewilcox.com/2015/07/23/i-am-cusper/</ref>

== Notable cusper groups ==

===Greatest Generation / Silent Generation=== ====Birth year ranges====

*Just before the 1920s, as identified by Graeme Codrington<ref name="Codrington2012"/>

====Characteristics==== The Greatest Generation/Silent Generation cuspers experienced the lows after World War I but also the highs of the early Roaring Twenties, the Flappers, the Charleston and early silent films. As these cuspers came of age, some of them become more visionary like the Greatest Generation or stoic like the Silents.<ref name="Codrington2012"/> Some researchers specifically identify the 1914–1925 range as the "Late Greatest and Early Silent Generation Cusp," sometimes called the G.I. Generation. Others consider 1915-1929 as a broader transitional group, while some sources simply place the cutoff between 1924-1928, making those born immediately around those years the "cuspers

===Silent Generation / Baby Boomers===

====Birth year ranges====  *1933–1945 as identified by Susan Mitchell<ref name="Mitchell2003">{{cite book |author=Susan Mitchell |title=American Generations: Who They Are, how They Live, what They Think |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4bsiAQAAIAAJ |year=2003 |publisher=New Strategist Publications |isbn=978-1-885070-46-3 |oclc=51031116}}</ref> *1939–1945 as identified by Claire Raines Associates<ref name="Claire2003"/> *1940–1945 as identified by Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman, authors of ''When Generations Collide,<ref name="LancasterStillman2009" />'' as well as The Mayo Clinic<ref name="MayoClinic2005"/> *1942–1948 as identified by Fons Trompenaars and Peter Woolliams<ref name=":0"/> *1943–1948 as identified by Deon Smit, writing for ''HR Future''<ref name="Smit2017"/>

====Characteristics==== Claire Raines Associates names these Silent Generation/Baby boomers the ''Sandwich Group'',<ref name="Claire2003"/> Susan Mitchell calls these cuspers the ''Swing Generation'',<ref name="Mitchell2003"/><ref name="Smola2002">{{cite journal |last1=Wey Smola |first1=Karen |last2=Sutton |first2=Charlotte D. |title=Generational differences: revisiting generational work values for the new millennium |journal=Journal of Organizational Behavior |volume=23 |issue=4 |year=2002 |pages=363–382 |issn=0894-3796 |doi=10.1002/job.147}}</ref> Smit calls them ''Troomers''<ref name="Smit2017"/> and Trompenaars and Woolliams call them ''Shhh-oomers''.<ref name=":0"/> According to the Mayo Clinic, these cuspers have the work ethic of the Silent Generations, but like Baby Boomers will often challenge the status quo.<ref name="MayoClinic2005"/> Codrington describes them as having the status-seeking, career advancement motivations as Baby Boomers.<ref name="Codrington2012"/> Codrington adds that they are old enough to remember World War II, but were born too late to enjoy the 1960s.<ref name="Codrington2012"/> Hart notes that research has found the younger members of the Silent Generation tended to share more traits with Baby Boomers.<ref name="Hart2006">{{cite journal |author=Hart KA |title=Generations in the workplace: finding common ground. |journal=MLO Med Lab Obs |year=2006 |volume=38 |issue=10 |pages=26–7 |pmid=17086828}}</ref> Writer Marian Botsford Fraser described women in this cusper population as girls who "...did not smoke dope at high school, go to rock concerts, toy with acid and the pill and hippie boyfriends at university or tour Europe with a backpack." Instead, she notes "These girls wore crinolines and girdles, went to The Prom, went to nursing school and teachers' college, rarely university."<ref name="Elve2000">{{cite journal |last1=Elve |first1=Barbara |title=Stats prof has come a long way |journal=University of Waterloo Daily Bulletin |date=2000-06-15 |url=https://bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2000/jun/15th.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014235658/http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2000/jun/15th.html |archive-date=2006-10-14 |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref> Speaking of Susan Mitchell's population specifically they are believed to be an anomaly in that they tend be more activist and free thinkers than those born prior to them in the Silent Generation.<ref name="Giancola2006"/><ref name="Mitchell2003"/> Lancaster and Stillman echo this last point and note that these cuspers were on the frontlines of America's internal struggles as adults, agitating in favor of human rights. They go on to say many women among these cuspers entered in to male-dominated workplaces before the women's movement existed, blazing a trail for other generations of women to follow.<ref name="LancasterStillman2009"/>

===Baby Boomers / Generation X=== {{Main|Generation Jones}}

====Birth year ranges====  *1954–1965 as identified by Jonathan Pontell<ref name="Wellner2000">{{cite journal |last=Wellner |first=Alison Stein |date=2000 |title=Generational Divide. Are Traditional Methods of Classifying a Generation Still Meaningful in a Diverse and Changing Nation? |journal=American Demographics |volume=22 |issue=10 |pages=52–58 |url=https://adage.com/article/american-demographics/generational-divide/42724/}}</ref> *1955–1960 as identified by Mary Donahue<ref name="Donahue2020"/> *1958–1967 as identified by Mark Wegierski of the Hudson Institute<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wegierski |first1=Mark |title=Defining the "Cuspers" |url=http://hudson.org/research/3287-defining-the-cuspers- |access-date=5 August 2016 |publisher=Hudson Institute |date=23 April 2004 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817224314/http://hudson.org/research/3287-defining-the-cuspers- |url-status=dead }}</ref> *1960–1965 as identified by Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman,<ref name="LancasterStillman2009" /> Mayo Clinic,<ref name="MayoClinic2005" /> and Andrea Stone (''USA Today)''<ref name="Stone1996">{{cite journal |title=Not boomers, not Xers, they are Tweeners |last=Stone |first=Andrea |date=22–24 March 1996 |journal=USA Today |url=http://www.tweeners.org/usatoday.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716203549/http://www.tweeners.org/usatoday.htm |archive-date=16 July 2012 |access-date=2019-02-01 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> *1961–1968 as identified by Fons Trompenaars and Peter Woolliams<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Trompenaars |first1=Fons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8rvEAAAQBAJ&dq=zennials+2024&pg=PT46 |title=New Approaches to Recruitment and Selection |last2=Woolliams |first2=Peter |date=2024-01-29 |publisher=Emerald Group Publishing |isbn=978-1-83797-761-1 |language=en}}</ref> *1962–1967 as identified by Deon Smit<ref name="Smit2017"/> *1964–1969 as identified by Graeme Codrington<ref name="Codrington2008"/>

====Characteristics==== The Baby boomers/Generation X cuspers are sometimes referred to as ''Generation Jones'',<ref name="Wellner2000"/><ref name="Giancola2006"/> and less commonly as ''Tweeners'',<ref name="Stone1996"/> ''Baby X's'' by Smit<ref name="Smit2017"/> and ''Boomerex'' by Trompenaars and Woolliams.<ref name=":0" /> These cuspers were not as financially successful as older Baby Boomers.<ref name="MayoClinic2005"/><ref name="LancasterStillman2009"/> They experienced a recession like many Generation Xers but had a much more difficult time finding jobs than Generation X did.<ref name="MayoClinic2005"/><ref name="LancasterStillman2009"/> While they learned to be IT-savvy, they did not have computers until after high school but were some of the first to purchase them for their homes.<ref name="MayoClinic2005"/><ref name="Codrington2012"/> They were among some of the first to take an interest in video games.<ref name="LancasterStillman2009"/> They get along well with Baby Boomers, but share different values. While they are comfortable in office environments, they are more relaxed at home. They are less interested in advancing their careers than Baby Boomers and more interested in quality of life.<ref name="Codrington2012"/>

===Generation X / Millennials=== {{Main|Xennials}}

====Birth year ranges====  * 1975–1980 as identified by Mary Donahue,<ref name="Donahue2020">{{cite book |author1=Mary E. Donahue |title=Message Received: 7 Steps to Break Down Communication Barriers at Work |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXP7DwAAQBAJ |date=29 September 2020 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education |isbn=978-1-260-45636-3 |page=35 |chapter=Chapter One Step 1: Stop Assuming}}</ref> as well as The Mayo Clinic<ref name="MayoClinic2005"/> * 1976–1982 as identified by Hannah Ubl, Lisa Walden, and Debra Arbit<ref name="UblWalden2017">{{cite book |author1=Hannah L. Ubl |author2=Lisa X. Walden |author3=Debra Arbit |title=Managing Millennials For Dummies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZuqDgAAQBAJ |date=24 April 2017 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-31022-8 |page=266 |chapter=Chapter 13: Making Adjustments for Ages and Life Stages}}</ref> * 1977–1981 as identified by Doree Shafrir (''Slate)''<ref name="Shafrir2011">{{cite journal |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2011/10/generation_catalano_the_generation_stuck_between_gen_x_and_the_m.single.html |title=Generation Catalano |last=Shafrir |first=Doree |date=24 October 2011 |journal = Slate |access-date=6 November 2015}}</ref> * 1977–1983 as identified by Deon Smit,<ref name="Smit2017"/> Merriam-Webster,<ref name="MerriamWebster2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/words-were-watching-xennial |title=Words We're Watching: 'Xennial' |access-date=2017-12-02 |language=en}}</ref> and Fons Trompenaars and Peter Woolliams<ref name=":0" /> * 1977–1985 as identified by Shana Lebowitz, Allana Akhtar, Marleen Stollen, Gisela Wolf (''Business Insider)<ref name="Lebowitz2018">{{Cite web |last=Lebowitz |first=Shana |date=10 March 2018 |title=There's a term for people born in the early 80s who don't feel like a millennial or a Gen X-er–here's everything we know |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/xennials-born-between-millennials-and-gen-x-2017-11 |access-date=2019-01-29 |website=Business Insider}}</ref>''<ref name="StollenWolf2017">{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/people-born-between-gen-x-millennials-xennials-2017-11 |title=There's a term for people born in the early 80's who don't feel like a millennial or Gen Xer |date=10 January 2018 |access-date=2 May 2018 |website=Business Insider |first1=Marleen |last1=Stollen |first2=Gisela |last2=Wolf}}</ref> and Dan Russell<ref>{{Cite book |last=Russell |first=Dan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRV_EAAAQBAJ&dq=xennials+1977-+1985&pg=PT59 |title=Snake Oil: Genuine Marketing in an Age of Cure-Alls |date=2022-08-23 |publisher=Morgan James Publishing |isbn=978-1-63195-832-8 |language=en}}</ref> * 1979–1982 as identified by Alastair Greener<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greener |first=Alastair |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IamEEQAAQBAJ&dq=xennials+characteristics&pg=PA1912 |title=Generationally Speaking: How to bridge the generation gap and communicate with confidence |date=2025-11-03 |publisher=SRA Books |isbn=978-1-915483-94-2 |language=en}}</ref>

====Characteristics==== The Generation X/Millennials cuspers are most commonly referred to as ''Xennials'', although other names include the ''Oregon Trail Generation'', ''Generation Catalano'' and ''The Lucky Ones''.<ref name="Taylor2018"/> Researchers point out that these cuspers have both the healthy skepticism of Generation X and the optimism of Millennials.<ref name="LancasterStillman2009"/><ref name="Codrington2012"/><ref name="MayoClinic2005"/> They are likely to challenge authority, but also are more career-focused than Generation X.<ref name="Codrington2012"/> While not all of these cuspers are digital natives,<ref name="FluckDowden2013">{{cite journal |last1=Fluck |first1=A. |last2=Dowden |first2=T. |title=On the cusp of change: examining pre-service teachers' beliefs about ICT and envisioning the digital classroom of the future |journal=Journal of Computer Assisted Learning |volume=29 |issue=1 |year=2013 |pages=43–52 |issn=0266-4909 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00464.x}}</ref> they are very comfortable with technology.<ref name="MayoClinic2005"/>

===Millennials / Generation Z=== {{Main|Zillennials}}

====Birth year ranges====  * Early 1990s and late 1990s as defined by ''Dictionary.com'' * 1992–1998 as identified by Hannah Ubl, Lisa Walden, and Debra Arbit,<ref name="UblWalden2017"/> ''WGSN,''<ref name="Napoli2020">{{cite web |last1=Napoli |first1=Cassandra |date=May 22, 2020 |title=WGSN: Zennials: The In-Between Generation |url=https://www.wgsn.com/insight/p/article/88103?lang=en |url-status=live |access-date=18 February 2021 |website=wgsn.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025231640/https://www.wgsn.com/insight/p/article/88103?lang=en |archive-date=2020-10-25}}</ref> Mary Everett (''PopSugar),''<ref name="pop">{{cite web |last1=Everett |first1=Mary |date=March 3, 2021 |title=Are You Confused by the Current Generational War? Congrats, You May Be a Zennial! |url=https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/what-are-zennials-48195753 |url-status=live |access-date=8 March 2021 |website=PopSugar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303231903/https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/what-are-zennials-48195753 |archive-date=2021-03-03}}</ref> and Nicea DeGering (KTVX)<ref>{{cite web |last1=DeGering|first1=Nicea|title=Do you feel left out of the generational war? You might be a zennial|url=https://www.abc4.com/gtu/do-you-feel-left-out-of-the-generational-war-you-might-be-a-zennial/|website=ABC4 Utah|access-date=19 February 2026|date=4 March 2021}}</ref> * 1992–2000 as identified by Ketchum<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ketchum-introduces-the-genzennial-an-influential-blend-of-two-generations-300429599.html|title=Ketchum Introduces the GenZennial, an Influential Blend of Two Generations|website=www.prnewswire.com}}</ref> * 1992–2002 as identified by Deborah Carr (cited by CNN, USA Today, CBS News Chicago, and ''The Hill'')<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_O2bHknIzE |title=Zillennials: A new micro-generation {{!}} The Hill |date=2023-05-11 |last=NewsNation |access-date=2026-02-19 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Ward|first=Terry|date=10 May 2023|title=Zillennials: The newest micro-generation has a name|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/10/health/what-are-zillennials-wellness/index.html|website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Zillennials: A new name for a generation – CBS Chicago|website=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/zillennials-a-new-name-for-a-generation/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaufman |first1=Anna |title=Move over Millennials and Gen Z, there's a new generation in town: Meet Zillennials |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/05/18/is-zillennial-a-real-thing/70207436007/ |access-date=19 February 2026 |website=USA TODAY}}</ref> * 1993–1997 as identified by Violet Lazarus (''The Daily Orange'')<ref>{{Cite web |last=pulp_new |date=2020-08-31 |title=SU alumna creates web series 'The Cusp' about living between 2 generations |url=http://dailyorange.com/2020/08/su-alumna-creates-web-series-cusp-living-2-generations/ |access-date=2026-01-01 |website=The Daily Orange |language=en-US}}</ref> * 1993–1998 as identified by Britannica,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The American Generations: Names, Years, & Key Differences {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Experience-the-American-Generations-Which-Generation-Are-You-2226598|access-date=21 February 2024|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> Deon Smit (''HR Future''),<ref name="Smit20172">{{cite journal |last=Smit|first=Deon|date=December 2017|title=Do you have enough "Generational Glue" in your organisation?|url=https://journals.co.za/content/journal/10520/EJC-b978fc1a0|journal=HR Future|volume=2017|issue=Dec 2017|pages=22–23|issn=1608-8506}}</ref> Maisy Farren (''Vice''),<ref name="Farren20202">{{Cite web |last1=Farren|first1=Maisy|date=20 August 2020|title='Zillennials' Are Haunted By Their Internet History|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/zillennials-are-haunted-by-their-internet-history/|access-date=15 October 2020|website=Vice|language=en}}</ref> Lindsay Dodgson (''Business Insider''),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/zillennials-are-caught-between-generations-in-the-workplace-2024-10 |title=The struggle of being a workplace 'zillennial,' not knowing where you fit in |last=Dodgson |first=Lindsay |access-date=19 November 2025|website=Business Insider|language=en-US}}</ref> Charlotte Hilton Andersen and Jason Dorsey (''Reader's Digest''),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rd.com/article/generation-years-and-names/ |title=What Generation Are You? Find Out in Our Guide to Generation Years and Names |access-date=21 August 2025 |language=en-US|last=Andersen|first=Charlotte Hilton|date=30 May 2025|website=Reader's Digest}}</ref> Maddy Mussen (''The Standard''),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mussen|first=Maddy|date=6 August 2025|title=It's time to admit it: Zillennials are the only normal Gen Zers|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/zillennial-gen-z-lazy-normal-b1241772.html|access-date=17 September 2025|website=The Standard|language=en}}</ref> Louis Ashworth (''Financial Times''),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Young people today are sad nerds |url=https://www.ft.com/content/bd61ee34-90de-4fb3-8a26-e706569e7f5b|access-date=29 September 2025|website=www.ft.com}}</ref> Becca Monaghan ''(Indy100),''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Monaghan |first=Becca |url=https://www.indy100.com/viral/what-is-a-zillennial-explained |title=What is a zillennial? The micro-generation no one talks about |date=Dec 23, 2025 }}</ref> Alicia Lansom (Refinery29),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lansom|first=Alicia|date=27 July 2021|title=Too Old For Gen Z, Too Young For Millennials: Life As A Confused Zillennial|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/generation-zillennial|website=Refinery29}}</ref> MetLife,<ref>{{cite web |title=Job Satisfaction Hits 20-Year Low Across U.S. Workforce, Lowest Among 'Zillennials' |url=https://www.metlife.com/about-us/newsroom/2022/march/job-satisfaction-hits-20-year-low-across-u-s-workforce-lowest-among-zillennials/}}</ref> and Ally Foster (news.com.au)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foster|first=Ally|date=May 17, 2021|title=People born in the early 1980s have been dubbed ‘Geriatric Millennials’|url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/people-born-in-the-early-1980s-have-been-dubbed-geriatric-millennials/news-story/55ee1776aa56e2091cfd9010e2b2999f|website=news.com.au}}</ref> * 1993–1999 as identified by Fullscreen, LLC<ref name="Dreisinger2019">{{cite web |last1=Dreisinger |first1=Kimberly |date=June 17, 2019 |title=Cuspers: Creative, Stressed, Impulsive --- Fullscreen Generational Study Shines Light on the Unique Life Stage Between Millennials and Gen Z |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190617005597/en/Cuspers-Creative-Stressed-Impulsive-----Fullscreen-Generational-Study-Shines-Light-on-the-Unique-Life-Stage-Between-Millennials-and-Gen-Z |access-date=11 December 2022 |website=businesswire.com}}</ref> and Fons Trompenaars and Peter Woolliams<ref name=":0" /> * 1995–2000 as identified by Mary Donahue<ref name="Donahue2020"/>

====Characteristics==== Names given for Millennial/Generation Z cuspers include the ''Snapchat Generation'' by Ubl, Walden, and Arbit,<ref name="UblWalden2017"/> ''MinionZ'' by Smit,<ref name="Smit2017"/> ''GenZennials'' by Ketchum,<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ketchum-introduces-the-genzennial-an-influential-blend-of-two-generations-300429599.html | title=Ketchum Introduces the GenZennial, an Influential Blend of Two Generations }}</ref> ''Zillennials'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zillennials: The Widely Unrecognised Microgeneration |url=https://www.reflectdigital.co.uk/blog/zillennials-the-widely-unrecognised-microgeneration |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=Reflect Digital |language=en}}</ref> and ''Zennials''.<ref name="DeGering2021">{{cite web |last1=DeGering |first1=Nicea |date=March 4, 2021 |title=Do you feel left out of the generational war? You might be a zennial |url=https://www.abc4.com/gtu/do-you-feel-left-out-of-the-generational-war-you-might-be-a-zennial/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 March 2021 |website=abc4.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305023044/https://www.abc4.com/gtu/do-you-feel-left-out-of-the-generational-war-you-might-be-a-zennial/ |archive-date=2021-03-05}}</ref> They are characterized as being "raised less by optimistic Boomers and more by skeptical Xers and pragmatic Gen Jonesers, who raised them to focus more on the practical rather than the aspirational."<ref name="UblWalden2017"/>

===Generation Z / Generation Alpha=== {{Main|Zalphas}}

====Birth year ranges====  * 2006–2012 as identified by Maarten Leyts<ref>{{Cite web |title=Generation ZAlpha |url=https://www.generationzalpha.com/ |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Generation ZAlpha |language=en}}</ref> * 2008–2014 as identified by Ben Rosen (''Connect'')<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosen|first=Ben|date=2025-07-29|title=How Gen Zalpha Will Shape The Creator Economy |url=https://connectmgt.com/management/blog/gen-zalpha-how-brands-can-prepare-for-gen-zalphas-influence-on-the-creator-economy |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Connect|language=en-GB}}</ref> and Vicki Ostrom (''Screen Printing Mag'')<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ostrom|first=Vicki|date=2024-03-10|title=What Are ZALPHAS and How Can You Serve Them in Your Print Business? |url=https://screenprintingmag.com/serving-zalpha-generation-in-your-screen-print-business/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=Screen Printing Mag|language=en-GB}}</ref>

====Characteristics==== The Generation Z/Generation Alpha cuspers are most commonly referred to as ''Zalphas''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 21, 2023 |title=What is a Zalpha? – McCrindle |url=https://mccrindle.com.au/article/what-is-a-zalpha/ |access-date=July 20, 2024 |website=mccrindle.com.au |language=en-US}}</ref> They are characterized as being "digital natives familiar with digital gadgets and technology from the cradle."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-13 |title=Bracing for the new world of 'Gen Zalpha' |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-11-13/opinion/columns/Bracing-for-the-new-world-of-Gen-Zalpha/1912117 |access-date=2025-09-13 |publisher=Korea JoongAng Daily |language=en}}</ref>

A 2023 ''Business Insider'' article cited a survey according to which Zalphas expressed a preference for fewer romantic or sexual plotlines in TV shows, instead favoring greater emphasis on friendship or platonic relationships.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Pandurangi |first=Nidhi |title=Gen Zalpha doesn't really care for sex on TV — they're here for 'nomance' and on-screen friendships |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-dont-care-for-romance-tv-friendships-survey-2023-10 |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> According to Stephanie Rivas-Lara and Hiral Kotecha, two of the survey's authors, this could stem from being isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic: "Young people are feeling a lack of close friendships, a separation from their community, and a sense that their digital citizen identity has superseded their sense of belonging in the real world".<ref name=":1" />

== Workplace importance == Communication misunderstandings between employees of different generations are detrimental to workplace morale, increasing turnover and absenteeism while decreasing job satisfaction, work commitment and productivity.<ref name="Nwosu2016">{{cite journal |last1=Nwosu |first1=Moses C. |last2=Igwe |first2=Chuma O. |last3=Nnadozie |first3=Kingsley N. |title=Managing generational diversity in the workplace: implications for the digital era university library management |journal=International Journal of Applied Technologies in Library and Information Management |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=1–17 |url=http://jatlim.org/volumes/volume2/No2/MOSES%20ONLINE%20VOL%202%20NO%202%20AUG.pdf |date=2016 |issn=2467-8120}}</ref><ref name="SakdiyakornWattanacharoensil2017">{{cite journal |last1=Sakdiyakorn |first1=Malinvisa |last2=Wattanacharoensil |first2=Walanchalee |title=Generational Diversity in the Workplace: A Systematic Review in the Hospitality Context |journal=Cornell Hospitality Quarterly |volume=59 |issue=2 |year=2017 |pages=135–159 |issn=1938-9655 |doi=10.1177/1938965517730312 |s2cid=158703769}}</ref> Effective communication between employees of different generations, however, allows for collaborative relationships and ensures that information is retained from one generation to the next.<ref name="Nwosu2016"/> Cuspers play an important role in multi-generational workplaces and other organizations.<ref name="LancasterStillman2009"/><ref name="Codrington2012"/> Metaphorically, cuspers are like bridges or glue that connect members of their adjacent major generations.<ref name="Smit2017"/><ref name="FluckDowden2013"/> Between generations, they are naturally skilled at mediating, translating, mentoring and managing.<ref name="Lancaster2002">{{cite book | last1=Lancaster | first1=Lynne C. | last2=Stillman | first2=David | title=When generations collide: who they are, why they clash, how to solve the generational puzzle at work | publisher=HarperCollins | publication-place=New York | date=2002 | isbn=978-0-06-662106-7 | page=}}</ref><ref name="LancasterStillman2009">{{cite book |author1=Lynne C. Lancaster |author2=David Stillman |title=When Generations Collide: Who They Are. Why They Clash. How to Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bn_mxJboF0IC |date=13 October 2009 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-175589-7 |chapter=Chapter 3: The Tie-Dyed Preppy}}</ref><ref name="Codrington2012">{{cite book |author=Graeme Codrington |title=Mind the Gap: Own your past, know your generation, choose your future|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChE0xMDGNv4C |date=1 October 2012 |publisher=Penguin Random House South Africa |isbn=978-0-14-352911-8 |chapter=Chapter 9: If you don't fit in ... You could be a 'Cusper' |author-link=Graeme Codrington}}</ref> Strategically placing cuspers in the workplace has the potential to reduce generational workplace friction and give organizations doing so a competitive advantage.<ref name="Taylor2018">{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Melissa Kempf |title=Xennials: a microgeneration in the workplace |journal=Industrial and Commercial Training |volume=50 |issue=3 |year=2018 |pages=136–147 |issn=0019-7858 |doi=10.1108/ICT-08-2017-0065|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="HRMID2018">{{cite journal |title=The organizational value of Xennials |journal=Human Resource Management International Digest |volume=26 |issue=4 |year=2018 |pages=22–24 |issn=0967-0734 |doi=10.1108/HRMID-04-2018-0066 |s2cid=242049521 }}</ref><ref name="Ubl2017">{{Cite book |last1=Ubl |first1=Hannah L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g36gDgAAQBAJ&dq=cuspers+between+gen+z+ubl+walden&pg=PA266 |title=Managing Millennials For Dummies |last2=Walden |first2=Lisa X. |last3=Arbit |first3=Debra |date=2017-04-06 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-31023-5 |language=en}}</ref>

== Generational identity == Many cuspers do not feel a sense of belonging to a specific generation.<ref name="Codrington2012"/><ref name="LancasterStillman2009"/> Researchers studying generational subculture theory have speculated that there may be populations within larger generational cohorts whose values are more in line with those of preceding generations, for example, someone born in the range of Generation X who has a moral philosophy more similar to the Silent Generation.<ref name="Taylor2018"/><ref name="Robertson2012">{{cite journal |last1=Robertson |first1=Christopher J. |last2=Ralston |first2=David A. |last3=Crittenden |first3=William F. |title=The relationship between cultural values and moral philosophy: a generational subculture theory approach |journal=AMS Review |volume=2 |issue=2–4 |year=2012 |pages=99–107 |issn=1869-814X |doi=10.1007/s13162-012-0029-2 |s2cid=143055702}}</ref> Generations are heterogenous, and differences within a generation can be as great as differences between generations.<ref name="Dimock2019">{{Cite web |last=Dimock |first=Michael |date=2019-01-17 |title=Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref>

Jason Dorsey, a generations researcher, wrote: "about a third of Americans identify more with the generation just before or after their own. And many people fall into what we call ''cuspers''—those born on the edges of two generations who carry traits from both. These unique “micro-generations” make sense when you think about how quickly the world changes, especially during our formative years."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dorsey |first=Jason |date=2025-06-17 |title=Jason Dorsey Featured in Reader's Digest on Generational Identity |url=https://jasondorsey.com/blog/featured-in-readers-digest-on-generational-identity/ |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=Jason Dorsey |language=en-GB}}</ref>

According to authors Hannah Ubl, Lisa Walden and Debra Arbit, cuspers "play a pivotal role in ensuring seamless communication across generations" and "are natural translators because they often speak the language of two generations."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ubl |first1=Hannah L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g36gDgAAQBAJ&dq=hannah+ubl+managing+millennials+for+dummies+friendly+ghost&pg=PA266 |title=Managing Millennials For Dummies |last2=Walden |first2=Lisa X. |last3=Arbit |first3=Debra |date=2017-04-06 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-31023-5 |language=en}}</ref>

The generational fuzziness theory proposes that one's generation is best defined as the combination of one's birth year and generational identity—the cultural generation to feel most similar to.<ref name="CampbellTwenge2017">{{cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=Stacy M. |last2=Twenge |first2=Jean M. |last3=Campbell |first3=W. Keith |title=Fuzzy But Useful Constructs: Making Sense of the Differences Between Generations |journal=Work, Aging and Retirement |volume=3 |issue=2 |year=2017 |pages=130–139 |issn=2054-4642 |doi=10.1093/workar/wax001 |url=https://academic.oup.com/workar/article/3/2/130/2997409#63061717 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="PRRES2019">{{cite conference |url=https://research.tue.nl/en/publications/workplace-needs-and-their-support-are-millennials-different-from- |title=Workplace needs and their support; are millennials different from other generations? |last1=Appel-Meulenbroek |first1=H.A.J.A. |last2=Vosters |first2=S.M.C. |last3=Kemperman |first3=A.D.A.M. |last4=Arentze |first4=T.A. |date=2019 |location=Melbourne, Australia |pages=1–14 |conference=Twenty fifth annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society conference (PRRES 2019) |access-date=2019-02-03 |archive-date=2019-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203202113/https://research.tue.nl/en/publications/workplace-needs-and-their-support-are-millennials-different-from- |url-status=dead }}</ref> Not all cuspers identify with both sides of the generational dividing line. Many adopt the values of one side and conduct themselves accordingly.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Meagan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HV9WOn0voLUC&dq=johnson+and+johnson+cuspers+generations&pg=PA8 |title=Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters--Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work |last2=Johnson |first2=Larry |date=2010-05-19 |publisher=AMACOM |isbn=978-0-8144-1576-4 |language=en}}</ref>

Many cuspers face life with an experience of "being in between", according to licensed psychologist and healthcare-ethics consultant Dr. Jenny Shields, "they understand the tone and references of their generation, but they don't feel it," Shields said. "That can leave people feeling a little disoriented, especially in moments when others are rallying around generational identity as a shorthand for belonging." She added: "Generational identity isn't just a demographic label—it's a story. It's shaped by what was happening when you were coming of age. Cuspers are raised during times of cultural transition, and that gets baked into how they move through the world."<ref>https://www.newsweek.com/americans-born-these-years-cuspers-2074570</ref>

== See also == {{wiktionary}} * Middle child syndrome * Interbellum Generation

==References== {{Reflist|25em}}

Category:Cultural generations Category:Demography