Expunge the Faux-Noun of ‘GenZer’ From Your Vocabulary, Please…
Whether you call them “Zoomers,” “Centennials,” “iGens,” or just “Generation Z” — phonetics and symmetry are key steps to achieving intergenerational solidarity
As a writer and a social activist, I’ve come to view language as essential. Misuse of linguistics isn’t always intentional on the part of the offender. But we still must draw attention to it, when there’s an underlying issue at play.
In modern times, a host of ridiculous words have infested our informal vocabulary like weeds. I refer to these wannabe-verbs, wannabe-adjectives, and wannabe-monikers as “faux-nouns.”
Essentially, they are fake words that insult bystanders’ intelligence — because there are usually alternatives that are so much better.
Some examples of these *faux-nouns* include:
“adulting”
“looksism”
“conversate”
“irregardless”
“Latinx”
“handicapable”
“turnt”
“commonsensical”
And yes, I realize the delicious irony of how I’ve created a nickname for a phenomenon which, some people might allege, makes me equally as guilty of this offense as those whom I criticize.
One of my areas of specialty is intergenerational literacy. Helping people from different generational cohorts understand one another better. I’ve aspired to promote this ideal through my ongoing series known as “Jigsaw Gens” –
I’m going to outline for you why one of the biggest examples of unconscious ageism is the tendency of people to take the shortcut of using the faux-noun “GenZer” when referring to somebody who belongs to Generation Z.
Who We All Are
First, let’s review the four youngest American generations who succeed the Baby Boomer cohort.
Gen X = People born in the mid-1960s through the early-1980s
- GenXers = “Baby Busters” or “Disruptors”
Gen Y = People born in the early-1980s through the mid-1990s
- Millennials = Members of Generation Y
Gen Z = People born in the mid-1990s through the early-2010s
- Zoomers = Members of Generation Z
Gen AA = People born in the early-2010s up through the present (they’re still being born)
- Alphas = Members of Generation Alpha (Gen AA or “Coronials”)
Generation X was the original letter-designated generation. They deserve to retain that distinction.
Gen Y (my generation!) are known as “Millennials.” We were the final American generation born entirely prior to the most recent turn of the millennium.
So it only makes sense that — when being used as a descriptor — folks from Gen Z should be known as “Zoomers” or “Centennials.” As I outlined in THIS ARTICLE…
Gen Z literally zoomed into digital acceleration during their youth as Zoom became popular for video-conferencing. When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, many Gen Z kids had to use the platform to complete their K-12 or college educations.
Or, because they were the first American generation to be born into the Twenty-First Century, they’ve ushered in this chunk of 100 years (a “centennial”) in which we’re currently living.
But if that isn’t enough to convince you…here are a few other reasons why “GenZer” diminishes equilibrium and symmetry.
Implied Value-Judgement
Let me start out by making something clear. I realize that most people who use “GenZer” as a descriptor probably aren’t doing so out of malice.
What I suspect has happened is, once the “Millennial” nickname was coined for Gen Y, many people have just been trying to figure out what to call Gen Z kids. They really don’t have a sense of what a good adjective/noun combo might be.
That’s completely understandable. But consider the following dynamics…
Asymmetry exists when we fail to juxtapose the terms “Gen X,” “Gen Y,” and “Gen Z” alongside of one another.
Verbally jumping from “GenXer” to “millennial” (notice the indignity of its lack of capitalization) and then back to “GenZer” only enhances the stigmatization of Millennials.
To be clear, I’m *not* saying “Gen Z” all by itself, as a proper noun, is objectionable. No moreso than “Gen X” or “Gen Y” or “Gen AA” would be.
Rather, it’s the descriptor or adjective where such asymmetry underscores how demonized Gen Y has become in our society (parallel to cultural ageism directed against the Baby Boomer generation).
Even as a teenager, I noticed this being done to Gen X.
Then, it was done to Gen Y (my generation).
Now, it’s sometimes done to Gen Z and Gen AA.
But, as I observed in THIS PIECE…
…Millennials, along with Baby Boomers, have gotten a raw deal in terms of the ageist stereotypes leveled against us. It’s one reason why I so intensely hate the “Ok, Boomer” trope (even though I’m not a Baby Boomer, myself).
The stigmatization of some generations (alongside the glorification of other generations) is a deeper societal problem; but a good starting-point is to position their descriptors/adjectives so that each generation is referred to in a distinct way.
It Doesn’t Mean Anything
As researcher Jean Twenge rightfully pointed out in her 2017 book iGen, the term “Gen Z” is derivative of “Gen X.”
Especially when “Millennial” already exists in reference to Gen Y.
This is why Twenge tried to coin the term “iGens” (which I thought was actually pretty cool!) as an alternate descriptor for members of Gen Z.
Of course, Twenge herself eventually “embraced the derivative” when her “iGen” moniker failed to catch on quickly enough. This underscores Twenge’s own anti-Millennial ageism.
Twenge isn’t the only offender. Frequently, many spouters of the “GenZer” faux-noun are often GenXers referring to their Zoomer children. In some cases, they’re ostensibly the doting parents who hope the generation whom they’ve reared will redeem society from the apparent “deficiencies” that we’re told Gen Y (Millennials) have allegedly left behind.
Whether it’s being used to glorify, to degrade, or just as a filler word — it’s an insulting lack of symmetry.
After all, we don’t refer to “Millennials” as “GenYers.”
And, yes, I definitely encourage my fellow Millennials to share our own individualized oral histories.
Just as I’ve done in my “Confessions of a Gen Y Kid” series:
It Sounds Juvenile (and Phonetically-Awkward)
If you study the history of why “Gen X” was coined by Douglas Coupland, Billy Idol, Jane Deverson, and Charles Hamblett — the term stemmed from the fact that members of Generation X largely viewed themselves as a cohort who couldn’t be so easily defined.
The reference was baked into their identity.
Once Gen Y began to come-of-age, observers viewed the “Y” as a derivative of “X.”
So “Millennials” was coined, signifying how we were the final American generation born in the previous millennium.
Gen Z only caught on because it came next in the succession following “X” and “Y.”
But the “Z” itself isn’t an abbreviation for much of anything.
Except for Zoom — which would make “Zoomer” a generational descriptor that flows much more easily and organically. It also has the added meaning of Zoom being a primary resource used by Gen Z so they, as students, could finish their pandemic-era educations.
On top of that: The pronunciation of…
“Gen Zee-er”
…is phonetically awkward.
As opposed to…
“Gen E[x]css-er”
…where the suffix is attached to a consonant (“X”/“ss”) rather than to a vowel (“e”).
“GenZer” sounds crappy.
And lazy.
And repetitive.
Let’s get rid of it!
Now, I’m sure many of my critics are ready to pounce on me by asking…
“But does it *really* matter what we call them?”
Yes! Yes, it does!
No generation is “better” or “worse” than the other. That’s the entire point of my “Jigsaw Gens” series.
Every generation has good members and bad members.
Every generation endures its own set of historical events (at specific stages of one’s life) and shared cultural markers.
No, generations aren’t a hard science.
But they still deserve dignity.
I’m not someone who strives to be contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian. And, again, I also realize most people who say “GenZer” probably don’t say it with any malicious intent.
All I ask is that you consider the meanings behind these alternatives, when trying to find a singular noun or plural noun to refer to members of Gen Z…
Zoomers = Gen Z kids used Zoom to complete (or fill in) their education, out of necessity
Centennials = Gen Z was the first American generation born into the Twenty-First Century
iGens = Gen Z experienced childhood, tween years, or late-adolescence with the iPad in their hands (refer to Jean Twenge’s book of the same title)
Tech Natives = Gen Z grew up entirely within the Internet age, unlike any of the generations before them
Digital Accelerators = Gen Z greatly built upon Gen Y’s utilization of cyberspace and other cutting-edge technology (with Millennials often being called “Digital Natives”)
Founders = Gen Z expressed fondness for this term in a 2015 survey by MTV, due to their penchant for merging creativity with business acumen
Homelanders = Gen Z was the youngest American generation alive when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was created, as observed by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe
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