What Defines A Cusper? Zillennials On Finding Their Space In The Zeitgeist

“What are these?” I ask as I pick up a pack of fake gemstones. “Uhh, jibbitz,” my coworker replies as if I’m brain-dead, referencing the Crocs accessories I’m holding. “Aren’t you Gen Z?“

“I’m a cusper,” I mumble under my breath. I go back to my desk to find my boss having a breakdown over her sock length. “This whole time!” she wails in despair. “This whole time, I’ve been wearing millennial socks.” My colleague aims to comfort her, but it’s true. She’s been wearing ankle socks for far too long.

Ah, just another day living my life between the lines of millennials (born 1981-1996) and Gen Z (1997-2012). Zillennials live on the cusp of both generations — hence, why we often refer to ourselves as cuspers — which makes it difficult to establish a consistent cutoff. An expert told CNN that the micro-generation (ew) was confined to anyone born between the early 1990s and the early 2000s. When I threw that birth range in my Slack channel at work, it was met with a lot of pushback.

One coworker, born in 1995, acknowledged he was close to the edge but felt firmly millennial. “I’m old enough to have posted my Starbucks passion tea lemonade with an extreme filter on the Instagram grid.”

Fair enough! So, for the sake of this article, I have narrowed down the range to 1996-99. While it’s possible to identify more with either generation, there are some general qualities that each one is distinctly known for — from personal style and sense of humor to a person’s relationship with internet culture. Or it can simply come down to how old you were during major events like 9/11 and COVID.

While it may seem strange (or outright dumb) to care so much about your generational label, it has become a defining characteristic for many — especially when you don’t exactly fit in one box. As someone who strongly identifies as the eldest daughter, I can only assume this is what the middle child feels like, caught between the uncool older sibling and the annoying younger brat. (So Julia!)

Despite being part of a rather small cohort, I’m clearly not alone in this state of limbo. So, I asked fellow zillennials on how being a cusper influences their identity in an effort to answer the question: Do zillennials have their own subculture?

Who Qualifies As A Zillennial?

Image Credit: Design by Nicole Maggio

By definition, Kat P.’s birth year (1997) is the cutoff or first year of Gen Z. “So, I identify as Gen Z, unless I’m with an intimidating or large group of millennials – then I make sure to emphasize I’m ‘on the cusp.'”

Personally, as a 28-year-old, I enjoy using my cusper status as a scapegoat for when I don’t know what the fuck is going on. A millennial references Myspace? I’m a cusper. TikTok drama is brought up? I’m a cusper. But who is a cusper when they’re not in fear of being bullied?

Major events are often used to define generations. (Just look at Baby Boomers.) While Gen Z doesn’t remember 9/11, they certainly remember being in high school or college during Covid. However, generational characteristics are also formed by the pop culture in which they were raised. Famous zillennials like Zendaya and Sabrina Carpenter are a great example of this shift. Both started out on Disney (firmly millennial core), but have risen to become icons among Gen Z — not only for their talents but also their sense of style. And then, of course, there is what each generation finds funny.

Born in 1997, Gabe A. prefers Gen-Z’s humor, which is often described as absurdist. “I consciously distance myself from millennial cringe humor like ‘boop’ or ‘awkward turtle,'” he says. “But I feel old when talking to my brother and his friends (’04) who don’t know life without a smart phone or YouTube, which firmly aligns me as a cusper.”

Admittedly, having siblings can directly affect your position. If you grew up with older siblings you probably had a stake in the NSYNC vs Backstreet Boys debate, yet played with Webkinz (a classic Gen Z children’s toy).

“I’m ’98, but both of my siblings are older, and I have been told I’m Gen Z, millennial presenting,” Bridget S. shares with Betches. (Excuse me while I add “millennial presenting” to my bio.) “I didn’t watch all the shows some Gen Z’s grew up with because my brother and sister controlled the remote.”

Izzy Snow, who runs Betches’ Gen Z-focused IG account “Send Help,” has a unique perspective on the blurry edges of the two generations. As someone who experienced flip phones and Snapchat’s dog filter, she’s basically an anthropologist.

“I feel like I get the best humor because Gen-Z’s perspective is dipped in the right amount of chronically online toxic waste for me,” she says. “But I understand ‘millennial doge humor’ because it’s what I was raised on (with Fred, Jenna Marbles, Shane Dawson, all that), and I find their so-meta-ironic-it’s-cringe-and-goofy approach now kind of fascinating.”

The Facebook group “Born Zillennial” has over 200k members who post memes of anything from the bright orange Rugrats VCR tape to wondering who won the Zack and Cody Danimals Sweepstakes. This sense of nostalgia lends to the argument that zillennials exist as a standalone generation with its own subculture.

What Does It Mean To Dress Like A Zillennial?

If there’s anything that’s clear about the generational divide it’s fashion trends. Ask someone how they feel about the great sock debate, or if they’re pro-skinny jeans, and you’ll probably get a good sense of someone’s age. God forbid they bring up Crocs jibbitz.

In a recent column for the New York Times‘ Style section, a NYC-based zillennial wrote in about being caught between two worlds… aesthetically. “The itty-bitty crop tops of my youth seem too revealing, yet I don’t want to look matronly,” she writes. “I want to evoke that I’m still young and interested in fashion but avoid looking like a TikTok victim.” Too real.

Thankfully, zillennial fashion doesn’t have to exist under strict generational “rules.” Stylewise, Izzy says she’s happy to be free from the confines of skinny jeans and has been Team Crew Socks since 2012. “I love being aware of trends while having the zillennial separation of not having to jump on the bandwagon,” she says. “We’ve been through the battleground with our alien crew tees and lumberjack shirts. We don’t have to be a mob wife.”

Born in ’97, Kaelen G. says being zillennial doesn’t influence her personal style: “If anything, I think it affects my shopping behavior.” She typically finds new clothes by seeing someone else wear it on social media, but still loves a mall — “My cusp is showing!”

But if you had to give zillennials a uniform, TikTok user @zozoakz says it’s straight leg jeans. “No flair, no skinny, no baggy, just like a straight leg,” she explains in her viral video. Another way to spot a zillennial in the wild? Their Instagram.

Unpacking Zillennials’ Unique Relationship With Social Media

“Millennials post selfies, and Gen Z just posts like blurry pictures of things,” TikTok user @zozoakz continues in her video. “If [zillennials] post a picture of themselves, it will be a posed photo of them doing something fun.” If you feel called out, same. Of course I’m gonna use the grid to highlight my perfectly curated achievements (aka, cute fits, etc.).

Social media is an obvious influence on each generation. Too young for Myspace, yet too old for TikTok, Instagram seems to be the zillennial sweet spot. “I am glad I got to experience flip phones, but also got to be cringe on Instagram in 2014,” Izzy says. Every zillennial I spoke with mentioned the chokehold the Valencia IG filter had on their early youth. “My first IG post was a tray of chocolate chip cookies I made in Valencia,” Kaelen confirms. For Gabe, it was a Valencia filtered photo of his 14th birthday cake.

Image Credit: Design by Nicole Maggio

While Instagram seems like a safe middle ground for zillennials to agree on, TikTok is more subjective. “I am on TikTok too much, so much that I think my brain is melting,” Izzy says. “But I know many people from school who live on reels and have accepted that they are permanently behind.”

TikTok-usage seems to be the main difference between cuspers and “elder” Gen Z. Because many were in college when the app came out, they were more naturally integrated into the platform. “I’m addicted to TikTok and can’t believe there was life without it just a few years ago,” Ilana F. shares. “I’m October ’99 and definitely identify as Gen Z, but older Gen Z.”

Born in 2000, Becca K. agrees. “I don’t know what my life would be without TikTok… as sad as that sounds (oops). If you scroll on IG reels, you are forever labeled as a millennial in my book — even if you aren’t a millennial, sorry.” Harsh but fair!!

Online, as in IRL, we zillennials continue to do our best to keep up with trends, nurture our nostalgia, and find our place within the zeitgeist. Rather than always pulling from the generation before or after us, we can continue developing something unique. I just hope we have more to offer than the Valencia filter.

At the end of the day, at least we can agree that we all got totally fucked by the economy. We truly have so much in common! And besides, Gen Alpha is coming for us all soon enough.