Are You An Xennial? New Micro-Generation Forming Between Gen X And Millennials

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- We've all heard that if you're born between 1982 and 2004 you're a millennial and the generation that spans the 20 years before that is Generation X. But now a new micro-generation between the two is forming.

If you remember dial-up Internet connections, ever owned a flip-phone, made a mixed tape or remember when the New Kids on the Block shot to stardom the first time, then you may be an xennial. It's a population sandwiched between Gen Xers and millennials that doesn't identify with either.

Mike Hout, a professor of sociology at New York University, says although there's no scientific basis for these labels, they're often used to identify a group of people born during a certain time span.

"Over a 40 year period, it became more up to individuals to find their own niche and in this case, make one up," he told CBS2's Alex Denis. "They're handles, they're hashtags."

Now found on the Internet, xennials are being coined as a micro-generation that experienced an analogue childhood and a digital adulthood. Born between the years 1977 and 1983, they claim to possess both Gen X cynicism and millennial optimism and drive.

And while the new classification only spans a seven-year period, people in this group finally feel like they have an identity.

But a few self-proclaimed millennials say don't write them or others off.

"I can connect with you, with another person, someone younger, older," one woman said. "It's just an easy way to classify."

There's no scientific bases for these groups, so if you identify with one over the other, just claim it.