By the end of this year, no more millennials will be in their 20s.
Millennials, adults born between 1981 and 1996, will be 30 and up by the end of 2026, according to Pew Research Center. The oldest millennials will be 45.
In the United States, the millennial experience has been defined by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the 2008 presidential election and housing crisis, and the fast-paced rise of technology, including the release of the first iPhone in 2007, Pew Research Center outlined in a 2019 report.
Regarding pop culture, pop stars like Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and the Spice Girls dominated charts during most millennials' teen and early adulthood years. The start of the long-running "Sex and the City"
and "The Office," the 1997 film "Titanic" and the release of the first "Harry Potter" film in 2001 also proved crucial to the generation, Rolling Stone's 2018 article outlines.
Before the mainstream world of streaming services, millennials were downloading music from sites like Napster and LimeWire. Millennials were also early adopters of MySpace, Vine, YouTube and Tumblr.
Millennials weigh in
Countless millennials have taken to social media to joke about the transitional period.
"Dec. 31, 1996 here. It has been an honor," one TikTok user commented on the Daily Mail's video about the news. Another said: "We had fun, didn't we gang?" And another user pointed out the turmoil of the last six years: "I hit 30 this year. I'm still jaded at how COVID stole my 20s from me."
Younger social media users have also joined the discourse.
"Why is this kinda sad and I'm not even a millennial," one TikTok user commented on the Daily Mail's video. Another said: "On a real note, it must've been so cool to grow up in the early 2000s, pre-internet and everything must've been a dream."
How old are other generations?
Here's a look at the age ranges for other generations, based on birth years determined by Pew Research Center:
- Gen Alpha: 13 and younger (born between 2013 and present)
- Gen Z: 14 to 29 (born between 2012 and 1997)
- Millennials: 30 to 45 (born between 1981 and 1996)
- Gen X: 61 to 46 (born between 1965 and 1980)
- Baby Boomers: 80 to 62 (born between 1946 and 1964)
- Silent: 98 to 81 (born between 1928 and 1945)
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No millennials will be in their 20s by end of 2026
