The Gen Y Timeline

In a well-thought-out comment, Reader Rudolph Harrier presented a detailed Gen Y timeline.

Does his account of events align with Ys’ lived history?

Read for yourself, and decide.

How I see the development of Gen Y's worldview:

1980's - The beginning of childhood. Happiness with some vague worries about Russia that we were too young to understand.

1989-1996 - Childhood wonderland. Every year has some neat new gadget, and it's never going to stop. The Cold War is over, and the worst we're going to have to worry about is petty crime. Star Trek was right!

1997-2000 - In retrospect this is cultural ground zero, but technology and games are still in high gear (it's the beginning of the Golden Age of PC gaming and the Golden Age of the World Wide Web after all.)

2001-2006 - 9/11 demonstrates that we aren't in a world of eternal peace, but hey, at least technology is still pretty good. Our college degrees aren't getting us as much as promised, but it is easy to blame things on a temporary lag in the economy.

2007-2011 - There's a vague sense that the party may be truly be over, but no one really wants to admit it. Cell phones make major advances, but this also leads to a noticeable decline in the quality of the web. It's impossible to believe that each new console generation will bring as many innovations as we saw previously. Nerd culture starts to take over the cinema... and it's starting to feel lame. Obama's first term plus social media brings politics into nearly every conversation, but it's still possible to pretend that this is just part of the wave of the future.

2012-2015 - It's over. The response to the Trayvon Martin case proves that we aren't in the post-racial society we thought we grew up in the 90's. Gamergate shows that there's no escape into vidya that gets better year after year. Gay marriage is legalized by decree despite public opinion against it. You are no either for clown world or you must take a stand against it. A lot of Gen Y, perhaps the majority, tries to block things out by overloading on consumption of media, but this is just a tacit approval of clown world.

2016-2019 - The election of President Trump means that no one can really say "I just want to play video games" any more. If you do not make a choice, your choice will be made for you. Gen Y divides into bugmen consumerists who tow the party line, blackpilled masses who want to go back to the 90's but who know it is impossible, and dissident ultra-traditionalists. (However, you still can't tell the difference between the three groups if you get them talking about 16 bit consoles or 2nd Edition AD&D.)

2020-Now - COVID lockdowns pretty much destroy the middle group of Gen Y. This is no longer just about dealing with political conversations at family gatherings; you have to make choices that could get you fired. Spiritually I think a lot of Gen Y was coasting along; part of some Christian denomination but not really thinking about it. But when they stop having services what do you do? Decide that it's more time for playing corporate vidya and streaming the New Thing, or decide that it's time to really devote yourself to God? Everyone had to make that decision in 2020, and very few people have reversed their decisions.

Related: Gen Y at a Crossroads

My comment:

When presented in sequence as above, the chain of events Rudolph lays out suggests a strong possibility that few will want to contemplate. That doesn’t just go for blue-pilled Ys who defend the system or “I just want to play vidya” fence-riders.

Even membes of Gen Y who recognized the diabolical face behind the mask slips and turned back to Jesus Christ may feel pangs of unease at the implications Western society’s decline and the subsequent awakening.

I’ll just yank on the loose thread, here: What if the perpetual Christmas party of the late 20th century had to end?

The theologians authoritatively inform us that God only allows evil so that some greater good may be brought forth from it.

In the case of pop culture, maybe Gen Y’s addiction to cheap, mass-produced corporate product could only be cured by the legacy entertainment-industrial complex’s collapse.

In retrospect, Cultural Ground Zero may not have been a civilization-killing event, but a cleansing forest fire that made way for new, fresh growth.

It’s hard to deny that the newpub and neopatronage models could have taken root and flourished, had the old system not terminally declined.

I can only speak for myself. But here’s how Cultural Ground Zero broke the chains that had shakcled me to the Pop Cult, and cleared my way to artistic freedom:

Over a decade ago, I started compiling what had been intended as a volume of background lore for another novel I’d cobble together from Herbert and Lovecraft homages and late 90s JRPGs.

I couldn’t have imagined then how far the resulting novel, Nethereal, has come now.

And the sky’s the limit.

Nethereal has returned. And that return is already shaping up to be triumphant!

Because thanks in large part to loyal readers like you, the Nethereal 10th Anniversary Special Edition is live on Kickstarter.

A decade ago, you helped launch a bold new vision of adventure fiction. Now, we're celebrating that legacy with a collector’s edition unlike anything we’ve done before!

The Nethereal 10th Anniversary Special Edition features:

• A rich red leatherette 7” x 10” hardcover with silver foil

• An all-new dust jacket by fan-favorite Marcelo Orsi Blanco

• 4 full-color character illustrations

• Signed & numbered editions, available only through this campaign

• A new endpaper map of the Nine Circles

• Plus: Kairosis, an exclusive hardcover novella linking the Soul and Arkwright Cycles!

These editions are Kickstarter exclusive. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. But there's a new tool to help you get the limited-edition rewards you deserve. If you pledge $125 or more, you can now choose Pledge Over Time. That way, you can pay in three monthly installments, with no extra fees. Other readers have already told me how much they appreciate this new feature, and I think Kickstarter were smart to add it. On the whole, it’s a win for neopatronage, since campaign creators should now expect to move greater volumes of higher-end rewards.

So, whether you’re an OG reader or venturing into the Soul Cycle for the first time, this campaign was designed to comfortably accommodate you. Build your own custom Reward Tier with Add-Ons, pledge à la carte, or go all-in with the Everything Signed bundle. But don’t wait. Because while previous campaigns launched with incomplete reward selections and gradually added more tiers, this time, all Reward Tiers are available on day one. The purpose of our stretch goals is to unlock Add-Ons and automatic enhancements—including new art, posters, and more. That means your best play is to pledge now while limited rewards are available and upgrade later as desired.

And those limited tiers are moving fast, so claim yours before the clock runs out!

Ten years ago, we launched more than just a book—we sparked a movement.

Now let’s take it to the next level.

Back the Nethereal 10th Anniversary Edition on Kickstarter now!