argia.eus
INPRIMATU
'Protomillennials'
Endika Biota PiƱeiro @BiotaEndika 2020ko apirilaren 30

I was born in a small town in the year one hundred and eighty-seven of the twentieth century. At that time, different numbers were written in Basque.

I must be a millionaire. Sociologists and researchers have not agreed on a specific field, but most agree that those born between 1980 and 1995 bear this label. I think I'm a digital native, I have a better preparation than previous generations, and I'm self-centered, entrepreneur, hedonistic and child of globalization. Very sociable, because thanks to social media, I'm connected to the world. The Internet and digital spiders revolutionized reality a long time ago. There was a lot of change in those years, and the young people weren't waterproof at all. However, changes do not occur overnight. I feel like those transitional lifeforms that lived in the Paleozoic. Like tiktaalika, we wanted to extract from the old seas the animal hybrid from the first waters, not yet fish, -non-amphibious.

Right there, on that road, I stand. In the age of protomillennials. We spent childhood in economic prosperity, parents often bought the second home and spent the holiday summers. When we were about to end adolescence, the economic crisis fell on us and all the promises heard (if you learn them you will get a good job, the effort always generates benefits) were smashed into our noses.

We started our studies at the EGB, when the ikastolas still had no public or private decisions. The education system was modified and the ESO was launched, we were the pioneers of the current system. Later, already in university, the Bologna Plan was established, and again, those who started the career at that time, we did not learn it in the old plan or in the new one. In some subjects we were free not to go to class, but in those that had European Credits we were forced to sign attendance every day and we had to give a lot of small jobs.

"Protomillennials are a test of humanity. Like boys and girls who have suffered a lack of affection in their youth, when they are older and will not be able in human relationships because they did not develop the skills they had to learn in their day"

We've also experienced the landing of the analogue world. In childhood, we heard tapes, we've seen CDs and Mp3 go through digital invisible music today. We were the first to enjoy the Internet, but somehow, we had not come to the end of the story. He was on the phone line, he needed a wiring deck to work, and yet he was very slow. It should be noted that there was usually only one computer per house. The Internet had to be shared with families. Then came the mobile phones. They were tiny, white and black screens, soft plastic keys and fascinating gadgets with a thick antenna. Until then our media were fixed telephones, automatic gatekeepers, screams and letters.

With all of this, I mean, protomillennials are a test of humanity. Like boys and girls who have suffered a lack of affection in their youth, when they are older and will not be able in human relationships because they did not develop the skills they had to learn in their day. The fact that childhood has lived in a world of analogue and economic growth has inevitably influenced the relationship with new technologies and the economic crisis.

It's not easy to write about a subject like this without making an apology for nostalgia. The objective was to mention the gaps in the Millennial classification, which was replaced by Julian Iantzi. In a way, the Tiktaalika of the 21st century has us.