I came across the term “Zillenial” this week - a word for those born around 1993-1998, bridging Millennials and Gen Z, with toes dipped in both an analog upbringing, and the digital explosion.

As a Zillenial born in 1995, I both embody and appreciate that divide. My childhood years were a golden age of true presence: neighbourhood adventures building forts in the bush behind my family home, face-to-face conversation with friends, and not a mobile device in sight. Life without technology meant full immersion in the moment - no distractions, just the raw joy of being truly present.

Then smartphones crashed in, adjusting that birthright. Suddenly, I was checking my early-days iPhone countless times daily. 

In-person conversations splintered, walks turned into scrolling marathons, and mindfulness vanished in a fog of notifications. It was subtle, but it was a heist - our generation’s presence was slowly eroded by the very tools meant to connect us all. 

Lately, I’ve sought ways to reclaim it: app detoxes, tech-free evenings. But here’s the twist - technology itself might offer redemption.

Enter mixed reality devices, like Apple’s Vision Pro, which give a digital overlay onto the real world without full immersion. The paradox? Mixed reality makes tech ambient: directions hovering in your view, hands free for real engagement. Early users report feeling profoundly “present,” merging innovation with the tangible. 

Yet, caution lingers: if phones hijacked our focus, could holographic nudges worsen it? Still, if presence was our Zillenial birthright, mixed reality may just restore it…

Moondog

Staff Writer

P.S. Excited to be launching the VIR - Vutures Intelligence Report. Download the report by clicking here.