Millennial vs. Gen Z: We’re Joking…Right?

I think a little intergenerational ribbing is fun.

Just by writing the word “ribbing,” you can probably deduce my membership in Club Millennial.

Or maybe you thought I was a boomer which honestly wouldn’t be that far off considering my nickname has been Shanny the Granny since I was 23 years old.

BUT ANYWAY. I was born in 1988. I’m 36, just so we have no questions here.

Gen Xers get annoyed because we all pretend they don’t exist in the generational roast match. (Seriously I’ve never seen a single Gen X joke.) Boomers get annoyed because we call out their inability to adapt to basic technological advancements. 

But today we’re focusing squarely on the Gen Z vs. Millennial game of “I don’t get it” because yesterday I had to Google “what is the millennial pause?”

Most of me didn’t even want to know the answer.

Alas, my curiosity compelled me to find out what new miniscule prototype of my generation was being labeled “cringe” by our crew-sock-loving successors.

If you must know, a millennial pause is…breathing? A single breath? We’ve truly reached the point that an entire generation is plagued by second-hand embarrassment for people who openly rely on oxygen for survival. Anyway, I guess it’s defined as a pause millennials [apparently] take before starting a sentence when filming a video of themselves.

Love that for us, honestly. 

I have only a single concern about the increasingly specific call-outs to identify how many years a person has been alive:

Does everyone know none of it matters?

Like, we know that no-show socks and a side part aren’t anything to be embarrassed about, right?

While I think the malleable minds of adolescents and young adults are most at-risk when it comes to conformist pressures exacerbated by memes and quippy videos, in the case of intergenerational ribbing, I actually think it’s the millennials who are quietly internalizing a fear of becoming irrelevant.

Gen Zers don’t care if we say they’ll regret wearing butterfly clips and parachute jeans. They’re basking in the glow of their perky boobs and distracted by what they want to be when they grow up. I’m 99.9% sure no 21-year-old’s feelings are hurt by a 40-year-old saying their fashion choices are silly.

On the flip side, millennials are of that precarious age where we either accept that we’re no longer the young-shiny-thing, or we try to blend in as such for as long as our skin care and botox regime will allow. And any sign of failing to camouflage leaves us exposed for who we really are.

For your consideration: Would that be so bad?

Would it be so bad to be exposed as blessedly aged humans who’ve been gifted more time on this planet to sink into love, awe, laughter, resilience, and wisdom?

So this message is for you, millennials:

It doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter if you master a breath-free selfie video.

It doesn’t matter if you wear socks that fall below your ankle.

It doesn’t matter if you part your hair slightly to the left.

It doesn’t matter if you tuck the front of your shirt in a little.

It doesn’t matter if your jeans plaster themselves to your skin all the way down your leg.

It doesn’t matter if your eyebrows arch perfectly.

It doesn’t matter if your nails are square or round.

It doesn’t matter if you know what Harry Potter house you’re in. 

First of all, do you care if a 20-year-old thinks you’re cool? If that’s the bar for which you measure your relevance, I encourage you to seek resources that can help you find more valuable objectives to procure fulfillment.

A few of my favorite:

• Things That Matter by Joshua Becker

• The Paring Down Podcast by well, Me (shameless plug not sorry)

• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 

• Places of worship

• psychologytoday.com

Second, actively dismiss any influence that makes you question your validity based on appearance or age. This might look like:

• Unfollowing any account that threatens your contentment or confidence

• Evaluating the common ground in your friendships

• Consuming less media of any kind that feeds ageism and consumerism

And last, assess how you’re spending your time. Your time often reflects your values. How much time do you spend in front of a mirror? What are you buying, wearing, reading, or watching because it’s trendy? 

• Identify your own personal preferences and do more of that

• Find a cause outside yourself to care about (enough that it reflects on your calendar)

• Implement a one-month spending freeze on any clothes, beauty products, or makeup

• Donate a significant portion of your closet and see what contentment follows

I plan on continuing to giggle at millennial influencer videos of Lizzie McGuire inspired outfits currently on the rack at Target. And I will keep breathing when making reels and stories on Instagram. (I’m not even on TikTok and feel zero FOMO.) 

The ribbing is all good and well. As long as we take it for what it is: An inconsequential acknowledgment that we live on a planet full of humans born in different decades. All united by one single entity:

Taylor Swift.

(Hahahahahaha! Also it’s true. Bye!)