Some millennials surrendered in dramatic fashion, but many heeded the battle call. Armed with GIFs, verbiage, and videos, millennials asserted their dominance. The rivalry persists, sprinkled across social media and bubbling up in internet chat rooms. “Buzzfeed” took some of the blame. They spurred it on by documenting gen Z illustrations of “cheugy” millennial styles and then featured millennial responses. Read on for the beatdown.
Skinny Love
The generation wars went into high gear around March of 2021. Gen Z jabs at the older generation focused primarily on a handful of millennial stereotypes. A major battle offensive was launched against skinny jeans.
Millennials found themselves at the epicenter of mockery for wearing their favorite skinny threads. Many of them did not take it lying down (unless they were zipping up their jeans). This pushback against 'Mom jeans' rings more like a battle cry than a fashion statement.
Middle-Millennial
Come closer people, we have found it. The nitpicky epitome of pettiness. This girl totally identifies with millennial culture, even though she is borderline gen Z in age. Due to the raucous TikTok attacks by the youngsters making fun of side parts, she says she wants to part her hair on the side—out of spite!
This is even though she has a natural part in her hair that falls right down the middle. Those gen Zs sure rubbed some people the wrong way. But then so did gen M. Talk about following traditions.
Emails Are So Out
How do you spot a gen Z? Just send them an email. You probably won’t hear back. But if you do, it’ll be as short as a DM.
That’s because gen Z detests email. They never had to rely on it. To them, it is obsolete, and they do not acknowledge it as a legit form of communication. The "endless" back and forth on email and deciphering long, drawn-out threads is just...so extra!
Called Out By a 13-Year-Old
This millennial was called out by his gen Z cousin. Why? For owning VHS tapes. We've all tried to share things that made us nostalgic with the younger generation. Unfortunately, instead of being met with sympathy, this person got burned!
Well, this 13-year-old decided the throw the ultimate blow and call their cousin OLD. That V-H-escalated quickly!
A Rock and a Hard Place
Millennials feel like they are taking heat from both sides, sandwiched between baby boomers on the left and now gen Z on the right.
Venting her frustration, this person posted a GIF (a known millennial identifier) to show her disbelief that gen Z had successfully tagged her entire generation with the skinny jeans label. She’s also freaking out about boomers attacking gen M for canceling paper napkins. The tables are turned. Who doesn’t remember that it was millennials who went after the baby boomer generation with the “OK boomer” thing?
That Look
Creeping into our 30s is astonishing enough. But when people look around and see that others think you are really old, just for crossing the end of the 20s line, it is not a good experience.
Through the eyes of a younger person, being that age feels like the worst thing that could ever happen. Well buddy, do we have news for you!
The Late-1900s Is a Thing That Happened
Coming to terms with reality is not a walk in the park. This person is a teacher, and she could hardly believe what she read when a kid described something that happened barely 25 years ago as the “late 1900s.”
Maybe it would've been better if the student called it “the late 20th century.” At least it would be better for this teacher's ego!
If You Watch “Friends,” You Might Be a Millennial
Another teacher admitted she was confronted by an inconvenient truth. She realized that one of her favorite TV shows took place in the last century when a student pointed it out. Something that seemed full of warm and fuzzy memories suddenly burned with mortification.
Not only was the show so old that it took place in the 20th century, but it was also deemed “traditional.” In other words, old and for unenlightened people.
Gwen and Gen Z Don't Mix
Evidently, most millennials identify with “Just a Girl” singer from the ‘90s, Gwen Stefani. So, if they like something, gen Z, in swift knee-jerk fashion, must reject it. Just like the side part, skinny jeans, and the laughing and crying emoji, gen Z will oppose it.
So the equation is simple. Anything millennials like=uncool. We would argue that anyone who has anything against Gwen doesn't know what they're talking about but that might give us away so we'll stay mute on this one.
Comes Out Swinging
Ending an argument with “let that sink in.” A clear sign of fortitude. This tweet is laying it down! It is a known fact that fashion trends make comebacks every now and then. But here they take this regular social phenomenon and turn it into an insult. Good times.
Putting middle parts in their place, this tweeter claimed it was from her parents’ generation, where they got their hairstyle from. "Mom jeans," the gen X pick, come from boomers, she says. Throwing gen Zs in with the baby boomers is serious business.
A Gen Z Diss
Here’s another millennial dig from the mouths of babes. Millennials love to say, “I did a thing.” They totally admit it and keep using the expression. Gen Zs apparently hate it. Why?
It’s a trigger phrase alerting a gen Z that a millennial is in the room. The youngers also like to mock the elders for their "Harry Potter" fixation, so he suggested they go re-read the series again. It is something to do while they’re shutting their mouth.
Familial Betrayal
This person, a mother of a 15-year-old daughter, asked said daughter if she had ever heard of “Seinfeld,” the sitcom that sat at the peak of ‘90s comedy for most of the decade. It’s a great show, who wouldn’t think it’s a great show? Tell me, it’s a great show (extra Jerry).
Well, her kid could not say that it was good, bad, or indifferent. What she said is she heard it came from the *late* 1900s. As if the show is something she learned about in ancient history class. This girl has no chill.
Retro Doesn't Mean New
When a gen Zer sees something fresh on the internet, they think it is a brand-new thing. If old styles lay on new shelves, gen Z assumes that it is a cutting-edge look straight off the “cool” train. This person was responding to the Reddit request for over-30s to vent about annoying things gen Z does.
She said that they act like the things they wear or like are avant-garde, or something. Her coworker, who had never heard of ‘80s fashion trends, was decked out in a total eighties look, insisting it was a new fashion.
DJ Dilemma
Once looked up to for being cool, millennials have witnessed it slowly get ripped away. They see indications online in social media, but even when they leave the media sphere, they’ve been learning they must move over for the younger gen.
This person was at a dance club when she realized she wasn’t really invited. On that evening she heard where the cool was at. And it wasn’t with her gen, it was with the 2000s babies.
Breaking the News
Someone’s got to do it. In this case, it was her cousin who informed her that she was old due to the fact she was born in the last century.
So, here’s a girl who was born in the ‘90s who was wearing her birth year like an amulet. Sadly being proud of being a 90s baby is passé if gen Zers are to be believed. (Requisite sad face pouring tears emoji.)
Butterfly Effect
One person, sniggering about gen Z and their propensity to think they invented decades-old trends, talked about how absurd it all is.
*Discovering* butterfly hair clips? Thinking people need *instructions* on how to use them? Thinking *you* are the right person for the job? Just no. No to all of these. Another Redditor commented saying the younger gen will mix blue and yellow together and proclaim they invented a new color. “Blellow!”
A Different Perspective
This guy doesn’t seem to mind the younger gen making fun of millennials for owning VHS tapes or watching shows on TV during the pre-Netflix era, long before the streaming revolution commenced.
He empathized instead, making the point that gen Z missed out on the experience of viewing TV with commercial breaks. How could they understand the “high stakes adrenaline” rush, as he says it, getting back to the couch before the show came back on?
Some Are Sandwiched Between
It’s confusing! This is a problem for many kids on social media. Being born in the late-90s, it might feel like you are a millennial, you may have been identifying with millennials for years, but if you read the official categories of the two gens, you’ll find that “millennial” doesn’t officially end until 1996 births.
So, this person, as an “old” gen Z, which stretches from 1997 to 2012, feels, like many others, that they are forced to choose one. Millennial slang can be so annoying to her, that she would just rather be a Z.
Clapping Back in Cursive
With gen Z’s constant teasing, this millennial came up with a way to keep the youngsters at bay. He suggested writing in code. Nope, not morse code... cursive "code."
Cursive writing, deemed too extra at many schools in America, went out the window in 2010. The point is, that millennials used this education shortcoming to fire back to a post about skinny jeans and side parts. When life hands you lemons...
The Great Depression
Millennials like nothing more than venting about their hardships of growing up. Preferably on the internet. Preferably in meme/tweet form. This person took to Twitter to point out that the millennial word “adulting” has a deeper (and a more depressing) meaning.
As the saying goes "adulting is hard!" so any success no matter how small or seemingly insignificant is a massive win for millennials!
Hair Raising Questions
In the right corner, we have millennials parting their hair on the side. In the left one, we have gen Zers willing to rip them to shreds for it. And in the middle you have us trying to understand why people even have feelings about parting hair.
Here’s a millennial on Twitter who is FASCINATED that gen Zs are taking a ...side... in the side part rivalry between generations. Instead of an article, we need an in-depth research study to figure out why hair partings are such a big deal.
MY-SPACE!
Hey there little social media baby, why don't you take a quick history class before disrespecting your elders? MySpace was cool before Facebook existed. It was a badge of honor to have initiated your social media presence on MySpace (the operative word here being “was”).
Here is someone who was really not expecting her former MySpace days to lead to her downfall. We think she needs some space people!
Video (Games) Killed the Radio Star
You should be proud of your pastimes, regardless of your age. This millennial has been playing video games for YEARS. And hey, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, this must mean he could knock that mouthy kid out in a heartbeat thanks to his years of practice.
Any youngsters that like to make fun of him in the gaming chat rooms beware! You'll get the harsh reminder that you too will be 45 one day...
Rosé Gold
On Twitter, this gen Z took a swing at millennials by mockingly tweeting about how “cute” they are for being obsessed with wine. Zs love to laugh at millennials who go on about wine and coffee. This person also takes a dig at elders for being all-in on the rose gold.
Well, we think this youngster should stop wine-ing about the older generation. After all, it won't be long until they realize that they need a certain amount of alcohol and caffeine to make it through another week.
"Harry Potter" Hater
This person is brave. Or stupid. They took a shot at a precious piece of the millennial zeitgeist... "Harry Potter."
It's a formidable part of their identity. So much so that most millennials will proudly display their Hogwarts house in their social media bio. It's less of a Grffyndor signifier and more of an easy way to spot a millennial indicator.
Seedy CD Player
Car CD players were once a state-of-the-art new car perk. Now they're considered unusable junk in comparison to modern in-car sound systems.
Firstly, dear student, let's talk when you're old enough to drive and own your own car. And secondly, those students just need to wait a few years and their Bluetooth sound system will soon be extinct as well...Be warned!
TikTok Is Not Worth It
What is something annoying Gen Z does? This right here. This person posted to Reddit that he can’t stand it when the youngsters do stupid things to get views. Another Redditor who goes by “EvilDarkCow,” pointed out how dangerous it can be for TikTok kids.
He witnessed a guy on a bike who was talking into his phone mic saying, “Today we’re pissing off traffic.” Then, unbelievably, the kid pedaled out into the intersection. Honking, screeching brakes, angry drivers yelling, general mayhem, and this kid in the middle of it, lucky to be alive. All for TikTok clout.
Oh, the Horror!
Not wanting to be bunched in with the older gen is pretty common! This person was wondering if they too, would have to be shunted into the millennial crowd.
First, they love coffee, and then before they know it they're carrying one of those mugs around that say, "don’t talk to me until I’ve had my caffeine fix." Say it ain't so!
Sly Kids
Are you an original “Spy Kids” fan? Did you watch it in theatres? If so, you’re old. That's what this person's kids told her anyway.
It is also what those kids' kids will tell them when the time comes and they confess to having watched "Frozen" in theaters. That's just the way life goes and it's only a matter of time until the notion will sink in.
Guilty GIFS
GIFs have been on the internet for as long as they were invented. In the days when adding a video clip was a real difficulty because of internet speeds and file size limitations on social media, the GIF was as easy as posting a picture, but it said so much more.
Now, gen Z recognizes GIFs as something old people use. Ouch! They’re not going to use one just like they’re not going to use a cry-laughing emoji. This person came face-to-face (well, virtually) with a gen Z for using a GIF, and she couldn’t believe it.
Internet Intelligence
Some millennial complaints are age-old generic ones, like this person who is pointing out that experience is more valuable than random, questionable information you find online.
They also don’t like the fact that gen Zs rely on the internet for all their knowledge and seemingly value only what is found online compared with old-fashioned learning. Having said that, it is annoying to listen to someone who is basically ignorant, going on and on like they are an expert.
The Doggo Divide
Millennials will retreat on a few of the more cringe memes about them, but do not touch language like “doggo.” This is war. For gen Z, it’s open season and they'll go after the most endeared words of the millennial vernacular.
This gen Z tweet chuckles about how the older gen can be the tough guy in a chat room, but then calls cute canines "doggos." It’s not just him. Over on Reddit, for example, there is an entire page titled, “I hate when people say doggo and pupper.”
CD Player Pity
Gen Z never had the privilege of listening to their favorite song via a portable CD player or a boombox.
Gen Z kids’ parents might have a boombox laying around the house, and babes probably know what one is. But if they know one thing, it is that people who used them are old. This babysitter can testify to the fact.
A Double Whammy
She got called old twice in two days! First by a coworker and again by her son. The gen Z girl at work was pointing out what she thought was obvious. If someone uses email, they must be old.
How else would you know how to use it? But it took this social media user by surprise. Especially since she learned that only old people leave VMs the very next day, courtesy of her own kid.
Is This a “Your Mama” Joke?
This double dig associates millennials with the other generation the internet loves to hate. Baby boomers! According to @Paradoxology13, gen Z is cool because they’re being raised by gen X. But if your mama is a boomer, it shows and not in a good way.
It’s interesting that right smack dab in the middle of the battle, gen Z vs. gen M, there’s a mutual good guy. Gen X is cool by both generations while baby boomers fall somewhere between toxic poop and intractably annoying.
Did a Thing
“Did a thing” is an efficient and effective catchphrase of the millennial vernacular that they can use in all kinds of situations to explain that they did something they're proud of.
Others, ahem...gen Zs, cannot stand to see it. You won’t catch them saying she “just did a thing!” But what in the world is a cat cactus holder? Something only a millennial would buy.
It's Enough!
Here’s a tweet that disses Zers with a heavy snark tone. Right at the top,@SimoneauxMeagan starts her tweet with, “Listen. Gen Z is so cute.” You know it’s coming. But what is she going to go with? Kanye.
Gen Zs are such neophytes that they think the reality star rapper is more significant than an original member of the Beatles. For them, perhaps he is. Nevertheless, the tweet signs off with a litany of proud millennial associations.
She’s Got a Point
How does it make sense that millennials are called old? An embarrassing number of them are still living with their parents and paying off their student loans. An even bigger number of them have not hit the home ownership milestone.
We'd LOVE to see gen Zs try to buy a house these days! They would have Z-ero success...Ha Ha Ha.
Van Life
This gen Zer has a bone to pick with the footwear that millennials choose to wear. Apparently wearing Vans (the skater shoe brand) brand has an expiration date. Who knew?
Well, we wonder what this gen Z will be wearing when they turn 35...we have a feeling it'll be Vans! Only when that happens, they will have a different group of kids making fun of them.
Sarah Says
The funny thing about the gen Z vs millennial battle is that gen Zs will one day be in the same "old" spot that millennials find themselves in.
This person put the youngers in their place with this comment. Just wait, she says. And save for an unseen miracle, the sad part is that she’s probably right. “Enjoy it while you can” they warn.
In Defense of Skinnies.
By "this style" this millennial is referring to early 2000s low-rise bootleg jeans. Many millennials will roll over backward to keep their skinnies in their closet (even if rolling over backward in skinny jeans is impossible). This person took a different approach.
On Twitter, she says she feels underappreciated for her generation’s work to cancel the old, bejeweled flared jeans in order to introduce skinny jeans instead. There’s no need to kill skinnies. Posting a picture of those older jeans, she feels that if gen Z knew how skinny jeans came to be, they would have to be respectful. This is also known as “bargaining.”
Bully Burnout
For some, the assault by gen Z is tedious and unrelenting. This millennial is dishing a little snark but clearly wants to stay out of the way of TikTok gen Zs and their bullying tactics (which they say they learned from millennials).
Regardless, she is keeping clear of the prickly TikTok scene. Someone else commented on the tweet with the perfect meme. It features a bunch of triumphant gen Z kids beating up on a millennial kid who is flat on his back.
Excellent Communication Skills
Millennials shade gen Z for not knowing how to compose an email so here’s a millennial who knows how it’s done. She is proudly showing everyone the way she uses her best manners for on-the-job correspondence, so we should probably take notes.
It’s complimentary, self-deprecatory, patient, kind, and, frankly, a little too gushy. But we’re here for it because we think it is absolutely AMAZING that she is taking the time to share it, and we are saying this from the bottom of our hearts!
Drawing the Line
Do not call a millennial a boomer. Don’t do it. This person says it is the worst thing you can say about her generation. Yikes! But check this out. If you watch the now infamous Tik Tok video "I'm proud to be a millennial,” performed by what can only be an aging former high school drama student, it’s not just dumb, it is mortifying.
It’s not just cringy, it’s creepy. Even a millennial would throw up just a tiny bit in their mouth seeing it at this point. But then again, Tide Pods??
“Stop.”
Just stop. This tweet by this millennial tries to spare youngsters from making a decision they will regret. Deep inside, however, she probably wants them to fall flat on their collective faces.
We would LOVE to see gen Z in a rap battle against the self-titled "Rap God." Besides, it's only a matter of time until even younger kids make fun of whoever Gen Zers do look up to today.
To Cheugy or Not to Cheugy
"Cheugy" is a scary word for those who it is used against. It’s gen Z’s creation and it means you think you look cool, but really you’re passé, like a millennial in skinny jeans. It’s multifaceted, like any word.
Elders, in order to fend off the embarrassing label, have been coming up with ways to use it so as not to be tagged with it, like in this case. Another strategy this person pointed out is to use the word cheugy so that it would become cheugy to say it, and then the word can't be used against you. Genius!
TikTok Likes to Trigger Old People
One thing about gen Z is they like to be funny, and they think it is a lot of fun to trigger people. It’s over-the-line when it comes to consuming a detergent pod but wearing an iPod shuffle as a hair clip is a safe way to give a millennial a heart attack.
When it first came out on social media that the younger generation was calling the device “vintage” and making so-called better use of it, people responded like this guy. “When did I get so old?”
Noun or Verb
This is a clear reminder that gen Z's are quite young on the internet timeline. A trend that did not exist until the ‘90s was using nouns as verbs. It dates "all the way back" to the original LOL cat memes.
LOL cats were the first truly engaging phenomena that kids came across on the prehistoric world wide web, colloquially called “The Net.”
Founding Father Fashion
This is an exacerbated response to the relentless gen Z TikTok digs about wearing a side part.
This tweet, by someone who describes themselves as an elder millennial, proclaims that wearing a middle part would make them look really old, as old as the founders of the nation. You see what they did here? Middle parts are the oldest and therefore least cool. Ha!
Zzzzzz. Not Impressed
Here is a gen Z tweeting about millennial obsolescence. Gen Z never had a VHS tape or a cassette tape but they still know what they are. It's just that they do not care. These items are rubbish that are of no use to anyone in their opinion!
Well, it sucks for them because they'll never experience the strange wonder of rewinding a VHS tape.
A Self-Loathing Gen Z
There is that in-between area that some have commented about, feeling one way but technically falling in the age category of the other. The online rivalry has forced people to choose sides.
This person detests any association with millennials. But unfortunately, he falls into the generational category bracket of millennials. It’s hell getting old, and we are all going to learn that lesson if we haven’t already.
Pushing Buttons
Gen Z LOVES lampooning millennial lingo. The term “adulting” from the repertoire of millennial jargon became an easy target all over the internet.
By the time the rivalry between the two generations took hold, older millennials were far into their 30s. Being the only generation who has to struggle to make it in the world, besides, like, the great depression generation, it was a mean meme. How can they “adult” if they can’t even buy a house?
Laughing Until We Cry
Gen Z went after everything near and dear to millennial hearts. They even went after them for using the common laughing crying emoji.
Gen Zs decided that the emoji was too representative of older people, so they wouldn’t even use it, opting instead for the nonintuitive skull emoji. It makes sense to them because it indicates that someone died laughing. How lovely!