Millennials And Gen Xers Share Gen Z Trends They Absolutely Cannot Stand

I don’t know exactly when it happened, but at some point I crossed the line from “keeping up with trends” to “why are they doing that?” and there’s no going back. As an elder millennial, I’ve accepted that I’m officially old now. Not in years, but in vibes.

Every time I try to understand a new Gen Z trend, I either get annoyed, confused, or both. And I know I’m not alone.

These takes from fellow millennials and Gen Xers are equal parts hilarious and validating. Because sometimes it’s not that we don’t get it… it’s that we really wish we didn’t.

1.

“They are offended with feedback at work. I was schooled on this, and apparently, you need to praise them and tell them what a wonderful job they are doing before jumping into constructive feedback. Even for the smallest of things. Oh, and you can’t put a full-stop at the end of your sentence on chat, as it comes across as passive aggressive. They instead want you to end sentences with an emoji — it doesn’t matter which, as long as it’s not a period.” – Anonymous, 44

2.

“The youngest generations seem to have no interest in their family history. They don’t want any family heirlooms handed down. They have no curiosity about the lives led by the older adults in the family. They don’t sit down to just listen to elders’ stories. I fear when they are older (particularly if/when they start raising kids), they will start wondering about their ancestors, and what lives led to their own, but there will be no one alive to tell them. It’s part of one’s identity, putting your own life in perspective in a relay race of lives through the centuries. It’s also making history come alive through personal stories from people who lived through them — whether world wars, Vietnam, pandemics, civil resistance, economic crashes, love stories, family tragedies…the list goes on.” – Anonymous

3.

“I swear, Gen Z does not own any regular pants. Almost every younger person I work with shows up in pajama pants on a regular basis, like they just rolled out of bed and showed up like that. I don’t think it’s any sort of style; I think it looks slobbish and unprofessional, like they just don’t care about themselves. Maybe it’s a side effect of the pandemic era, but we aren’t on pandemic time anymore. And it’s not just coworkers; I see it all the time with young kids in public. My parents would have NEVER let me go out looking like that! It’s the first time I’ve ever felt any real generational gap, and it’s something as avoidable as actually looking like you care enough to do the bare minimum!” – Anonymous

4.

“One of the things that worries me about the younger generation — specifically Gen Z and Gen Alpha — is the amount of screen time they get. I don’t blame them as much as I do the parents. I see parents constantly giving iPads to kids to keep them quiet. This is a quick fix for the moment, but it’ll end up causing an issue years later, when all that kid wants to do is be glued to their phone. It’s really sad how many events I go to and see parents glued to their phone while their kids are right next to them. Put the phone down and talk to them! Seriously, they grow up so quickly, and you’re really missing out. I struggle with it myself, but I try and take my kids for at least a quick walk a few times a week, and we just leave our phones at home.” – vibrantdolphin59

5.

“Going online and intentionally rage-baiting other people, either in videos or comment sections, and then automatically playing the victim. So many Gen Z’ers will intentionally go online and troll others, and then when someone gets sick of it and calls them out, it’s ALWAYS either ‘OMG, it’s not that deep. Chill’ or ‘You can’t talk to me like that; I’m a child.’ No. The majority of you are adults, and you all have access to Google. Do 30 seconds of research, or take accountability when you get called out on your lies instead of playing the victim with everything! Millennials tried warning you and protecting you all so you wouldn’t get treated as horribly as we did, and instead, you became insufferable and uneducated.” – Anonymous, 32, Florida

6.

“FaceTiming for every single phone call, in every public space. It’s rude and obnoxious AF. No one wants to hear your inane chatter to some other idiot about idiot things.” – Anonymous

7.

“Wearing sweats or pajama pants to everything! And I mean everything — baby showers, graduation parties, hanging out in general, and GOING OUT! They will look back and pictures and think they look like slobs! It kills me seeing kids in pajama pants, going to hang out with families and or friends in public. Put on some jeans.” – Anonymous, 40, Kansas

8.

“Vaping. It’s just a more chemical-filled version of smoking, while altering the ‘flavour.’ Bonus points if it’s a cherry-flavored vape specifically, because they literally smell like burning cough syrup.” – Anonymous, 33, USA

9.

“Their inability to make or maintain eye contact. When they talk to you, their eyes are usually looking at some point over your head, and when you pass a Gen Z’er in the hallway, they’re either looking at their phones or straight ahead, never at your face.” – Anonymous, 61

10.

“The fact that they aren’t concerned about learning how to do anything manually. One day, digital will suffer a heart attack and they won’t have a clue of what to do, how to live, improvisation, nothing. If it’s not on TikTok, they don’t need to know about it.” – Anonymous, 59, Atlanta, Georgia

11.

“Referring to everything as ‘trauma.’ I’m a clinical psychologist, and I promise, not getting into your first-choice college is NOT a traumatic experience.” – Anonymous, 37, Maryland

12.

“How glued they are to their phones. They’re missing out on life, critical thinking skills, and basic communication because they don’t know how to survive without their cell phones. And meanwhile, they can’t make a phone call with having a panic attack.” – Anonymous, Canada

13.

“Most levels of conflict can be solved by intelligently solving the problem instead of complaining, and I find some younger people don’t understand this. No, you’re not damaged. No, you might not actually need counseling. No, I’m not apologizing for calling out your bad behaviour when you do something wrong. Stand up, be the better person yourself, and fix the dang problem!” – Anonymous, 38

14.

“I’m an elder Gen Z’er, and I can’t stand all of the weird-a** lingo my generation comes up with and insists on using. Just…why? And why do we have to make up new words and phrases that make no sense, or worse, shortening words until they feel unintelligible? Like ‘rizz’ instead of ‘charisma.’ What’s wrong with the word ‘charisma’? We sound stupid, and history will remember it that way. I thought we all agreed to be less annoying than the millennials were at our ages. We are failing miserably at that. So embarrassing.” – Anonymous

15.

“Using the word ‘she’ when describing an inanimate object. No, that is not a ‘she’! That’s a damn purse made to hold things. It’s not alive!” – Anonymous, 48, Florida

16.

17.

“Everything being ‘amazing.’ It’s their favourite word, and they use it to describe anything. How can a sandwich be amazing? Did it jump off your plate and sing a song? THAT’S amazing. Being a tasty sandwich isn’t amazing; it’s just a damn sandwich.” – Anonymous, 50, Oregon

18.

“Chunky shoes! The platforms are okay, but the oversized shoes are just too much with the oversized pants.” – Anonymous, 28, Oregon

19.

“Sending individual texts with a single word, instead of sending one text with a complete sentence. Infuriating.” – Anonymous, 42, Ohio

20.

“Using the phrase ‘sus.’ You sound stupid, and it isn’t cool. Just say the whole word. You’ll sound more intelligent that way.” – Anonymous, Gen X

21.

“I notice whenever I walk into a restaurant and the host is young, they’ll always give a blank stare without saying anything. Then, they’ll just walk away, expecting you to just follow them. Use your words.” – Anonymous, 63, Wisconsin

22.

“When someone says ‘thank you,’ your response should be ‘you’re welcome.’ Why is this so hard to say? Instead, Gen Z’ers ALWAYS respond with ‘of course.’ What the hell kind of response is ‘of course’? Of course what?! Say it with me: ‘You’re welcome.’ See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” – Anonymous, 53

23.

“Not using any punctuation when they’re typing or texting. Punctuation exists for a reason — for the love of god, use it!” – Anonymous

24.

“Wearing band T-shirts without knowing the artist. If you don’t have a clue who they are, don’t wear it! My Gen X brain says that if you didn’t see their concert, don’t wear their merch!” – Anonymous

25.

“Hating on our generation, but then using our music in your little TikTok dances. Stop and listen to the lyrics of our songs and you might learn something about us that will surprise you.” – Anonymous, 52, Michigan