We have finally gotten to this age.
Kids today don’t use words like “lame” to let you know when something’s uncool. No, no, no. Instead, they’ll say, “That’s so cringe.” Or more likely, they’ll type it as a comment on TikTok, because let’s face it, that’s where most conversations happen nowadays.
But you know what? One of the most incredible things about getting older is that you care less and less about what younger folks consider cringey.
Just take it from millennials, who have notoriously been on the receiving end of condemnation from every generation—be it the Gen Xers and baby boomers calling them entitled weaklings, or Gen Zers making fun of their side parts. Now Gen Y is all grown up, baby, and that means we don’t really care what anyone thinks! It also means that in our old age, certain beliefs are bound to just stick, even if they do become the next wave of “get off my lawn!”
Recently, millennials on Reddit were encouraged to “unite globally on these petty issues” by listing the silliest "cringe but correct" practices of their generation that were worth maintaining, no matter how often they’re ridiculed:
LOLS. They’re here to stay 😂
LOLs are harmless! media1.giphy.com
“I will forever maintain that using ‘LOL’ for anything that is not actually funny is an essential form of emotional regulation. The LOL isn't a laugh; it's a silent scream. It means, ‘I acknowledge this, I'm slightly annoyed, but I am responding with a pleasant, non-threatening digital sigh.’ It is the most valuable punctuation mark we have, perfectly capturing nuanced, passive-aggressive resignation.”
Other millennials were inclined to agree…
“lol is the most dynamic word/acronym that we have added to humanity. Way underrated lol”
“Millennials use ‘lol’ the way they used to use ‘stop’ in telegrams lol”
So is the “Millennial Pause.”
“The Millennial Pause is functionally useful, since it allows the viewer to orient to the video before you start talking. Seriously, how many videos have you had pop up that start talking before your brain says ‘oh, this guy is saying something,’ and you miss the first sentence?”
Millennials are going to wholeheartedly like things, and you can’t stop them.
Without enthusiasm, what are we even doing? media4.giphy.com
This might not be a millennial-specific thing, but rather a phenomenon that occurs as you get older and realize that the world is a vast and complex place, where you can almost always find a tribe of similarly impassioned people. Still, we’re claiming it.
“Unabashedly enjoying things and not being paralyzed by fear of being cringe.”
“My Z nieces try to bully me for enjoying things/being earnest, and it doesn’t work. I enjoy doing things I enjoy, and also say/emote what I am thinking/feeling without worrying about if I’m being cool or detached or ironic enough. I survived millennial middle school. You can pry my hard-won, unabashed sense of self from my cold, dead hands.”
“IT'S NICE TO LIKE THINGS! Seriously, surround yourself with people who won't judge you for authentically liking the things you like. Anyone else doesn't matter. They'll at some point. We all did.”
Not succumbing to fashion trends
Side parts are synonymous with timelessness. media3.giphy.com
Keep your coquette looks and insert literally any word-core. We don’t need or want it.
“My side part stays.”
(Apparently, side parts are cool again anyway. Further reason to just stick to what feels right—it will become in vogue again eventually.)
“I’ve spent a lifetime cultivating a wardrobe of flannels, jeans, and boots, I ain’t changing now.”
“You can pry my ankle and no-show socks off my cold, dead feet; there's no way in hell I'm going to go rocking a crew-sock farmer's tan just because you dumbass kids insist on dressing like my grandpa going golfing.”
“Once Gen Z guys start discovering their leg hair awkwardly disappears at the exact height they pull their tube socks up to they'll have realized their mistake.”
“Flared leggings aren’t a thing. If they have a flare they aren’t leggings. Yoga pants they are yoga pants and will always be yoga pants.”
“I will never give up comfort camisoles. If I ever have only one layer on, I have been replaced by a pod person.”
Not everything has to be high tech…
Unless we can get teleportation, we can maybe slow things down a bit. media3.giphy.com
“Stating your number when leaving a voicemail. Double points if you do it at the beginning and again at the end.”
“Big decisions and purchases are on big screens. Not my phone. How else am I going to open 50 different tabs for reviews and price comparisons?”
“Until one streaming service has every movie or show made and is readily available at all times, I will continue to collect and keep DVDs/Blu Rays of movies and shows I want to watch.”
“Not everything needs to be smart. I don’t need a smart windshield, smart glasses, a smart watch…I have a phone and a tv. That covers my needs.”
“The most useful tools ever created do not require an internet connection or a battery.”
“Paper menus are the correct way to order food when dining in. I am not scanning a QR code.”
…including cars
Cars don't need to be computers. They can just be cars. media4.giphy.com
“Screens in cars are ugly give me knobs and buttons.”
“They also seem more dangerous! Like, I should be able to feel around. If I have to look then My eyes aren’t on the road!”
“Better yet, give me the same exact layout across all makes/models for things like headlights and wipers. Nothing gets me frazzled like not knowing how to turn on basic safety functions because I had to use our fleet vehicle at work, or borrow someone’s car.”
“Cars peaked in the mid 90s to mid 00s. Now they're all ginormous, look the same, everything is an SUV with too many screens and sensors and computers to cost a fortune when they break. Power windows were the most technology needed. We used to have fun colors, makers experimented with new and weird body styles. I miss seeing station wagons everywhere.”
On that note, IRL purchases > online
Cher got it right. media1.giphy.com
“I refuse to buy everything online. Sometimes, you need the in-person store experience, so you can see how stuff actually looks and feels. I don't want a nice looking but scratchy af blanket or the painting that looked a different color online. I definitely don't want to wait weeks while I return it and get a refund to order another elsewhere and potentially have the same thing happen again. I just want to go to the store, buy it, and be done with it already.”
“Video rental stores are cool and good. Sure Netflix, Hulu, whatever HBO's service has been renamed to this week are more convenient but the simple joy of convincing my parents I needed to rent Richie Rich again is peak childhood.”
We WILL be using what we learned in grammar school. Unironically. Thanks so much.
Oxford commas are accurate, true, and correct. media2.giphy.com
“I will murder anyone who comes for my Oxford comma.”
“Idc what the cool kids are doing these days I am using capital letters.”
We still believe in dancing like nobody’s watching
If you don't wave your hands in the air, how will they know you don't care? media4.giphy.com
“I’m not doing that corny, lackadaisical, give them nothing dance that Gen Z does on TikTok to make themselves look like they are cool because they don’t care enough, I’m shaking my ass despite me never really learning how to. I don’t know why Gen Z is so scared of humiliation, but I’m glad that was never us.”
“I’m gonna put my hands in the air when I dance. Especially at a concert. Going to concerts where people’s hands are only in the air when they are holding their phones is crazy to me!!”
Finally, certain nostalgic bits of pop culture will have a forever home in our hearts
Sailor Moon was THE icon of our generation. Period. media4.giphy.com
“The OG Sailor Moon intro had no business being that catchy. It hits different.”
“‘Appointment’ television was more fun. Getting a good cliffhanger and having a week to talk about it with your friends before the next episode and you didn't have to deal with some jackass who has no life and binged the whole thing on 2x speed the second it was released. Waiting until September, when all the new shows and seasons would premiere. Fewer weird multi-year delays between seasons.”
There you have it. Go forth, millennials, and be your cringiest, most unabashed selves. Because no matter what generation you hail from, you only live once. Or YOLO, as we like to say.
Wash the dishes before I get home from bowling! Photo by 
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Two women chatting in front of a fire. Credit: Atlantic Ambience/Pexels
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