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A millennial vs a Gen Zer

Millennials and Gen Z truly have a sibling kind of relationship. They take turns teasing each other but in the end it's nothing but love between the two generations. One such viral taunting involved people saying that Gen Zers have aged like milk. Several Gen Zers themselves even agreed that people often mistake them for much older than they are. But that's neither here nor there.

Gen Z eventually fired back with their own commentary about how poorly millennials age. But millennial came with receipts to prove that this was beyond untrue. Millennial Chris Bautista uploaded a pretty savage video response to these young whippersnappers explaining why they feel that way.

According to Bautista, the answer is quite simple. Millennials set the bar for what aging looks like for people approaching middle age.

"I'm gonna say this a little bit louder for the Gen Zers in the back that didn't hear me the last time. Millennials look fantastic for our age and you cannot tell us otherwise," Bautista starts. "The reason why you think we don't look great for our ages is because we have set the new standard of what it looks like to age."

Then he pulls out the evidence. Pictures of celebrities who were the age Millennials are right now when the pictures were taken. Yikes! Most Millennials look nowhere near the age of the people in the pictures.

Watch the video:

@bautistud

This needs to be said for millenials 🫡 #millennialsoftiktok #genzvsmillenial #aging

Fellow millennials were quick to chime in with their guesses as to why they are the poster children for anti-aging.

"It's cause all millennials used the St. Ives peach scrub exfoliating wash and we achieved eternal youth," someone surmised.

"It's gotta be the Flintstone vitamins," another quipped.

"I don't know, I am 40 and got stopped at my son's high school security guard because he thought I was a student. No one ever believes my age," wrote a third.

A fourth shared,"But seriously like what's the reason? Cause this life has been stressful."

There are several theories as to why the anti-aging phenomenon has occurred. none of them actually involve Flinstones vitamins of St. Ives scrubs, but they do have that signature self deprecating millennial humor—from being the first group heavily indoctrinated to cosmetic "tweakments," to being depressed and therefore indoors all day, to simply having youthful energy due to never being able to truly grow up.

millennials, gen z. gen z vs millennials, anti aging, millennials and aging, aging, vaping, health A woman getting botoxPhoto credit: Canva

However, according to experts, it really comes down to millennials being among the first group to take the basics seriously. by basics, we mean, sunscreen (and somehow bypassing the anti-sunscreen conspiracy theory craze via TikTok) as well as hydration (hellooooo Stanley water bottles). Plus, millennials aren't as known to have a proclivity towards vaping, like the Gen Z counterparts. Sometimes it really comes down to the simple things.

millennials, gen z. gen z vs millennials, anti aging, millennials and aging, aging, vaping, health Millennials love their sunscreenPhoto credit: Canva

Regardless of aging it seems that the sibling banter between these two generation will remain alive and well forever and ever.

This article originally appeared last year.

@tyler.benderr/TikTok

If Gen Z thinks they won't be made fun of, they're delulu

As sure as the sun will set, the tides will rise and the seasons will change, so too will the once young and hip age group become all things cringe. Boomers and millennials can certainly attest to this. Gen X, not so much—but then again they’re used to being ignored.

And now it seems that Gen Z can also feel the inevitable approaching. Yes, already.

A TikTok creator by the name of Tyler, aka @tyler.benderr, recently posted a video playfully pointing out all the little quirks that Gen Z’s predecessors, Gen Alpha (those born between the early 2010s and mid-2020s) will make fun of in the coming years, writing that her age group was "next on the chopping block."

In the now-viral clip, Tyler pretends to be a Gen Alpha as she calls out well known Gen Zisms, like having an “era” for literally everything or giving strangers pet names like “bestie” and “queen.”

@tyler.benderr Were next on the chopping block gang #genalpha #genz #genzhumor #genalphahumor #millenialcringe ♬ Jazz Bossa Nova - TOKYO Lonesome Blue

Folks who watched couldn’t help but note how many Gen Z phrases will simply replace what’s currently being made fun of, which came with a sigh of relief from millennial viewers, who, especially as of late, have been relentlessly ribbed for everything from side parts to their self-deprecating humor to pausing before recording a video.

“‘I’m just a 23-year-old teenage girl’ is the new ‘adulting is hard,’” one person wrote.

Another added, ‘The it’s…for me’ is gonna be the new ‘I did a thing.’”

Pretty soon other suggestions came rolling in, like the way Gen zer’s start their videos with shaky cam, using the word “delulu” to mean being delusional and waving their hands in front of their face while screaming silently.

In other words, Gen Alpha will have a lot of “material to work with”, as one viewer pointed out.

Tyler ended up posting even more segments of her Gen Alpha persona ragging on Gen Z things, like their constant use of the words “girlypop” and “it’s giving,” as well as infantilizing themselves, vaping round the clock, and labeling any and all things into a “core.” Which is similar to the whole era thing. But slightly different…somehow.

@tyler.benderr Willing to bet money that gen alpha will hate on us for those headbands @Bloom Nutrition #bloompartner #genz #genalpha #millenialhumor #genzhumor #genalphahumor ♬ original sound - TYLER

Generational differences are a part of life, and social media has made it abundantly clear that what one age group finds cool will seem alien to those who came before them, and lame to those who come after.

Just look at Gen Alpha, already well versed in their own meme culture that many of us find confusing, and just a touch unsettling. Like, oh, I don’t know, evil singing toilet creatures set in an apocalyptic war, for example.

Totally bizarre to us old folks now, and soon will also be but a distant memory, the subject of another viral trashpost. Tis the circle of life.

All the more reason to not take ourselves too seriously.