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millennials vs gen z

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Elder millennial reveals what people get wrong about her generation in the 2008 recession

She also theorizes this is why Gen Zers might have a harder time.

Photo credit: Canva

Millennials have already been through one. Could another be on the way?

Social media is teeming with theories that a recession similar to 2008 is upon us. For millennials specifically, this time period helped give them the nickname of “the unluckiest generation” as it affected student loan debt, the impossible feat of buying a home and starting a family, and the lack of available jobs—especially ones worthy of those expensive degrees.

And yet, Jenna Rohlfing, 39, argues that people get "millennial culture” during this time, really, really wrong. Why> Primarily because people don’t take into account how a lack of social media actually made a lot of the struggle much easier to navigate, which could be concerning news for Gen Zers.

In a video posted to her TikTok, Rohlfing first depicted the scene for many millennials during 2008. Yes, they had to provide their own health insurance (or go without health insurance and hope for the best), as well as pay for their rent, but what they weren’t buying were cosmetic procedures, high end hair products, skincare and makeup…i.e. the things that are marketed to Gen Zers on a daily basis.


@jennaleighstl We were ugly and poor in our Forever 21 club gear. Okay? #millennials #millennialsoftiktok #momsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Jenna-Millennial Mom


“If you had ‘nice’ makeup, you might have gotten it at Clinique but your mom was buying it for you,” she said.

In an interview with Newsweek, Rohlfing expanded on this idea, saying that millennials, most of whom only made around $40K at the time, “didn't have large-scale social media to influence us into purchases or compare our lives to other people,” whereas Gen Zers, who grew up fully immersed by technology and influencer culture, “face a lot more pressure both socially and economically to keep up."

Judging by the comments, Rohlfing is certainly not alone in her thinking.

“Millennial culture was less status obsessed.”

“Real. ‘How did you survive?’ Maybe because there was no influencer culture and we could be poor in peace.”


Poor Help Me GIFfrom Poor GIFs


“We weren’t being influenced to buy something new everyday.”

“I think one of the best things about the 08 recession was we didn't realize what we were missing. No social media to rub it in our faces.”

Furthermore, what was considered healthy during 2008 was drastically different than today, Rohlfing argued. Back in her day, noshing on cheap “Lean Cuisines” was perfectly acceptable, whereas today there is more pressure to buy organic produce.

“We had a real $1.00 menu. THat’s how we survived lol,” one millennial quipped.


Kinhkills Mcdonalds Memefrom Kinhkills Memes


“No pilates, no group exercise classes, you had a DVD of some cardio nonsense and maybe a $30/month gym membership and no cute workout sets!” another said.

Still another recalled, “I remember once paying for a McDouble and a McChicken with a Ziploc bag of dimes. DIMES.”

In essence, Rohlfing seems to be saying that, by and large, millennials weren’t up against the same levels of consumerism that many Gen Zers face today, making whatever possible recession looms already a different animal altogether.

According to some experts, the recent tariff announcements and escalating tensions between the U.S. and trade partners indicate not the return of a recession, but of stagflation, which is a combination of two undesirable economic conditions—high inflation + slow economic growth. You can also add high unemployment rates to the mix. This is also a different factor from 2008's situation.

But, really, now that we are all in a social media driven world full of pop-up ads everywhere you look, every generation can probably benefit from really aligning purchases with their priorities during this time. For millennials, those priorities probably align with some kind of Disney memorabilia.

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Joy

Man lists things millennials grew up with that Gen Z would be outraged by

"Imagine telling them that their free unlimited minutes only started after 9:00 and on the weekends."

Dwight Thomas|TikTok

Things Gen Z would be outraged by that were normal for millennials.

There will likely always be some kind of playful generation war going on between older and younger generations. This time it's a millennial throwing what some may deem as truth bombs at Gen Z, seemingly unprompted. (Well, it could be that he's upset that Gen Z is getting all the credit for being tech savvy since the majority of his complaints were technology related.)

Dwight Thomas uploaded a video to TikTok listing things that millennials grew up with that the generation below him would be outraged by. As someone who would be considered an elder millennial by some people, I'd have to agree. The man makes some valid points about things we experienced as teenagers that would likely make teens today aggressively send out Change.org petitions.

"These new-age kids will never understand the struggle. Imagine telling them that their free unlimited minutes only started after 9:00 and on the weekends," Thomas says into the camera.

He goes on to talk about trying to have a love life during those times. Since phone access was restricted, you had limited time to woo anyone after school, which meant the alternative was attempting to do it during school hours. But that was also a problem because teachers were kind of tattle-tales back then, according to Thomas.

"It's not even like you could talk to your friends at school 'cause they would call your house and tell your mama that you didn't care about your education and you wasn't trying to learn," he complained. "Because all you come to school for is to sit around and talk to your friends."

Honestly, the video is causing flashbacks, especially when he talks about teachers intercepting love notes and reading them in front of the class. Thomas jokes about how millennials were making history with their self-taught coding skills on MySpace while the younger generation has the help of AI. The entire video is full of head-nodding moments if you grew up a millennial, or like me, a Xennial. Watch it below.

@therealdthomasforreal

We was out here making history! But go off though..

This article originally appeared on 6.1.23

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Pop Culture

Millennial asks Gen Zers what they do for fun, and the answers are surprisingly different

There's something very different about Gen Z

@ashleyteacozy/TikTok

Every generation has it's own flavor of fun

The coming of age era known as your twenties are a time for experimentation, branching out, learning about different aspects of yourself, and of course, having stupid fun.

Of course, every generation's definition of fun varies. Just what might Gen Zers, those who navigated their teenhood through TikTok and basically came of drinking age during a global pandemic, do to elicit feelings of fun?

Thirty-two year old (read: millennial) Ashley Tea wondered this very thing. In a video that went viral on TikTok, she shared "I genuinely think millennials got to have a way better time than Gen Z does."

Millennials are already nostalgic about how they used to have fun 

Tea then reminisced about her own experience of being “an emo kid in 2005,” going out to clubs, bars and restaurants with her friends having a “fun, great, trashy” time.

That simply wouldn’t be financially feasible in today’s economic landscape, Tea noted, leaving her “mystified” as to how today’s college age adults might enjoy themselves.

So again, Tea posed the question: “ it's a Friday night, a Saturday night…What do do? Where do you go?”

gen z, cheap things to do for fun, fun activities

Ashley Tea wants to know how young people are having fun

@ashleyteacozy/TikTok

Thousands of Gen Z people responded with how they have fun and their answers were unexpected

The responses to Tea’s question, and their answers were…illuminating, to say the least—and certainly different than how she spent her early 20s.

For starters, Tea’s joke about “Gen Zers not having any fun at all” rang true for many people of that age group.

“As a 23 year old: I don’t have any fun, hope that helps!” quipped one person.

Another joked, “sometimes I sit outside if I'm feeling extra.”

gen z, cheap things to do for fun, fun activities

"Sometimes I sit outside if I'm feeling extra."

@ashleyteacozy/TikTok

One obvious factor behind this is finances. With everything being far more expensive, many Gen Zer’s simply cannot afford to have a social life that resembles earlier generations.

“As a 21 year old, the economy makes it difficult to have fun that way, I work 40 hours weekly and I’m either too tired or can’t afford it,” one person wrote.

Another reason, which isn’t maybe as obvious, is surveillance. Tea noted that a lot of young people said that since either “parents can track their phones everywhere” they are deterred from doing things that could get them into trouble. Perhaps that’s a win for safety, but there is something to be said about excessive levels of control.

Then of course there’s the pandemic, which sucked the fun out of everything big time.


“I got ROBBED of my early 20s bs COVID started when I was 22 😭 Nwo things are normal but all the good bars and clubs in my area didn’t survive the lockdown,” one person wrote.

Plus a lack of third spaces to gather, leaving very little options beside staying home and scrolling on TikTok.

However, it’s not all gloom and doom, Tea discovered.

@ashleyteacozy

im genuinely curious

♬ original sound - Ashley Tea

For one thing, Gen Zer’s don’t “glorify binge drinking” nearly as much as millennials and Gen Xers. According to a study held at the University of Michigan, many are forgoing booze entirely. Part of this comes down to Gen Zers prioriotizing health and wellness more than previous generations. And the other, again, is the cost.

When Gen Zers do actually have fun, it tends to lean towards more wholesome activities, like house parties (sometimes even themes house parties) and crocheting. Lots and lots crocheting apparently.

gen z, cheap things to do for fun, fun activities

Grocery stores are the new clubs.

@ashleyteacozy/TikTok

gen z, cheap things to do for fun, fun activities

Love that self care is considered entertainment these days.

@ashleyteacozy/TikTok

gen z, cheap things to do for fun, fun activities

Fitness groups are a new way people are finding friends

@ashleyteacozy/TikTok

gen z, cheap things to do for fun, fun activities

Coffee shops instead of bars? Sign me up!

@ashleyteacozy/TikTok

So maybe things look quite a bit different for Gen Z than millennials or other generations

That’s not entirely a good or bad thing. And it’s definitely to be expected in some ways. The struggle of rising costs and limited opportunities to form connections and have fun are undeniably issues that must be addressed. But the fact that Gen Zers are leaning into their creativity is worth noting too. And it makes it clear that even though it might not look like it, there is still fun to be had.


This article originally appeared on 1.12.24

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Humor

Club goer's experience has people wondering what Gen Z is doing with their hands while dancing

"You know what's giving away your age? You keep putting your hands up."

Gus Rosas|TikTok

Millennials are debating where Gen Z puts their hands while dancing

Look, going to the club after 30 is not for the meek...or those of us with bad knees from Snoop telling us to drop it like it's hot too many times in the early 2000s.

So walking through the doors to let your hair down after a long week only to be reminded of how old you are can be discouraging. But one Millennial club goer's recent experience has people scratching their heads.

Gus Rosas, a Millennial on the younger side at just 32, told his TikTok followers how he found himself in a strange predicament while at a dance club. He explains that he was dancing with a girl in her early 20s at a club in Los Angeles when the girl kept telling him to put his hands down.

"I was dancing at the club last night with this girl and she was like, 'you know what's giving away your age?' She was like, 'you keep putting your hands up.'"

This revelation has commenters extremely confused. What on Earth is Gen Z doing with their hands while they dance? Are they just doing TikTok dance trends on repeat? If there's no trending dance to the song playing do they do the Snoopy and "Charlie Brown" leg shuffle thing with their arms glued to the sides? We elder Millennials have questions.

"But how will anyone know if I'm a true player if I don't throw my hands in the air," one commenter writes.

"Sir, I cannot shake it like a polaroid picture with my hands glued to my sides," someone says.

"How do you point to the window then to the wall," a person asks.

"Even Miley Cyrus puts her hands up when they're playing her song," another person writes.

@goodforthegooch

#millenialpause #toooldfortheclub

You see where this is going. Millennials have been instructed for decades to put our hands in the air while dancing and now it simply shows we are the old people in the club. But honestly, I'm invested in finding out what a club full of Gen Zers looks like because if it's a "Charlie Brown" dance party, I think we Millennials will continue to heed the instructions in the songs.

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