Gen Z called out 5 things Millennials do that are 'cringe' — and the internet wasn’t ready for the answers

When 32-year-old Lea asked her younger sister what makes Millennials "cringe," she expected a playful jab. Instead, the Gen Z response was so specific and unfiltered that it left Lea and the internet reeling. Lea, who goes by @laughinglea on TikTok, told Newsweek, "I asked my sister to tell me all the things that are cringey that we Millennials do, because I started getting some comments on my videos that I was cringey and 'Millennial core.' I had no idea what that meant. I thought I was young and cool, so I had to find out more." The video, posted on April 25, has over 1.5 million views and 41.9k likes.

Lea's younger sister didn’t hold back. She started with fashion, saying that even the classic French tuck makes Millennials look dated. From there, it moved to the little mannerisms — Pulling ugly faces for humor, peace sign pouts, and hashtags like "#ThrowbackThursday" or "#blessed" were all branded cringe. Even the Millennial pause at the start of videos and carefully edited clips were called giveaways of an older generation. What shocked Lea most was how different the clubbing scene looks now. She admitted, "I can't believe we are not tucking in our clothes! The most shocking one is how clubbing culture has changed — I go more into this in my other videos but it's so interesting how both Covid and technology have played such a huge part in shifting culture; especially in drinking culture."

Her sister told her that while Millennials once dressed to the nines for a night out, Gen Z prefers trainers and jeans. Moreover, Lea says dancing with your arms above your head is also embarrassing for Gen Z. "They're not dancing either. No waving your arms in the air like you don't care. Arms down low. You should watch them in the club; they are not dancing." Lea said she wanted to share the list because "it's absolutely fascinating and I knew other Millennials would be as shocked and intrigued as I was. I'm blown away by the reaction — thousands of comments from both Millennials and Gen Z-ers sharing their experiences and views, I love it. I am now doing more videos on changes in our culture."

Researchers say this reflects a deeper shift in cultural values. Dr Carolina Are, social media researcher at Northumbria University’s Centre for Digital Citizens, says most Gen Z conversations about millennials being uncool happen online. "Being online always means mediating oneself through an app or platform, meaning that real authenticity is hard to come by, even for those who claim to be 'no filter'," she told The Guardian, "However, while millennials went through years of polished feeds and aesthetics, only showing our best highlight reels and caring about our online persona, gen Z seem to have settled on aesthetics that are a form of understated and chaotic curation." 

Viewers — mostly millennials — gasped while listening to the video, and the comments that became a generational debate of their own. @scousemouse85 wrote, "We weren’t allowed to wear trainers into clubs; they wouldn’t let you in. Fully dressed up and in heels you can’t even walk in, then you ain’t clubbing properly." @bellaslittlecakery1 said, "So worried about appearances and being 'cringe,' they’re not living life. Boomers and early Gen X all over again. I’m on my way to a ’90s day event with my girls — we’re gonna be dancing!" @laurak1984 wrote, "I can honestly say I was never bothered by other generations when I was Gen Z age. They’re weirdly obsessed with us."

You can follow Lea (@laughinglea) on TikTok for more funny content.

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