According to Google, George Orwell once said, “Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”
Millennials are currently at that crossroads: Young enough to show off their superiority to boomers/Gen X on Twitter, but old enough to no longer be the youngest of young adults. Gen Z has now claimed that title, securely in the 18-24 range. And as millennials are the ones who coined being afraid of “adulting,” that’s a slightly terrifying concept.
What’s even more terrifying, though, is that Gen Z is incredibly good at dunking on classic millennial traits like “adulting.”
Take this viral tweet full of body shots to millennials in the form of TikTok comments:
“They’ll be 34 talking about ‘i’m a hufflepuff’ like grow up and do a line of coke already lol”
“They’re worried about their harry potter house but they live in a 1 bedroom apartment….y’all worried about the wrong houses”
“I think every generation can agree that millennials are a mistake”
Oof. As a millennial/Gen Z cusper that definitely leans towards the end of the millennial generation (I was born in 1994 and yes, I know my Hogwarts house), I have to say these comments are both savage and correct. Like the comment about living in a one bedroom apartment — I wish I lived in a one bedroom apartment.
Some millennials, however, took the comments a bit personally, citing potential financial struggles for Gen Z and what the generation after them (current babies) will have in store in terms of insults:
Gen Z are in for a rude awakening. If Millennials are finding it impossible to own houses and hold down grown up jobs, it won’t get any better for the next generations
— Mary Tracy (@MaryTracy) June 14, 2020
Haha I’ll take being made fun of for Harry Potter houses any day over the relentless roasting the next generation is going to grill them with for TikTok. I don’t know if they realize how funny these lip syncing videos are going to be 10 years from now
— John Wolfe (@JohnWolfeYT) June 14, 2020
Members of Gen Z entered the chat, further roasting millennials for their wayward youths:
I’m literally so glad I’m not a millennial I’d way rather be associated with Tik Tok dances than whatever the hell this is pic.twitter.com/EioYIsrRtd
— Abby Govindan (@abbygov) June 14, 2020
I can understand some of the millennial frustration. Several of the insults, like about avocado toast, are the same insults thrown at us by older generations. Now we have to deal with it from people both older and younger than us? And how is Gen Z dunking on us so incredibly well?
it’s so brutal…. millennials invented cyber bullying but gen z perfected it
— Paul McCallion (@OrangePaulp) October 7, 2019
Ultimately, though, these comments are harmless. More jokes about avocado toast? As stale as that toast I’m allegedly eating but sure, bring it on.
Furthermore, now’s not the time for millennials to attempt to drag Gen Z back. Everyone should spend that energy fighting the injustices that have plagued every generation, and realize that these petty fights are a distraction. And really, what some of these millennials are saying is true: Current babies won’t stay babies forever, and they’ll have their own shade for Gen Z. By then, hopefully millennials will have saved enough money…for a one bedroom with a closet!
A few of these comments hit especially hard, but at least there’s one thing going for millennials: We’re not boomers.