A rumor is spreading on TikTok that people born after 1995 appear older than Millennials. A generation expert explains.
“Did you know that Gen Z is aging faster,” a millennial podcaster says to her friend. “No wonder, they are online all the time, chronically depressed and stressed,” she responds to the TikTok rumor. TikToker Jordan reacts to this statement. Over 23 million people have already seen his reaction.
“Yeah, it’s mostly the stress,” Jordan says, filming himself in the bathroom mirror. He is 26 years old and therefore part of Gen Z. Other people thought he was over 40. He is not alone: “Today people from Gen Z seem much older and Millennials seem much younger,” he claims. Is that correct? BuzzFeed News Germany, a portal from Ippen.Media asked the generation researcher Rüdiger Maas. He also made us a phenomenon Clutter Core an assessment was given.
- Generation Alpha: 2010 – 2024
- Generation Z: 1995 – 2009
- Generation Y (Millennials): 1980 –1994
- Generation X: 1965 – 1979
- Baby Boomers: 1950–1964
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Gen Z seems older than Millennials: “This is new, it’s never happened before”
“Gen Z has always been 'older-looking'. That's part of her description. Not only does she seem more conservative and conventional than Gen Y, she actually is. We were able to prove this in many studies,” confirms Maas BuzzFeed News Germany. Of course, he is not talking about biological age, which depends on other things, but rather about mental age or external perception.
The majority of Gen Z are less progressive, creative or innovative than their predecessors. An example of this is the Trad Wife Trending on TikTok. “Gen Z is much more closely connected to their parents than Millennials,” says Maas. “The members often adopt their parents’ values – which makes them seem even more conservative and conventional.”
In science, this behavior is referred to as “neo-conventionalism”. The problem is that there is less differentiation from the previous generation. “This is new, it has never happened before,” says the generation expert.
Gen Z has always been “older-looking”.
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“In the end, Gen Z are very rule-compliant, which also makes them seem older.”
In areas such as work and leisure, Gen Z's “mental” age can be seen in the fact that everything has to be predictable. “Safety is the top priority and ideally everything is pleasant, snackable and quick to implement,” says Maas. “If something doesn’t work, we immediately switch to something that is even simpler, safer and more predictable.” Of course, that could also be a stress factor
“In the end, Gen Z are very compliant and often stick rigidly to the guidelines, which also makes them seem older,” says Maas. In his opinion, this happens as a result of striving out of insecurity, not as a result of a higher level of maturity. “So Gen Z has always seemed older than Millennials, but not necessarily more mature.”
Maybe just the outfit: “The difference is that Gen Z and Gen Alpha dressed much more maturely in their childhood, while Millennials still wear their 1992 Lion King shirt without any irony,” one person commented on TikTok . Instead, they probably rely on them Mob Wife Aesthetic and bring back leopard print.
Here are 16 things Gen Z does that Millennials can't handle
#Gen #feels #expert #agrees
