Gen Z and Boomer finally agree on something: Millennials are the worst.
Millennials have learned to ignore Boomer retorts about how “lazy and entitled” their generation is. Not to mention the “they’ll be able to buy a house if they’d stop with their avocado toast and expensive coffees.” Not to mention the “you kids have it easy. Back in my day…” It’s easy to dismiss these insults. After all, we don’t live “back in the day” with no internet, affordable education, a larger job market, and only cable TV for video entertainment. The world has changed, not necessarily all for the better.
So when Gen Z began their roasts, Millennials could only say “Et tu, Brute?”
Gen Z Roasts Millennials
However, these insults can’t be as easily dismissed as the Boomers because some of them are painfully and hilariously true.
This iconic TikTok started the trend of bashing millennials. [1]
The comments all over TikTok joined the fun as well.
“And they say doggo.”
“All they do is drink wine, post cringey ‘90s kid’ memes, talk about tech start-ups, and lie.”
“Or that buzzfeed knows their favorite wine.”
“’Just gonna drink my coffee bleh :P’”
“Or people that still say adulting.”
“Millennials will attack you if you disrespect their Harry Potter house.”
“They’re worried about their Harry Potter house but they live in a 1 bedroom apartment… Y’all worried about the wrong house.”
“What about the ones that name their kids after video game characters?”
“Millennials be like: Yikes I’m adulting right now ugh I need to go get avocado toast!’”
““We get it, you’re a 90s kid.”
Twitter user @local_celeb screenshotted the comments to show them to the millennials on Twitter.
Many millennials are laughing with these roasts while others are taking offense, bringing up Gen Z’s faults, like their eating Tide Pods, cringe-worthy TikTok dances, and making the Paul brothers famous.
Credit where credit is due, these roasts nailed the Millennial love of nostalgia, especially from childhood. Many millennials entered the workforce during a major recession, so it’s natural to take comfort in the uncomplicated days of the past. And with all of the troubles in our world nowadays, it’s likely Gen Z will find their way to deal with it, and you’d better believe the next generation will roast them in turn.
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What are Gen Zs and Millennials?
It’s important to note that these names for generations are arbitrary. They were designed for marketing purposes and included populations too large to generalize properly. Just ask anyone born in the late-90s whether they are a Gen Z or a millennial. Most of them won’t have a clear answer because the cut-off between generations depends on the article you are reading. It shows how flimsy these labels are. However, most people buy into them, some with more intensity than others.
Still, these labels could help distinguish generational struggles and changes. But the more specific these claims become, the more untrue they tend to be.
This online roasting session isn’t the first fight against a generation. Last year, the “Ok, Boomer” meme went viral. The term was/is an insult to older people who seemed close-minded, resistant to change, and out of touch.
Some speculate that the meme appeared due to the years of Boomers spent blaming and dismissing younger generations.
For instance: “Millennials have faced extraordinary levels of student loan debt only to be told that they need to take unpaid internships or cobble together a living wage with part-time work, [and] when we dare to complain, the boomers tell us that in their day, they put in their time and we have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps,” says Caitlin Fisher, author of “The Gaslighting of the Millennial Generation.” [2]
“Yet the world they are leaving for us is a deck stacked against us. The minimum wage is not livable, health care costs are exorbitant (while many boomers rely on tax-funded health care programs and simultaneously tell us that socialism will be the downfall of society), living and education expenses are increasing far faster than wages keep up, and we’re tired of being told we aren’t allowed to complain.”
The Generational Divide
Because of this, countless millennials respond to the Gen Z insults with tolerance. After being accused of undermining homeownership, the diamond industry, department stores, the traditional 9 to 5, and relationships in general, they could laugh at some nudges about wine and avocado toast. [3]
Still, there was a sad result from the “Ok Boomer” meme.
As the world changes, there’s a deepening divide between the people who want it to stay the same and the people who want to change it faster. Unfortunately, these people are in the same workforce and often have to work side by side. The younger generations often feel frustrated and misunderstood by their older counterparts and vice versa. [4]
While jokes and memes are usually in good fun, they can take on an angry and mean-spirited edge that only worsens the divide. The best approach to change is real conversations. We all live in the same complicated world and we need each other to make things better. And hey, at least the 2010’s era of “Millennials Are Killing Everything” is finally over.
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References
- “Gen Z Is Coming for Millennials and We Deserve It.” Vice. Gita Jackson. June 16, 2020.
- “’OK boomer’ is dividing generations. What does it mean?” NBC News. Nicole Spector. November 6, 2019.
- “Here are all the things millennials have been accused of killing — from dinner dates to golf”. Market Watch. Kari Paul. October 12, 2017.
- “#OkBoomer Vs. #OkMillennial: Workplace Nightmare, Or Just A Meme?” NPR. Yuki Noguchi. November 18, 2019.