After the boomers, the war between the young generation Z and the Millennials

The so-called "young people of today" are perhaps already "old fashioned men of yesterday".

While some are indignant at an electoral campaign mocking the generation of "boomers", on social networks, and especially TikTok, two generational camps are opposed in a new war: on the one hand, the Millennials, on the one hand. another generation Z. A struggle that rages on the field of clothing or hair fashion, but sometimes also extends to deeper and more political areas.

For the older generations, it is probably difficult to see the difference between these two generations of "young" both connected.

However, Millennials (or Generation Y), born between the years 1980 and 1995, are already considered by some as "old".

They saw the beginnings of Facebook and the end of MSN Messenger.

Today, they are already well established in their adult life, sometimes approaching their forties.

The young people of Generation Z, or Zoomers, on the other hand, have more of the codes of today's dominant social networks, namely Instagram, Snapchat, and, more recently, TikTok, with its share of influencers and sponsored publications.

In 2021, they are still teenagers, young students, and even, for the oldest of them, new to the job market.

Too tight jeans and dated emojis

The war between these two generations has swelled on TikTok, the favorite app of the youngest, where dance videos, humor, as well as political or sociological comments are multiplying.

First observation: it is above all a question of fashion and appearance.

Generation Z, for example, likes to make fun of their elders' too tight "skinny" jeans, the parting of their hair on the side, their obsession with Disney and Harry Potter, or even the emojis they use to communicate. online - the “crying laughter” emoji is definitely outdated.

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In short: for the "Zoomers", the Millennials, although connected, are a bit old-fashioned. "For me, it is those who knew the beginning of technologies, who started to grow with it but whose impact was much less strong than for Gen Z", develops Clara *, a 17-year-old high school student based in Parisian region. “I suspect that the socio-economic context of the time had a lot to do with their culture. But I have the impression that today they are between the

young

and the

outdated

. For example, they still use Facebook, ”she says, implying that the social network is now from another era.

The debate over hairline and skinny jeans is so intense that it has been the subject of a survey by the YouGov platform in the United States, in order to verify if these fashions - as well as the wearing of bobs and bananas, brought up to date by the Zoomers - are well… fashionable, depending on the generations.

Result: the majority of Y and Z say they are rather tolerant of most of these trends, except for the fanny pack, unanimously condemned down to the baby boomer caste.

Political disagreements

However, online, the "fight" is there.

Faced with mocking teens, Millennials respond with their own stereotypes of the enemy camp, describing this generation as immature, because of its dangerous online challenges (like pushing young people to bite into laundry capsules) and obsessed with dancing. TikTok and the fashion of the 2000s. Recently, the video of a Millennial (now deleted) unhappy to see Gen Z take on rapper Eminem went viral on the platform.

The object of the discord?

Words of the singer, who, for the youngest, would trivialize domestic violence.

Gen Z boycotts Eminem on TikTok, rapper responds with new clip

👉 https://t.co/PhseVY3iQA pic.twitter.com/KPgJIsXUAA

- Konbini France (@KonbiniFr) March 9, 2021

Because sometimes, this generational opposition also takes political and societal contours. Feminism, discrimination, environment… A part of the gen Z also reproach their elders for not being sufficiently committed on questions of society. "We have a culture very marked by

memes

[a subject taken up, diverted and declined en masse on the Internet, Editor's note], network trends .. and by extension this ubiquitous use of the Internet pushes this generation to be more open and more tolerant. We find ourselves confronted online with many differences, much more than in the street and that plays a lot on mentalities ”, defends Clara, who sees this“ as a good thing ”.

Like many younger generations before them, the Zoomers embrace causes early, and mobilize quickly. "They lead many fights against police violence, against racism, we see that a lot on social networks", says Doriane, 25-year-old community manager based in Ile-de-France. “For example, last summer, young boys tried to fight against the ban on wearing short clothes in high school by putting them on themselves. It is a fight that we first saw on social networks, which had taken on TikTok, ”she explains. The operation, entitled # Lundi14Septembre, had also been condemned by the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer.

It was also on Tiktok that a surprising operation was launched last June: anti-Trump K-Pop fans en masse reserved seats at one of his electoral campaign meetings.

The goal?

Make entire galleries empty to humiliate the president.

Two generations in difficulty

“Gen Zs are very loyal to their values ​​and to social causes that are meaningful to them,” Judge Vickie Cook, professor of education at the University of Illinois, “They are more likely to talk about issues of mental health, face greater anxiety than Millennials.

They are more likely to act to change a culture than the Millennials, ”explains the teacher, who has focused her research on the learning differences between the two generations.

But for some, these generational divisions do not really apply.

“This is the most stupid fight I have ever seen,” judges an American tiktokeuse, Marie, who is part of the Millennials camp.

With the 2008 crash, the 2001 attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic, "these two generations are both in the m ** of", she thunders facing the camera.

“It's all very superficial, it's mostly humor,” says Doriane.

“It's funny enough to be on one side or another‚ but behind it there is no resentment.

It serves above all to define oneself ”, continues the 25-year-old Francilienne, who considers herself rather“ between the two currents ”.

To read also "Ok boomer": when young people discriminate against old people

On social networks, another concept has also emerged to define young people "stuck" between Generation Z and Millennials.

This hybrid generation, according to Internet users, both masters the cultural references of the early 2000s, but is familiar with the Internet codes of the 2020s. Its name?

Zennials, or Zilliennials, born between 1995 and 2000. “Many people, according to research, are actually

transitional

, they follow trends and have beliefs from two generations,” confirms Vickie Cook.

Proof that these concepts are as fluctuating and malleable as a viral and ephemeral fad on TikTok.

* The first name has been changed.