As of: February 9, 2024, 5:03 a.m
By: Jana Stabener
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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’re 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 generation researcher Rüdiger Maas.
He also gave us an assessment of the clutter-core phenomenon.
Generation Alpha: 2010 – 2024
Generation Z: 1995 – 2009
Generation Y (Millennials): 1980 –1994
Generation X: 1965 – 1979
Baby Boomers: 1950–1964
More on the topic: Gen Z is not prudish, they just have different demands when it comes to sex
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 have been able to prove this in many studies,” confirms Maas
to 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 trend 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’s never happened before,” says the generation expert.
Gen Z has always been “older-looking”.
Generation researcher Rüdiger Maas
At 26, TikToker Jordan (right) is part of Generation Z. You can't really tell by looking at him, he says, and he has a theory as to why.
© HEX/IMAGO, Screenshot TikTok @jordan_the_stallion8
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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
Do Gen Z people look older than Millennials?
An expert explains.
(Symbolic image) © Westend61/IMAGO
“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 looked older than Millennials, but not necessarily more mature.”
Maybe only in terms of outfit: “The difference is that Gen Z and Gen Alpha dressed much more maturely in their childhood, while Millennials still dressed without any irony wearing her 1992 Lion King shirt,” one person commented on TikTok.
Instead, they're probably going for the mob wife aesthetic and bringing back leopard print.
Here are 16 things Gen Z does that Millennials can't handle