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Witty millennials share the secret reasons they look younger than other generations

It was all those Flintstones vitamins, for sure.

Canva Photos & Mike Mozart/Flickr & Carla Lewis/Flickr & Shelley/Flickr

Why do millennials look younger than other generations?

It's a well-noted phenomenon that people used to look, well, older. Millennials, in particular, seem to be hyper-aware of this strange occurrence. When we think of the movie and TV stars of our youth, for example, we're often stunned to learn how old they were. Al Bundy from Married With Children is a spry 39 years old when the series starts. George Costanza is a mere 29 when Seinfeld begins. The entire cast of Cheers was in their 30s for most of the run, with Kelsey Grammer being just 28 in his first appearance on the show. We could have all sworn up and down these people were well into their 40s!

But no. Our shocking inability to accurately determine the ages of people outside our generation definitely begs a self-serving and tongue-firmly-in-cheek question: Are millennials just aging absolutely phenomenally?

Kristen, a "proud millennial" on TikTok, thinks so. In a recent video, she posed the question to her followers: Why do millennials look so young?

"I have a question for millennials. What do you guys think we did right growing up that we look young?"

Anticipating the reaction to her question, she immediately scoffs. "Don't even look at me like that! Don't even lie to yourself! Look at us!" She asserts that millennials look younger than Gen Z, or at least the same age, despite being quite a bit older. "Do you guys think it was the tanning beds? Or the hot pockets we used to eat?"

Watch the hilariously tongue-in-cheek video here:

@krisalmasan

Millennials 🫶🏻 #millennialsoftiktok #fyp

Kristen may have had the guts to say it out loud, but she's definitely not the only one thinking it. Her video racked up over a million views and people were chomping at the bit to chime in with their own theories on why millennials are aging like fine wine.

Some say it was the things we ate, or the less-than-ideal products we used on our body at the time:

"We took Flintstones vitamins"

millennials, gen x, gen z, aging, health, beauty, generations, flintstonesYabba dabba doo!Giphy

"It was the apricot scrub"

"It's all the preservatives we ate in our food. We're pick[l]ed,"

"Slathered ourselves in Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon daily"

"Oxy pads"

"It's all the preservatives in the lunchables we ate every day"

Some say it's because we grew and aged au naturale:

"We didn't start Botox at 19"

"We didn't have 12 step skincare routines when we were 10"

"We look younger than Gen Z because we didn't inject tons of filler in our faces when we were 22"

millennials, gen x, gen z, aging, health, beauty, generations, skincareGen Alpha is obsessed with SephoraGiphy

Maybe it was something less tangible and more spiritual:

"We just tell ourselves we are still babies and our cells believe us"

"Laughter. Generations before us were too serious. Gen z is too afraid of being cringe"

"It was because we reposted those long threads on MySpace and god blessed us for it ✨"

"It was forwarding the chain mail"

"Gen z wanted to grow up so fast and we wanted to stay young."

Or maybe we're just less stressed and anxious than the generation that's growing up now (which says a lot, because we are pretty darned stressed and anxious)

millennials, gen x, gen z, aging, health, beauty, generationsMillennials to every other generation: "Breathe, calm down"Giphy

"We didn’t have social media in middle school. I swear it’s that"

"Unlike Gen Z we weren’t up in everyone else’s business and stressing over stuff that doesn’t affect us at all. We weren’t offended by everything"

Whatever it is, there's definitely something to this phenomenon. It's been noted even by experts (not just hilarious TikTok commenters). One possible explanation is that millennials came of age right when we, as a culture, realized the importance of sunscreen and proper hydration. The theory that using makeup and skincare from too young of an age might end up being bad for your skin in the long run may actually hold some water, as well.

Simply put, millennials had the luxury of learning from the mistakes made by Gen X and Boomers. It's definitely possible that, at scale, cultural differences in how we were raised and how we approached health and wellness as we grew up have led to major differences between generations.

Personally, though, I think Lunchables and high-energy sodas like Surge and Jolt had medicinal properties that provided us with an extra burst of youth. But we'll probably never know for sure.

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Pop Culture

I convinced my Gen Z kids to watch 'Dead Poets Society' and their angry reactions surprised me

Gen X and Gen Z apparently view "inspiring" very differently.

Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers/YouTube

Robin Williams played inspiring English teacher John Keating in "Dead Poets Society."

As a Gen X parent of Gen Z teens and young adults, I'm used to cringing at things from 80s and 90s movies that haven't aged well. However, a beloved movie from my youth that I didn't expect to be problematic, "Dead Poets Society," sparked some unexpected negative responses in my kids, shining a spotlight on generational differences I didn't even know existed.

I probably watched "Dead Poets Society" a dozen or more times as a teen and young adult, always finding it aesthetically beautiful, tragically sad, and profoundly inspiring. That film was one of the reasons I decided to become an English teacher, inspired as I was by Robin Williams' portrayal of the passionately unconventional English teacher, John Keating.

The way Mr. Keating shared his love of beauty and poetry with a class of high school boys at a stuffy prep school, encouraging them to "seize the day" and "suck all the marrow out of life," hit me right in my idealistic youthful heart. And when those boys stood up on their desks for him at the end of the film, defying the headmaster who held their futures in his hands? What a moving moment of triumph and support.

My Gen Z kids, however, saw the ending differently. They loved the feel of the film, which I expected with its warm, cozy, comforting vibe (at least up until the last 20 minutes or so). They loved Mr. Keating, because how can you not? But when the movie ended, I was taken aback hearing "That was terrible!" and "Why would you traumatize me like that?" before they admitted, "But it was so gooood!"

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The traumatize part I get—that film gets very heavy all of a sudden. But in discussing it further, I uncovered three main generational differences that impacted their "Dead Poets Society" viewing experience and what they took away from it.

1) Gen Z sees inspiring change through a systemic lens, not an individual one

The first thing my 20-year-old said when the credits rolled was, "What? That's terrible! Nothing changed! He got fired and the school is still run by a bunch of stodgy old white men forcing everyone to conform!" My immediate response was, "Yeah, but he changed those boys' individual lives, didn't he? He helped broaden their minds and see the world differently."

I realized that Gen X youth valued individuals going against the old, outdated system and doing their own thing, whereas Gen Z values the dismantling of the system itself. For Gen X, Mr. Keating and the boys taking a stand was inspiring, but the fact that it didn't actually change anything outside of their own individual experiences stuck like a needle in my Gen Z kids' craw.

2) Gen Z isn't accustomed to being blindsided by tragic storylines with no warning

To be fair, I did tell them there was "a sad part" before the movie started. But I'd forgotten how deeply devastating the last part of the movie was, so my daughter's "Why would you do that to me?!" was somewhat warranted. "I thought maybe a dog would die or something!" she said. No one really expected one of the main characters to die by suicide and the beloved teacher protagonist to be blamed for it, but I'd somehow minimized the tragedy of it all in my memory.

But also to be fair, Gen X never got any such warnings—we were just blindsided by tragic plot twists all the time. As kids, we cheered on Atreyu trying to save his horse from the swamp in "The Neverending Story" only to watch him drown. Adults showed us "Watership Down" thinking it would be a cute little animated film about bunnies. We were slapped in the face by the tragic child death in "My Girl," which was marketed as a sweet coming of age movie.

Gen Z was raised in the era of trigger warnings and trauma-informed practices, while Gen X kids watched a teacher die on live TV in our classrooms with zero follow-up on how we were processing it. Those differences became apparent real quick at the end of this movie.

3) Gen Z fixates on boundary-crossing behavior that Gen X overlooked

The other reaction I wasn't expecting was the utter disdain my girls showed for Knox Overstreet, the sweet-but-over-eager character who fell for the football player's cheerleader girlfriend. His boundary-crossing attempts to woo her were always cringe, but for Gen X, cringe behavior in the name of love was generally either overlooked, tolerated, or sometimes even celebrated. (Standing on a girl's lawn in the middle of the night holding a full-volume stereo over your head was peak romance for Gen X, remember.) For Gen Z, the only thing worse than cringe is predatory behavior, which Knox's obsessiveness and pushiness could be seen as. My young Gen X lens saw him and said, "That's a bit much, dude. Take it down a notch or three." My Gen Z daughters' lens said, "That guy's a creepo. She needs to run far the other way."

On one hand, I was proud of them for recognizing red flag behaviors. On the other hand, I saw how little room there is for nuance in their perceptions, which was…interesting.

My Gen Z kids' reactions aren't wrong; they're just different than mine were at their age. We're usually on the same page, so seeing them have a drastically different reaction to something I loved at their age was really something. Now I'm wondering what other favorite movies from my youth I should show them to see if they view those differently as well—hopefully without them feeling traumatized by the experience.

This article originally appeared in January

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Joy

Comedian's viral video perfectly nails how each generation arrives at someone's house

"Millennials will arrive late, but they will text you to let you know they're on their way, just as they're about to get into the shower."

Samuel Peter/Pexels

Boomers knock. Millennials and Gen Z text "here."

Playing with the contrasts between generations has become a modern pastime, as baby boomers, Gen X, millennials and Gen Z see and experience the world quite differently. Generation gaps have always existed, of course, but the tech age has widened those gaps in big ways, sometimes creating challenges, but often resulting in hilarity.

For instance, watching a Gen Zer try to figure out how to use a rotary phone is pure entertainment. The way emojis are used and interpreted varies vastly by age, making for some chuckle-worthy communication mishaps. Slang terms can be hard to keep up with the older you get, but they can also be manipulated by savvy elders to great comedic effect.

And now, comedian Jake Lambert has compared how the different generations arrive at someone's house in a viral video that's been viewed more than 12 million times.

"You've basically got boomers who will turn up completely unannounced any time from about 7:00 in the morning and they will knock on your door just slightly louder than the police using a battering ram carrying out a house raid," Lambert begins.

"And then you've got Gen X. They would have made the plans well in advance, and they would've also checked in a couple of days before just to make sure the plans are definitely still happening," he went on. "You see, Gen X is the forgotten generation and they're so scarred by this title they would've assumed that you'd forgotten not only about the plans but about their very existence."

"Millennials will have hoped that the plans would've been canceled. There's no reason that a millennial will ever actually want to come to your house," he continued. "They will arrive late, but they will text you to let you know they're on their way, just as they're about to get into the shower. And a millennial will never knock on your door. You'll just get a text either saying 'here' or 'outside,' and that's your cue to go and let them in."

"Similarly, Gen Z will never actually knock," he concluded. "But the chances are they won't have to, as they would have been documenting the entire journey from their house to yours, maybe even on Facetime using this angle [camera facing directly up at the chin] as they go along for some reason. Either that or they'll just send a picture of your front door or a selfie of them outside it. And again, just like the millennial, that's your cue to go and rescue them from the outside world."

People felt alternately seen, attacked and validated by Lambert's assessments, with the most common response being "accurate."

"I‘m a millennial, my husband GenX. Scarily accurate! 😂"

"Described this millennial to a T."

"This is surprisingly accurate 😂 I laughed slightly louder than the police using a battering ram…"

"Sooo accurate…guilty of the lateness and ‘here’ text 🙃"

"I must admit I'm a millennial. But knocking on the door feels so aggressive, uknow? 😅😇"

"Millennial texting to say almost there but just started getting dressed to go out. Why do we do this? It's not intentional, at least not for me."

"Honestly your observations are just brilliant! GenX-er here!"

"The Gen Z angle omg 😂😂"

Some people didn't resonate with their generation's description, but there are exceptions to every rule and some people will never fit a stereotype. However, judging by the wave of affirmative responses, Lambert nailed the generational generalities across the board—and did so in a way that allows us all to laugh at ourselves.

You can follow Jake Lambert on Instagram.


This article originally appeared last year.

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Culture

People are confessing the worst fashion trends they fell for in a hilarious confessional

Travis Kelce is kind of one of them.

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Unknown men in top hats (groom and ushers?) by Wakefield, … | Flickr

Remember that time Travis Kelce wore a top hat on stage at his girlfriend Taylor Swift's London concert? Well, he almost didn't remember either.

On his New Heights podcast, with his brother Jason Kelce, they flashed a picture of Abe Lincoln. Travis says, "That would never be me because I'd never be seen with that f-ing hat on." Jason laughs uproariously. Shortly after, Travis pensively recalls, "I remember wearing a top hat not too long ago." He's asked, "Where did you wear a top hat?"

Travis replies (complete with an English accent), "When I was in London!" He tries to cover for himself. "So I got caught in my own lie. I enjoy wearing those, but only in front of 80,000 people." (Jason kindly tells him he pulled it off.)

Taylor Swift L GIF by MOODMANGiphy

Top hats aren't the only accessories or articles of clothing someone might wear and later regret. A Redditor posed the question, "What's the most cringe-worthy fashion trend you've ever followed?"

People from all generations chimed in. They mostly agreed with one another, though "crocs" seemed to inspire some debate.

AT LEAST HE AVOIDED THE SOUL PATCH

One person opted to share a whole slew of bad decisions: "I did the whole super-thick Vans, baggy jeans full of holes, silver chains. Every t-shirt had graffiti or aliens on it. I think the most cringe-worthy was my 6-inch faux hawk. It looked more like a wave about to crash onto the shore. Kind of like I had walked face-first into a wall or something. Luckily, I was too young to sport a soul patch."

season 1 bass GIF by PortlandiaGiphy


DECADES OF BAD DECISIONS

An older commenter shared two decades of embarrassing choices: "In the 1950s, we wore crinoline petticoats that we dipped in gelatin and hung out in the sun to dry and stiffen them. In the 1960s, we teased our hair, sprayed it, teased it again, sprayed it until it was like steel wool."


Hair Tease GIF by BuzzFeedGiphy


BELL-BOTTOM BLUES

The Seventies weren't spared either. One Reddit user admits they wore "leisure suits and saddle oxfords in the 70s." Another proclaims, "Bell bottoms!" (Though, if you saw the Superbowl, it looks like Kendrick Lamar might actually be bringing those bell-bottoms -or at least a boot-cut pant - back in style.)


Kendrick Lamar GIFGiphy

LOW-RISE AND PRINTED

Many agreed that low-rise jeans and "print trends" now make them cringe.

One exclaimed, "OMG, the print trends! Owls, birds, mustaches, bacon, keep calm logos, the silhouette of two women sitting down."

Another admitted that the low-rise jean trend meant they could never sit down. "Low-rise jeans... I had to stand everywhere I went."

season 3 lol GIFGiphy


WHERE ARE YOUR EYEBROWS?

After someone mentioned bleaching their hair, another upped the ante: "I see your 2000s bad bleach dye jobs. I raise you... plucked eyebrows so damned thin that when it was fashionable to have thicker eyebrows, well, tough sh-t. Because we plucked them all out years ago. Now, I’m condemned to draw part of my eyebrows on until I leave this mortal coil or thin eyebrows come back around. Whichever is first, I suppose."

Make Up Teacher GIF by Teachers on TV LandGiphy


OUR MVP…

And this might be a personal favorite, due to its wonderfully cringe-worthy randomness: "You ever heard of the trend where you just wear a jester hat everywhere? Yeah, me neither, but for some reason, I did that throughout my teenage years into my twenties."

Glow Up Court Jester GIF by BBC ThreeGiphy

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