How to tell a Gen Z from a Millennial: Naturally, there’s a TikTok test

How do you hang up a phone? What kind of jeans do you wear? And how do you make a heart sign with your hands? These everyday gestures can be telltale signs of the generation you belong to, according to a theory developed on TikTok. It suggests that the way we mime these simple actions illustrates differences in behaviour between generations Y and Z.

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How to tell the difference between Gen Z and Millennials? TikTok has a theory

https://www.tiktok.com/@ludknee/video/7305955122478157099?lang=en

This theory for telling apart Gen Z and Millennials sprung from a TikTok video posted by @ludknee. This internet user put the test into practice on a friend. To find out which generation she belonged to, the TikToker asked her to mime a series of simple gestures, actions such as hanging up the phone, taking a photo, opening a car window. She then asked to see what jeans her friend was wearing. The type of jeans people wear is also supposed to be a giveaway sign of which generation they belong to, with Millennials reputedly preferring skinnies, while Gen Z tend to opt for baggier styles.

The result? Millennials tend to mime an imaginary landline phone, hold a camera with both hands while pretending to press a button, and manually roll down a car window. According to the test, @ludknee’s friend clearly falls into the Millennial category. The video quickly went viral, racking up 5 million views in just a few days.

Comments soon poured in, with Gen Zers realizing that they often make typical Millennial gestures. One internet user finds the Generation Z heart sign really hard to do, for example, while another Gen Zer admits that they make all the typically Millennial gestures. Some even prefer the Millennial actions, finding them more aesthetically pleasing.

@rbuckinghamwestbrook

Who knew there’s more than one way to make a ♥️ using your hands! Lol #genzvsmillenial #genz #millennial #fyp #viralvideo

♬ original sound – rondawestbrook

Generation Z has a more modern approach to miming these actions, as can be seen in this video posted by @rbuckinghamwestbrook, featuring a mother and daughter. The teenager simply uses the palm of her hand to indicate that she’s holding a phone, and mimics pressing a button with her finger to answer the phone and take a photo. To roll down the car window, she also imitates pressing a button, and uses only her index and middle fingers to form a heart with her hands.

Ultimately, this viral TikTok video has made many people aware of the amusing differences between Gen Z and Millennials, while also highlighting that these distinctions don’t entirely define who we are.

This story is published via AFP Relaxnews.