As sure as the sun will set, the tides will rise and the seasons will change, so too will the once young and hip age group become all things cringe. Boomers and millennials can certainly attest to this. Gen X, not so much—but then again they’re used to being ignored.
And now it seems that Gen Z can also feel the inevitable approaching. Yes, already.
A TikTok creator by the name of Tyler, aka @tyler.benderr, recently posted a video playfully pointing out all the little quirks that Gen Z’s predecessors, Gen Alpha (those born between the early 2010s and mid-2020s) will make fun of in the coming years, writing that her age group was “next on the chopping block.”
In the now-viral clip, Tyler pretends to be a Gen Alpha as she calls out well known Gen Zisms, like having an “era” for literally everything or giving strangers pet names like “bestie” and “queen.”
@tyler.benderr Were next on the chopping block gang #genalpha #genz #genzhumor #genalphahumor #millenialcringe ♬ Jazz Bossa Nova – TOKYO Lonesome Blue
Folks who watched couldn’t help but note how many Gen Z phrases will simply replace what’s currently being made fun of, which came with a sigh of relief from millennial viewers, who, especially as of late, have been relentlessly ribbed for everything from side parts to their self-deprecating humor to pausing before recording a video.
“‘I’m just a 23-year-old teenage girl’ is the new ‘adulting is hard,’” one person wrote.
Another added, ‘The it’s…for me’ is gonna be the new ‘I did a thing.’”
Pretty soon other suggestions came rolling in, like the way Gen zer’s start their videos with shaky cam, using the word “delulu” to mean being delusional and waving their hands in front of their face while screaming silently.
In other words, Gen Alpha will have a lot of “material to work with”, as one viewer pointed out.
Tyler ended up posting even more segments of her Gen Alpha persona ragging on Gen Z things, like their constant use of the words “girlypop” and “it’s giving,” as well as infantilizing themselves, vaping round the clock, and labeling any and all things into a “core.” Which is similar to the whole era thing. But slightly different…somehow.
@tyler.benderr Replying to @Caroline S. Im sooo delulu rn #genz #genalpha #genzhumor #genalphaparent #millenialhumor ♬ Blue Blood – Heinz Kiessling
@tyler.benderr Willing to bet money that gen alpha will hate on us for those headbands @Bloom Nutrition #bloompartner #genz #genalpha #millenialhumor #genzhumor #genalphahumor ♬ original sound – TYLER
Generational differences are a part of life, and social media has made it abundantly clear that what one age group finds cool will seem alien to those who came before them, and lame to those who come after.
Just look at Gen Alpha, already well versed in their own meme culture that many of us find confusing, and just a touch unsettling. Like, oh, I don’t know, evil singing toilet creatures set in an apocalyptic war, for example.
Went down a YouTube shorts algorithm rabbithole and found out what Gen Alphas slenderman is pic.twitter.com/Pydc1Ulnjv
— Jumbo josh_ATF (@AnimeSerbia) July 9, 2023
Totally bizarre to us old folks now, and soon will also be but a distant memory, the subject of another viral trashpost. Tis the circle of life.
All the more reason to not take ourselves too seriously.