Boomers, millennials, Generation Z: the only thing we have in common is that we all hate each other, right? (And that we’ve all collectively forgotten Generation X exists. Sorry guys.)
That’s the narrative that gets propagated – that an endless generational battle lies at the heart of the culture wars, stoked every month or so by another grenade lobbed over the parapet. The latest skirmish is firmly between millennials and Gen Z.
You’ll be walking along thinking everything’s fine, only to be hit by a bit of shrapnel: Pow! A 23-year-old bystander points and laughs at your ankle socks decorated with sausage dogs. Boom! A younger colleague rolls their eyes with disdain upon hearing you make another Friends reference. Zap! You get eviscerated by TikTokers for trying to get in on the “brat summer” trend when it’s clear you have only the sketchiest grasp of the concept (something to do with taking drugs and not brushing your hair and voting for Kamala Harris?).
From surface-level nonsense (styles of jeans, opinions on brunch) to deeper differences (work ethic and identity politics), there are many issues that divide us. But as a millennial who has spent the past 15 years hearing that my generation were “snowflakes” whose penchant for avocado on toast was to blame for the world’s economic problems, I have sympathy for our younger counterparts. While our profligate ways were branded the root of all evil and the cause behind our inability to afford houses costing 10 times our salaries, Gen Z’s more frugal approach has seen them condemned for killing the club and pub scene. We can’t win, whichever side of the Nineties divide we were born on.
So join me, an Eighties baby, as I document the Gen Z traits I’m actually quite jealous of…
Astrology chat
この記事は The Independent の August 05, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Independent の August 05, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Uefa's voyage of discovery is a mystery tour for fans
It isn’t so much how the new-look Champions League is going to work as will it work at all, writes Miguel Delaney
No same-sex couples leaves routines looking flat-footed
This year’s Strictly’ cast is without any same-sex pairings. Ellie Muir mourns the loss of them and explains why they’ve made for some of the best choreography in recent history
'Everything I ever worked on is coming together now'
Conceptual artist, painter, mentor to the YBAs, overnight success at 55. On the eve of a Royal Academy retrospective show, Mark Hudson interviews Michael Craig-Martin
BACK TO SCHOOL
This season sees designers leaning into the old trades of tailoring and ladies’ occasion wear, as previously outdated modes of dress are revamped. The kids are suiting and scrubbing up, writes Joseph Bobowicz from backstage
Seductress of the century
Femme fatale Pamela Harriman was able to change the course of history by captivating leading political figures from Churchill to Clinton using a legendary kingmaking’ technique to devastating effect, as explained by Sonia Purnell
World news in brief
Billionaire back on Earth after walking in space
Seven dead as 'catastrophic' Storm Boris floods Europe
Month’s worth of rain in 24 hours hits several countries
Here's how Harris wins the swing state of Pennsylvania
Scranton’s first female mayor has lessons for the presidential hopeful, ahead of her visit to the must-win state this week
Navalny ally calls on West to invest in Russia's next generation to beat Putin
‘The vast majority of anti-Putin, anti-war Russians are not changing their minds, Leonid Volkov tells Tom Watling
Home news in brief
Tributes paid to mother and children killed in triple murder