Get ready for Generation Alpha! After growing up with the internet they’re making their own memes and even Gen Z feel ‘old and stupid’
- Generation Z have lamented ‘feeling old’ after Gen Alpha ‘went online’
- READ MORE: We’re the Gen Z women doing ‘lazy girl jobs’
After years of calling millennials ‘cringe’ for wearing high-waisted jeans, liking Harry Potter and using the wrong emojis, it appears Generation Z are getting a taste of their own medicine.
The Tiktok generation – those born between the late 1990s and early noughties – have lamented ‘feeling old’ after not understanding ‘Generation Alpha’ humour.
As the eldest members of Gen Alpha, those were born around 2010, approach their teen years, many are spending time online, sharing their own memes, developing their own internet subcultures and leaving those in their mid-to late teens feeling ‘old’.
In particular, Gen Z have been left confused by the popularity of ‘Skibidi Toilet’ a YouTube series about ominous all-singing all-dancing toilets that want to take over the world.
The creator, whose identity is unknown (but goes bt DaFuq!?Boom! online) and is based in the US has more than 22 million subscribers on YouTube and many of their videoes picking up more than 45 million views.
Gen Z have been left confused by the popularity of ‘Skibidi Toilet’ a YouTube series about ominous all-singing all-dancing toilets that want to take over the world (pictured)
One TikTok user said they were left confused when their younger sibling tried to explain Gen Alpha culture
The first episode of the series was posted as a YouTube Short in February, gathering masses of attention in a few short months.
Some have compared the character to Slender Man, a popular meme with millennials. Both bizarre characters are equally creepy – with Slender Man a headless figure that stalks victims while Skibidi is an evil race of toilets attempting world domination.
Others have shared how they are shocked at how the generation – that were born when iPhone was popularised – have grown up ‘so online’.
While Generation Z have largely become known as the ‘most online’ generation, some have shared how shockingly connected tweens and children are.
One teacher took to TikTok to say that their student accidentally called them ‘Alexa’ – after Amazon’s AI device, while a 15-year-old wrote on Twitter their sister made them feel ‘old and stupid’ for not understanding what a ‘skibidi toilet’ is.
One teacher said that they were called ‘Alexa’ by a student (right) while others have been left confused by the Skibidi toilet meme (left)
Many parents of Gen Alpha children have revealed they communicate with their children through devices
Some have said they ‘understand how their parents feel’ and others have said they feared ‘being branded cringe and cancelled’.
The Generation, more than any other, has also been shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic- spending a significant portion of their early life in lockdown.
Jemima Cox, the head of social sciences at insights agency Canvas8, previously told Metro: ‘Gen Zis often referred to as digital natives, but for Gen A, technology is completely second nature.’
‘The pandemic has made it challenging for Gen Z to transition into adolescence and adulthood, while for Gen A, the impact is still happening as they are learning about the world.
What generation are you? From Silent Generation to Gen Alpha
Many researchers disagree on the exact years of each demographic, with many falling at the start or end of each group known as ‘cuspers’.
The Greatest Generation: Born 1900-1925
The Silent Generation: Born 1925-1945
Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964
Gen X: Born 1965-1980
Millennials: Born 1981-1998
Gen Z: Born 1999-2010
Gen Alpha: Born early 2010s-2025
Many of Gen Alpha will be familiar with Zoom lessons, and be even more au fait with being online than Gen Z.
However, one thing the two generations do have in common (at least, for now) is their preferred social media platform – TikTok.
And like both members of Gen Z and millenials, it’s predicted that Gen Alpha will delay standard life millstones like marriage and having children, compared to generations prior.
Gen Z creators on TikTok have said they fear being ‘next on the chopping block’
Gen Z have shared their shock at Gen Alpha creating their own internet culture
Mark McCrindle, the social scientist credited with coining the term Generation Alpha, has also said that the generation will live longer and have smaller families.
They’re also likely to be more educated, technology-supplied and wealthiest generation globally ever.
Gen Zers have long mocked millennials for wearing skinny jeans, rocking side parts, having ‘Harry Potter as a personality trait’ and using laughing emojis.
Other young people have deemed those a few years older than them as ‘cringe’ for using boomerangs on Instagram and using filters.
Rise of the Zillennial: People in their 20s who feel in limbo between Millennials and Gen Z reveal they went to Woolworths and Blockbuster but don’t remember MySpace
While many of us may be familiar with Millennials and Gen Z – what happens if you were born on the cusp of both generations?
Well, if you’re not quite sure which category you fall into and can relate to both generations without fully ticking the boxes for each – and your birthday falls somewhere between the years 1990 and 2000- it’s likely you’re a ‘Zillennial.’
According to Urban Dictionary, Zillennials are defined as being ‘too young to relate to the core of millennials but too old to relate to the core of Generation Z. They were 2000’s kids and transitioned from teenagers to adults during the 2010’s.’
Millennials are defined as being born between 1981-1996 and Gen Z – born from 1997 onward.
Zillennials remember a trip to Blockbuster (pictured in stock image) but were too young for MySpace
Digs: TikTok user @ahope94 shared a video of herself briefly looking sad about her skinny jeans and side part going out of style, but then she remembered Gen Zers ‘ate Tide pods’
For Zillennials, putting song lyrics in your MSN name, making your parents look after your Tamagotchi and owning a Jane Norman bag will ring familiar, while having mid-2000 bands such as Green Day, Fall out Boy and Black Eyed Peas on repeat was the norm.
And let’s not forget no weekend would’ve been complete without a trip to Woolworths to buy a new single and a bag of ‘pick n mix’, before purchasing a new sassy outfit from Tammy Girl and Dream Matte mousse foundation from Boots.
However unlike true millennials, who also experienced all of these pop culture phenomena, Zillennials missed out on the early iterations of the mobile phone and are more closely linked with Gen Z when it comes to technology.
OMG: Gen Z have also taken issue with the tears of joy emoji and now associate the icon with ‘old’ millennials
Their first phone was likely a flip or slide phone, before the Blackberry and BBM pins became a typical fixture in the day, while those in the Gen Z category have fond memories of brick phones with never-ending antennas.
They would have grown up with the internet at school and at home, just like Gen Z and unlike the majority of millennials. Zillennials would have also had access to social media at a younger age, which shaped and defined a generation.
Another key difference is that Zillennials, who more than likely possessed an MP3 player in comparison to a Gen Zer’s iPhone or Millennial’s CD player, grew up using the likes of Tumbler rather than TikTok or Instagram.
A Zillennial might have grown up playing with a Nintendo DS Lite or Bratz Dolls and watching TV shows like Hannah Montana, Pokemon and Kim Possible like the older Gen Zers.
Zillennials would also have experienced the popularity of Vloggers on YouTube – such as the likes of Zoella – before influencers stole the limelight on new social media platforms.
Some cultural commentators believe memories of 9/11 define the divide between Millennials, Zillenials and Gen Z.
The term ‘Zillennials’ on social media has solved a lot of confusion for those who were born in that ‘micro generation’ (pictured)
The majority of millennials are able to remember 9/11 with some clarity, while Zillennials (now aged between 23 and 28) will only have vague memories of the tragedy. Gen Z children are too young to remember – or were not even born yet.
While millennials, typically defined as being born between 1981-1996, are old enough to fully recall the tragic events of the day and Gen Z – born from 1997 onward – are probably not alive, Zillennials are likely to have vague memories – with the incident taking place around the time they started school.
Are YOU a Zillennial? Read these statements to find out
Trying to figure out if you are a Zillennial? Other than the year when you were born, these statements should also help you figure it out. If you answer ‘yes’ to the majority of them then the chances are you’re a Zillennial.
Source: Read Full Article
