The Generations

For us decidedly middle-aged Gen X-ers, having felt we might now have some vague idea about millennial culture, we are faced with the struggle to comprehend Gen Z (let alone Gen Alpha). And this isn’t made any easier by the fact that many Gen Z’s are our children. On the former two generations at least, this article and podcast might shed some light. Though it is of course up to those generations themselves to judge whether any of this really captures their experiences.

No doubt this is in some sense a familiar recurring pattern of one generation turning against the trends - if not necessarily the values - of a previous generation. So, for example, the young middle classes of 1840’s Victorian England were vicious in their remarks about Gen Regency trying to get by without antimacassars on their armchairs. Of course these divisions are gross simplifications, and there are plenty of people born before 1996 who might feel closer to a Gen Z than a Gen Y identity and vice versa, as well as plenty who identify with neither, parts of both, etc. But nevertheless, these trends do tell us something about changes in culture, and speaking in generalizations has its value, as long as these provisos are borne in mind. This is also probably something of a middle-class phenomenon, predominant in a liberal, left-leaning middle-class section of society at that.

Behind all of the discussion here about the acceptable length of socks and use of emojis, what I hear and have taken away is one key idea which both connects and divides millennials and Gen Z: Gen Z feels itself even more disaffected than Gen Y by the world into which it has been thrust. As one of the contributors remarks, at least growing up as a millennial you could feel that some recent progressive battles had been won: gay marriage rights and the ‘Me too’ movement for example, and Obama in the Whitehouse. As Gen Z has reached adulthood what have they had to enjoy? Ominous climate change, the aftermath of the financial crisis, covid, Trump (twice), far right politics prospering globally and devastation in the Middle East. Who could blame them for being a touch more cynical than millennials?

Millennials have had to deal with these things too, and some might unkindly remark that they have been very vocal in their online sob-stories about the challenges they’ve had to face. But the situation was not quite as bleak for them. Whereas, for example, getting on the housing ladder in the UK for millennials has been extremely challenging, a fair proportion of them are now at the stage where they have been able to do this. For Gen Z the housing situation looks hopeless for the vast majority. Whereas millennials tended to lament the state of the world while insisting on the right to enjoy their must-have life experiences and their culinary delights (avocado on sourdough and pumpkin-spiced lattes), and to present the appearance of a perfect life, for Gen Z the situation looks too serious to paper over it in this way and pretend that everything’s fine: one of the things that comes across is how uncool it now is to celebrate any little pleasure of life in a straightforward, unironic way. A telling example from the discussion of something that is unthinkable for a true Gen Z: to unironically and joyfully share a picture of the swimming pool at your holiday resort. Even the debate about socks doesn’t seem entirely frivolous from this point of view: a largely invisible ankle sock can be seen as a gesture denying the reality of the fact that we need socks because feet sweat and smell. On the other hand, it is worth noting what one Gen Z on the programme observes: that Gen Z very carefully and consciously cultivates an appearance of not caring about appearance.

In the end I can only feel compassion for both generations. What kind of a world have we left them? Who can blame millennials for trying to ‘curate’ a well-presented life in the face of massive anxieties about the future, and take joy where they can, even if in materialistic ways? And there is something even more admirable in the way Gen Z refuses to hide behind a facade of smiley perfection, and looks to confront the realities of life today armed only with sardonic irony - while still finding things to enjoy in life, above all in friendship and personal relationships. Both generations have taken serious strides in confronting some of the problems that face us today, especially climate change. They are both carrying on the good fight, against the odds.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/08/cringe-how-millennials-became-uncool

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2025/aug/22/cringe-why-millennials-became-so-uncool-podcast