KEEP YOUR SKINNY JEANS. HERE’S WHAT GEN Z WANTS

POST-MILLENNIALS PRIZE INDIVIDUALITY, EXPRESSION AND ACTIVISM

EVERY GENERAT I O N hopes that, when it’s their turn to pass the torch of relevancy to the youth, they will handle it with poise and dignity. They’ll recognize, they hope, that teenagers, despite their more limited real-world experience, are more clear-eyed about society in some ways. The older generation anticipates that they’ll adopt the new technologies, wear the new trends and, maybe, gracefully age into the role of the wise mentor.

Millennials, in this sense, have ... struggled.

As more and more Gen Z-ers come of age — according to the Pew Research Center, the oldest members of the generation will turn 24 this year — the online “culture war” has mainly centered around millennials refusing to move on. Corners of TikTok have become breeding grounds for millennials desperately clinging to skinny jeans, side parts and Harry Potter as styles from the ’00s make a comeback.

IRL, Gen Z is less interested in what millennials are wearing and more focused on what state the world will be in when they graduate from high school and college. Some older adults just aren’t ready to hear it.

“I think that this ‘culture war’ is just being fanned by the fact that older generations are very stuck in their ways,” said Gabe García, the director of people and inclusion at JÜV, a Gen Z consulting firm. “And so when Gen Z is coming along and saying like, ‘I have insights,’ or, ‘What if we try this differently?’ that’s being kind of pushed off.”

The Times talked to seven members of Gen Z about the “culture war” with millennials, living their lives online during the pandemic and what they wish older generations understood about them.