Sorry millennials, but skinny jeans, 'slay' and the peace sign are 'cringe' according to Generation Alpha. One mum has all the details...
Generation Alpha (those born in the 2010s) have grown up with TikTok, Instagram, iPhones and iPads - technology that their parents couldn't even comprehend when they were kids. Changes in society mean that today's teens and tweens are growing up with a different perspective on the world than previous generations - and as Gen Z moves towards sobriety, some wonder if Generation Alpha will choose a teetotal life.
While millennials share the biggest differences between their children's lives and how they grew up, it turns out Generation Alpha have taken their position on more trivial issues too - including what today's teenagers think are 'old people' names (brace yourself for that one).
Now, one millennial mum has shared on TikTok the trends that Gen Alpha says are 'in', as well as some millennial favourites that today's teenagers consider to be 'cringe'. Content creator Faith Hitchon has posted a series of videos where she discusses the intel her daughter gives her about what teenagers consider to be 'cool', starting each clip with "trend report live update from my daughter's middle school pick up line".
And, sorry millennials, skinny jeans, saying slay and using the peace sign are all going to lose you brownie points with today's teens. Faith explained some of the other trends that her daughter disapproves of, saying, "An actual blow to the millennial girl personality, she wants me to let you know that while having a high bun with a claw clip and some framing pieces is culturally acceptable to Gen A, making it your entire personality is cringe.
"I was also asked to relay that not only are skinny jeans completely, completely out, but if you have a baggy repertoire of pants you are building, you should be sure to include Pro Club baggy pants."
@faithhitch ♬ original sound - Faith Hitchon
For those unfamiliar with Pro Clubs, they're a style of baggy sweatpants that are popular on TikTok, and have proved to be a hit with Generation Alpha.
As for what her teenagers claim are 'in', Faith explains: "Star Face pimple patches continue to be a form of currency, but there is a hierarchy to that currency - think Pokemon trading cards. Hello Kitty is having a major moment and so Hello Kitty Star Face is at the top of the trading pile, and then it depends on colour ways and what's having a moment."
For the uninitiated, Star Face is a brand of acne patches designed to be stuck onto pimples in order to speed up the healing process.
Faith also reveals that 'coquette' and 'bow culture' is 'on its way out' already. In the past few months, #coquette has exploded on TikTok, a trending aesthetic that favours bows, frills, lace and soft pink. However, now Generation Alpha is "moving away from coquette into emo, edgy, Brandy [Melville] girl."
She adds, "Silver jewellery continues to be more popular than gold, as is having a few piercings in your ear. However, having a full earscape is deeply millennial and a little bit Gen Z.
"She feels like having a nose piercing and a few ear piercings is much, much cooler - and whatever you do, please do not tell a Gen A person that you've had your belly button pierced, because it will not go well for you."
Understandably, there were a few ruffled millennial feathers in the comments. One user wrote, "Googles Brandy Melville. Realizes I am SO OLD bc the kids and I have different definitions of edgy." Another added, "Fighting for my millennial life every time I open this app."
Meanwhile, one confused millennial said, "I need captions bc I know it’s English but I don’t understand it." And a similarly upset user wrote, "Wait I thought the coquette trend just started I have whiplash".
In related news, millennials have shared their top parenting rules for 2024 and millennials are begging parents to keep their anxieties to themselves and spare the grandkids. Elsewhere, we've revealed the seven most popular toys from when millennials were kids.
