“Gen Z is kind of ageist”: ’90s millennials clap back after Gen Z calls them “weird”

The latest front in the generational war between Gen Z and millennials has opened up on TikTok, where creator Jada Amil called 30- to 35-year-old millennials “weird” and emotionally immature. Her video sparked a wave of rebuttals from millennials who say they’re not childish, they’re just a generation that grew up with both dirt bikes and dial-up.

Millennials didn’t have content because they were the content

ND’s stitch featuring Amil has 2.1 million views and over 31 thousand comments. The TikTok creator said 90s millennials aren’t weird—they’re fun. She explained that the age group has imaginations because instead of iPads and TikTok, they had “bikes, dirt, and vibes.”

ND mentioned gel pens, MySpace, pillow forts, and called millennials a bridge generation because “we’re fluent in both memes and mortgage rates.” She claimed the generation has “range” because “we lived through every era.”

“Before FaceTime, it was called showing up,” she said. “And if you wanted to talk to your crush or your friends on the phone, you had to call their house and talk to their mama—real gladiator behavior.”

“We didn’t have content, we were the content.”

@ndbabyyy I love being a millennial!! & babyyyy WE LOOK GOOD!! We’re the generation that grew up outside and online. We used our imagination when we were bored, not algorithms. We drank from the hose water, survived LimeWire, hung out at the mall with friends and a $20 bill, and were pre-teens when social media started!! Our childhoods were analog, but our glow ups are digital! #millennial #90sbaby ♬ original sound – ND

“30—35 year olds be weird ngl”

In her original July 16 TikTok, Amil explained that although older millennials are “pretty chill,” millennials born in the 90s are emotionally immature and “tend to act younger than Gen Z.” She referred to 30—35 year olds as “the Peter Pan generation,” and compared them to teenagers.

Amil told the 90s millennials of the internet: “Y’all kind of do gotta grow up at some point a little bit somehow, that’s all.”

@jadaamillion Like am I the only one that notices this?!! This same age group got mad at me bc I said I don’t wanna party with 35-40 year olds as a 25 year old, and they all rallied in the comments telling me I look 40 years old??? Idk if it’s long term exposure to the internet or what but something’s not right no shade #millennial #fyp ♬ original sound – Jada Amil

The video has 189.5 thousand views and over 5 thousand comments—many from millennials coming from ND’s stitch.

“Speak louder boo! lol 😆 why you feel so passionately about ussss let us knowww lol 😆.”

Millennials say Gen Z should mind their business

Many millennials are confused by the rage they inspire in the younger generation.

“‘93. I’m at peace idk.”

Those who took the bait said Gen Z are either a reboot of Boomers—or a generation of copycats who steal from Millennial youth culture because they have no identity of their own.

“Y’all too busy acting like boomers somebody gotta loosen the vibe.”

“When Gen z starts acting like they have met another human and can socially interact, we can talk. Easily offended, no accountability, whine and complain about every little thing. Shush. I mind my business irl. Y’all need to follow through with that.”

Other millennials in the comments harmlessly reminisced about the features of their pre and proto-internet youth: summer reading in exchange for pizza, writing cursive, reading a clock, coding their MySpace layouts… And as actual conflicts rage around the world, some commenting on the generational war between Zoomers and Millennials just seem bored by Amil’s recent attack.

“We literally don’t do nothing but laugh and mind our business.”

Millennials got the internet. Gen Z always had it.

Millennials are a generation of people born between 1981 and 1996. They came of age as the internet and social media came into being and entered the workforce during the Great Recession. Generation Z describes those born between 1997 and 2012—give or take a few years. Gen Z, or Zoomers, are known for being digital natives born into a world shaped by the internet, social media, and tech.