Born between 1981 and 1996, the millennial generation spans age ranges from late 20s to early 40s. However, how can you identify who is and isn’t a millennial? Stuck between dial-up memories and high-speed Wi-Fi expectations.
Newsweek asked the generative AI tool ChatGPT to list the top 10 indicators that someone is a millennial, even if some may argue that it’s as easy as identifying the individual who had avocado toast for breakfast or the couple that is purchasing their first house in their 30s.
Notwithstanding its lack of expertise, ChatGPT may produce responses using training data from textual materials such as books, papers, webpages, and other texts.
Newsweek asked: “Tell me 10 ways I might spot a millennial—someone who is from the millennial generation, born between 1981 and 1996. In your response, please consider factors like fashion, entertainment, language use, social indicators and media consumption.”
The language model suggested ten ways in which an individual may recognize a millennial without even requesting to know their age, ranging from financial relationships to fashion choices.
1. Use of Social Media
The majority of millennials can be seen alternating between Facebook, Instagram, and X (previously Twitter). They typically share memes along with curated content, personal reflections, and a dash of humor.
2. A yearning for the 1990s
Watch their eyes light up when you mention anything as simple as “Tamagotchi,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” or the piercing sound of a dial-up modem. Millennials love talking about Saturday morning cartoons and the early internet whenever they have the chance. They are all about nostalgia for the 1990s and early 2000s.
3. Promotion of Work-Life Harmony
Long before it became fashionable, millennials were the generation that promoted freelance labor and remote work. They are the ones who plan Zoom calls from the comforts of their living room, and they consider power naps or fast yoga sessions to be the equivalent of work breaks.
4. Favorite Styles
They still have a special place in their closets for skinny jeans, which were once the height of style. When you combine that with a side fringe, you’ll look like you’re from the early 2000s. Additionally, they promoted the emergence of athleisure, making items like leggings and yoga pants appropriate for daily wear. Not to mention the obsession with everything high-waisted—from shorts to jeans, anything that falls above the hips is winning.
5. Media Streaming
Millennials enjoy watching Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify playlists on the weekends, making them the ultimate binge-watchers. They are the ones who analyze each episode of Stranger Things or who use quotes from The Office as though they were commonplace.
6. GIFs and Emojis
A millennial will probably greet you with a barrage of GIFs and emojis when you text them. Want to communicate a variety of feelings? Every situation has an appropriate emoji, be it a widely used 😂 or a tastefully placed 🤷.
7. Fitness-Centered
Apps for yoga, meditation, and CrossFit? Check, check and check. Millennials have made fitness a way of life, using Fitbits to measure steps and organic smoothies to fuel their exercises.
8. Craft coffee and brunch
Brunch is an occasion rather than merely a meal. With their flawless avocado toast and visually appealing lattes, millennials have mastered the art of relaxing weekend brunches.
9. Knowledge of Student Debt
A cloud that hangs over many millennials is student loans. They are the generation that transformed financial hardship into a communal experience, exchanging war stories and advice on side projects and budgeting. You’ve probably run into a millennial navigating the financial minefield if you hear discussions about debt repayment plans or the difficulty of purchasing a home.
10. Social Causes Advocates
Millennials advocate for topics ranging from mental health awareness to climate action through their platforms. They are the ones who enthusiastically and purposefully organize fundraisers, sign petitions, and support social justice campaigns.
“Overstated and Overestimated”
Tim Stevens is a Connecticut College psychologist and experienced writer who has published on the subject of generational stereotypes. “By its nature, asking a language model like ChatGPT to summarize a generation is inherently flattening,” he said in an interview with Newsweek. For too long, we have underestimated the distinctions among generations and exaggerated the disparities between them.”
Although Stevens took issue with ChatGPT’s study for several reasons, he acknowledged that many of the recommendations might apply to more than just millennials.
A greater correlation exists between the age of millennials and [things like] nostalgia or fitness and wellness. Baby boomers and Gen X share a lot of the same sentiments about TV shows, music, and fashion from their late teens to mid-20s, according to Stevens. “You’ll also see their concerns about diet and exercise spike as they face down middle age. Take the obsession with jogging of the late 70s or the rise of at-home fitness solutions like P90X of the early 2000s for other generations’ similar arcs.”
Stevens did, however, agree with a few of the traditional millennial “tropes” that the language model proposed. “All this said, the prompt does nail things like emoji communication, student debt concerns, and streaming media as markers of both millennials’ unique interests and the unique factors under which they came of age,” he stated.
(Tashia Bernardus)