It all started when Erika McCree, a 34-year-old art director from Detroit, asked an X user a tongue-in-cheek question. What is the biggest complaint among Millennials?”
“Baby boomer grievance” has been a concept that has been around for a while. Typical examples include people who don't work as hard anymore or people who use their cell phones too much. McCrea's posts this week are aimed at the younger generation, with topics such as bringing heels back to the club, the golden age of comedy movies (think Horrible Bosses and Step Brothers), and the 24th episode of the season. I'm really looking forward to the revival of the TV show.
“Everyone's ringtone should be a 30-second cut of their favorite song in terrible quality,” wrote Dom Papagallo, a 27-year-old actor from Boston.
As her fellow millennials flooded McCree with replies, she realized that her generation was already feeling far away from a time when major social problems like misinformation, fragmentation, and artificial intelligence were thought to be less prevalent. It became clear that he was nostalgic for his relatively recent past. And for a time when social media was a place for harmless banter and fun.
Most of the answers, while not specific to actual Millennials, date back to the 1990s and pre-pandemic, when technology seemed easier to use and personal finances more manageable. It was aimed at society.
Others mentioned inflation, with one user commenting that they wanted both avocado toast and a house, referencing the nearly decade-old metaphor that if millennials keep buying the former, they won't be able to afford the latter. Some looked forward to the days when Uber, Chipotle Bowl, and concert tickets were cheaper.
Many of the complaints focused on technology and digital media, highlighting how much the world of social media has changed since millennials entered adulthood.
The post came at a time of upheaval in the social media world. The platform, now called X, has undergone dramatic changes since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022. Facebook has abolished fact-checking as Mark Zuckerberg promotes the concept of “masculine energy.” AI has transformed the way people consume content online. And on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a federal law that effectively bans TikTok in the United States starting next week.
But the reply to Ms. McCrea went back further than the current issue.
Tristan T.A. Hill, a 36-year-old film director from Los Angeles, joked, “The collapse of Buzzfeed and the collapse of society are really closely related.''
He recalled a time from 2016 to 2018 when BuzzFeed was the go-to source for entertaining content and sometimes news compiled by millennial voices. Now, “everyone has their own social media and everyone is their own content influencer, so it just creates more noise,” he said.
“And with the advent of AI, we don't even know what to believe anymore,” Hill added. “Misinformation is being spread.”
Sheryn Avalon, a 28-year-old singer from Los Angeles, commented on the increasing fragmentation of social media, even though millennials' complaints were about restaurant QR codes.
“There's been a lot of groupthink on social media in recent years,” she said, which feels different to her than it did when she first created her YouTube channel in 2013. .
According to Company X metrics, McCree's post soliciting complaints has been viewed more than 50 million times.
“Our generation was a little impatient,” she said in a phone interview. “I'm in my 30s. We're getting older and it feels like we're not where we're supposed to be compared to our parents. A lot of the responses I've seen are, 'We're going to own a home.' 'We're working crazy hours.'
“Millennial complaints,” she said humorously, “are about not being able to get ahead.” “Millennials seem to process things through memes.”
Posts like this may have attracted a lot of attention because inflation and rising prices are hurting morale and people are longing for a time when things were easier and more relaxing. Every generation is wary of change, and now that most millennials are over 30, it's their turn to air their frustrations, McCree said.
McCree said she felt nostalgic reading the responses, including comments about the decline of flash games. “I remember going on the Nickelodeon website and playing 'Hey Arnold!' “The game is growing,” she said.
“People were reliving their youth and the days 30 days ago,” Hill said of the response, adding that people were remembering a time when people danced more at parties and going out was cheaper.
“I can't do the things that I thought were so fun back then because now there are more restrictions and it costs money to go out,” he said. “I always have friends who joke that it costs $100 to leave the house.”
McCree said she feels “things are going downhill,” but wonders, “Is it just because I'm older?”
“That's what older generations always think, right?” says author Kathy Carr, 63, of Montclair, New Jersey. The “millennial complaint” was about ghosting. “So that's how my father felt about us.”
