7 Gen Z Trends That Are Just Plain Weird

In its unique way, every generation has been utterly cringeworthy. That’s what can distinguish one generation from the next. Generation Z is considered digitally sophisticated and have more varied hobbies and interests than previous generations.

However, several oddities are easy to spot. Someone on Reddit asked, “What’s a trend among Gen Zs you find weird?”

Here are a few points that were raised.

Video Obsession

Many Redditors couldn’t wrap their heads around the constant need for Gen Z to video everything about themselves and post on social media.

One user said, “Documenting themselves committing crimes then posting them to social media”

Another user narrated this sad story: “Was at a (car) accident reconstruction engineering office this summer, and a 20-ish YO guy drove off the edge of the road and died and his snap story from the night was a video of his speedometer at 100+ in the dark in the rain, and he was bragging that he was going fast (and also drunk). They are really the first generation with the capability to do that easily. They’re like the oldest siblings who make all the mistakes so the younger ones can learn from it. I salute their sacrifice.”

A Redditor who also identified as a Gen Z concurred, “I’m gen z, unfortunately, and I agree with this. It’s so pointless, and nobody seems to want to be in the moment anymore, it’s all about showing it off to friends who ultimately don’t care.”

Micro-labeling and Misuse of The Word “Aesthetic.”

“The way everything needs to be a micro-label or aesthetic,” one user wrote, “and the differences between some of them feel so minuscule that I’m not sure why they all need to exist in the first place.”

Another replied, “It’s the natural evolution of the advertising demographic. Squeeze yourself into as many neatly labeled boxes as possible, so they know what ads to target you with and what products to offer you.”

Others had a problem with the manner “aesthetic” is used.

A user observed, “Using aesthetic as an adjective. As a z-llennial, I’ve found that people roughly my age and younger have done an absolute number on the specificity of language. Everything good is either “aesthetic” or “iconic,” everything bad is “cringe.” Nuance need not apply.”

Chemical_sunset added, “Also the misuse of the word “aesthetic” itself. Stop calling things ~aesthetic~ (ex. “omg her living room is so aesthetic”) without another qualifier (it’s aesthetically pleasing or fits the clean girl aesthetic, for example)To clarify I’m one of the older members (nearing 23M) and most of the trends I see getting mentioned here were started by people my age 5 or 6 years ago (aka young millennials).”

Romanticization of Mental Illness

According to a gen z user, “it’s embarrassing because they treat it like it’s a competition or something quirky like… no it’s not? Stop making your mental illnesses your only personality traits.”

“My younger gen z sister the other day was talking to my mom about all the mental illnesses she self diagnosed herself with,” another explained, saying that her mother talked about the diagnoses, “like it was a badge of honor with pride.”

The user added that her sister has, “Never seen a doctor, just reads up online about certain quirks and thinks she has a bit of everything.”

Another replied, “This, yes! As a mental health professional, self-diagnosing has become increasingly common. This can be damaging to the therapeutic process when someone gets “stuck on” their self-diagnosis.”

Borderline Personality Disorder, Autism, and Body Dysmorphia Disorder were common diagnoses their patients came in with.

A Redditor ties this back with Gen Z’s love for labeling. “Gen z generally seems to have a fetish for labels. Whereas many people don’t enjoy being overly labeled or categorized, that seems to be the thing gen z loves most.”

They added: “Whether it’s gender, mental disorders, or anything else, there seems to be a common obsession with specifically defining yourself by identifying with categories and labels instead of simply being a person with likes, dislikes, thoughts and opinions.”

Broccoli Haircut

The haircut trend made it to the list! Someone commented, “broccoli haircut Will definitely age like milk” another commented “The ol’ broccoli top. It honestly looks like a joke haircut. Lol kids have been convinced it makes them look good/cool. I hope it sticks around, it’s legitimately…hilarious.”

vier10comma5 explained their hair naturally looks like the broccoli cut. “I’ve always hated it, but now it’s even worse.”

Another said “I feel like every generation has youngsters with haircuts that make them look like dickheads. Circle of life. It does look hilariously bad though. I call it “tiktok wanker” hair. I don’t get the hair. Mate you look like a sea anemone. Whatever makes them happy though, I guess”

Weird Use of Emojis and Punctuations

Gen Z uses emojis in ironic ways and punctuations are considered “illegal”. One Redditor spoke from experience.

“Proper punctuation in text messages being seen as aggressive or rude. The emoji thing,” they explained. “I’m 33, and asked an 18 year old at my work. She confirmed she laughs every time I send an emoji,” since the emoji is being used unironically.

That Redditor also added that “reacting” to iMessages, using “lol,” or ending a text with a period are also texting faux pas according to Gen Z.

Crying Videos

Gen Z’s need to showcase genuine sadness is on the weird norm list. Someone commented, “Too many crying videos and Unfortunately I am finding people my age (41yo) posting the crying or breakdown pics and giving the vague description that basically says “something is wrong, please reach out to me to know what it is.”

Someone else replied, “Yeah you are right, narcissism is intergenerational haha. But I find that Gen Z has normalized crying vids as no big deal. I see seemingly non-narc people sharing videos of themselves crying in the same way they would share a video of themselves blowing candles on a birthday cake.”

No Interest in Getting a Driver’s License

“It is weird to me in the sense that I got my license on my 16th bday. Could not wait,” One user wrote. “But it’s not weird in the sense that the world is different now. They stay home and play video games. But they’re doing it with their friends and staying safe at home.”

The world has definitely changed.

 

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.