Gen Z Woman Admits The 3 Reasons Millennials Are The Cooler Generation
When it comes to cool, millennials rule.
Okrasiuk | Shutterstock Everyone, cue the alarms — everyone being millennials — you have officially reached cool status. The best part? It was a Gen Zer who gave you the title. In a candid and humorous TikTok post, a Gen Z woman, Jess Bosnjak, openly admitted what many of her peers may secretly feel: Millennials are, in fact, the cooler generation.
So why have the millennials that many Gen Zers made fun of officially reached this status? It wasn't their unique attachment to childhood memories, aesthetics, and even trends like truffle fries. According to Bosnjak, millennials are unproblematic and much cooler than her generation, which sometimes feels out of touch and overly critical.
Here’s a deeper dive into why she’s giving credit where it’s due to the millennial generation.
Here are three reasons one woman believes millennials are cooler then Gen Zers:
1. Their unapologetic nostalgia for their childhood
Millennials have often been ridiculed for their fondness for childhood nostalgia, from their obsession with early 2000s pop culture to their attachment to things like truffle fries and rustic aesthetics.
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Gen Z, with its signature self-awareness, initially mocked these trends, often branding them as outdated or "basic." However, as Bosnjak pointed out, there’s something undeniably endearing and genuine about millennials’ attachment to these memories.
Unlike Gen Z, who tend to be hyper-aware of irony and trends, millennials embraced the aesthetic and culture of their childhoods in an unapologetic, almost innocent way. The rustic, cozy décor and comfort foods were part of an authentic movement unique to millennials, even if it now feels a little dated.
Rather than being dismissive, Gen Z is starting to realize that millennials simply had their own aesthetic — one that wasn’t wrong, just different.
2. Millennials are unproblematic
In comparison to the loud, opinionated, and sometimes chaotic nature of Gen Z, or as Bosnjak described her generation, "insufferable," millennials come across as refreshingly unproblematic. The millennial generation has often been seen as calm, collected, and less involved with drama, which makes them seem far more in touch with their lives than Gen Z.
In her video, Bosnjak even compared millennials to Gen X, a generation that often goes unnoticed in today’s social landscape. Millennials tend to steer clear of making unnecessary problems, which allows them to live more peacefully without feeling the need to constantly prove a point.
While Gen Z tends to be loud and outspoken, millennials quietly go about their lives, not needing to announce their opinions on everything. And perhaps that’s what makes them so cool — this ability to just be without the need for constant validation.
3. Millennials are authentically themselves without the need for trendsetting
For all the mockery and criticism that Gen Z has thrown at millennials, there’s an undeniable truth: Millennials have a certain coolness that Gen Z is just beginning to appreciate.
Even Bosnjak admitted, as a Gen Zer herself, that her generation is often out of touch, constantly seeking new trends and trying to outpace the internet’s ever-shifting landscape. However, millennials are quite the opposite. While they may seem stuck in their ways to some, they are effortlessly cool in their authenticity.
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As much as Gen Z likes to think it’s the trendsetting, internet-savvy generation, millennials actually laid the groundwork for the digital age and social media culture — and yes, to all the millennials out there, you have finally gotten the credit you deserve. In fact, Content Science Review even dubbed millennials "the most technologically savvy," and that has everything to do with their creation and molding of social media into what Gen Z recognizes it as today.
In admitting that millennials are indeed the cooler generation, Bosnjak delved into a larger cultural shift — a growing appreciation for the millennials who created many of the aspects of our culture that we have today.
While Gen Z may have its own unique style, voice, and perspective, the millennials of today continue to show that coolness doesn’t always require being flashy or trying too hard. It’s about authenticity, nostalgia, and embracing life as it comes. Sometimes, it takes a bit of distance to see just how cool the generation ahead of you truly is — and for Gen Z, that realization is coming loud and clear.
Erika Ryan is a writer working on her bachelor's degree in Journalism. She is based in Florida and covers relationships, psychology, self-help, and human interest topics.