Caught between dial-up nostalgia and high-speed Wi-Fi expectations, the millennial generation born between 1981 and 1996 spans age ranges from late 20s to early 40s—but how can you tell who is and isn't a millennial?
While some may say it is as simple as spotting the person who ordered avocado toast for breakfast, or the couple who are buying their first home in their 30s, Newsweek looked for some clarification, asking generative AI tool ChatGPT to outline the 10 key ways to spot a millennial.
While not an expert, ChatGPT is able to generate answers based on training data from books, articles, websites, and other written sources.
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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."
10 Signs That You're a Millennial, According to ChatGPT
In the response, the language model proposed 10 ways that someone might identify a millennial without even asking for their age, from fashion choices to their relationship with money.
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1. Social Media Use
Millennials are most likely to be found switching between Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Usually, they will be posting memes mixed with personal musings and a dash of curated content.
2. Nostalgia for the 90s
Mention "Tamagotchi," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," or the ear-piercing symphony of a dial-up modem, and watch their eyes light up. Millennials are all about 1990s and early 2000s nostalgia, eager to discuss Saturday-morning cartoons and the early internet at any opportunity.
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3. Advocacy for Work-Life Balance
Millennials are the generation that popularized remote work and freelancing, long before it was trendy. They are the ones scheduling Zoom calls from the comfort of their living room, where work breaks are synonymous with a quick yoga session or a power nap.
4. Fashion Favorites
Skinny jeans, once the epitome of cool, still hold a special place in their wardrobes. Pair that with a side fringe, and you've got a look straight out of the early 2000s. They also championed the rise of athleisure, turning yoga pants and leggings into acceptable everyday wear. And let's not forget the love affair with high-waisted everything—from jeans to shorts, if it sits above the hips, it's a win.
5. Streaming Media
Millennials are the ultimate binge-watchers, spending weekends in the company of Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify playlists. They are the ones dissecting every episode of Stranger Things or quoting The Office as if it's part of their everyday vernacular.
6. Emoji and GIFs
Text a millennial, and you will likely be greeted with a flurry of emoji and GIFs. Need to express a range of emotions? There is an emoji for that—whether it's the ever-popular 😂 or a well-placed 🤷.
7. Fitness-Focused
CrossFit, yoga, and meditation apps? Check, check, and check. Millennials have turned wellness into a lifestyle, tracking steps with Fitbits and fueling their workouts with organic smoothies.
8. Brunch and Craft Coffee
Brunch isn't just a meal; it's an event. Millennials have perfected the art of leisurely weekend brunches, complete with avocado toast and Instagram-worthy lattes.
9. Student Debt Awareness
Student loans are the shadow that lingers over many millennials. They are the generation that turned financial struggle into a shared experience, discussing budgeting tips and side hustles like they are trading war stories. If you hear talk of debt repayment strategies or the impossibility of buying a home, you have likely encountered a millennial navigating the economic maze.
10. Advocates for Social Causes
Millennials use their platforms to champion causes from climate action to mental health awareness. They are the ones signing petitions, organizing fundraisers, and promoting social justice movements with passion and purpose.
'Overstated and Overestimated'
Tim Stevens is a psychologist and seasoned writer at Connecticut College who has written about generational stereotypes. He told Newsweek: "By its nature, asking a language model like ChatGPT to summarize a generation is inherently flattening. We've long overstated and overestimated the differences between generations, while underestimating the differences within generations."
Stevens criticized ChatGPT's analysis for several reasons, but said that many of the suggestions could be true for multiple generations, not just millennials.
"[Things like] nostalgia or fitness and wellness have more to do with where millennials are in terms of age. Look at baby boomers and Gen X, and you will find similar levels of nostalgia for the music, fashion, TV, of their late teens through mid-20s," Stevens said. "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."
However, Stevens did agree with some of the classic millennial "tropes" suggested by the language model. "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 said.
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