58 People Predict Which Gen Z Trends Will Be Cringe In A Decade, And Some Of Them Make A Good Point

Needing a label or diagnosis for every quirk.

I kind of get this vibe from them that says "look at how much I don't care. Do you know I don't care? I reallly want you to know how much I don't care. Notice mmeeee"

Yeah that is going to age like raw miilk in the sun.

I think Gen Z will look back and say that their era was stifling expressiveness and individuality.

I suspect the Gen Z trend when they hit their 30s and 40s will be a kind of anti-nonchalant revival. They'll talk about how society dimmed their shine, and how they've rediscovered themselves at 38.

This, along with getting over their prudish attitudes because they'll start having midlife crises and suddenly their hangups about age gap relationships will disappear.

All the photos and videos we've taken of absolute strangers and posted online without their permission. I hope we one day live in a world where that is an unthinkably WEIRD thing to do.

All the wasted time on doomscrolling and their inability to Read and Think.

this might be nyc specific but intentionally wearing the most insane mismatched combination of vintage clothing in an effort to look like bella hadid (who also looked ridiculous).

think a peasant skirt with white socks, gorpy athletic sneakers, some ugly millenial fast fashion top from 2001 charlotte russe and oakley wraparound sport sunglasses. this is weirdly specific but a combination i was seeing constantly in brooklyn last summer.

This generation took a massive step back ideologically. I’ve worked with way too many young guys that hate women and voted for Trump. Instead of questioning authority they joined forces with the evil empire that past young generations would have completely rejected.

Gen Z seem really mean about older people trends or hairstyles.  They are overly bothered by what other people do.

I don't remember noticing or caring what older people did when I was young.

Also the performative "activism" for Tik Tok.

The top Gen Z “trends” that will age poorly:

- Status anxiety
- Taste conformity
- Performative identity

This isn’t generational. It’s what social life looks like when everyone is visible all the time.

Vaping, Botox and other cosmetic stuff far too young, and those weird tattoo trends where you look like a detention desk (and I like tattoos).

Using slang terms excessively, to the point they totally lose meaning. One that I see ALL the time is use of the term "lowkey". It's either a reflexive habit or maybe not wanting to commit to having full feelings about anything for fear of being judged. Example: "I lowkey wanted to take her to the concert and was excited that she texted me."

Self-diagnosing yourself with a disorder and then using it as an excuse for not engaging in everyday functional behavior. "I've been fired from 2 jobs over the last few months. My bosses told me I was spending too much time on my phone but they refuse to understand that I'm neurodivergent and can't help it."

On a similar note, catastrophizing almost everything. "I was traumatized from having to go in the grocery store." "I had an anxiety attack because my mom told me that a 23 year old should be in school or working."

And the BIG one that teachers talk about in the teachers' subreddits: teenagers and young adults who are practically illiterate. They don't read and can barely read, they can't write or spell, and their attention spans are about equal to a hyperactive squirrel.

In a very literal sense, the buccal fat removal trend. It ages even 20 somethings a good 20 years, time is not going to be kind.

Vaping, once they start developing cancers never before seen by constantly huffing battery acid.

Also those laminated fuzzy caterpillar brows.

Jumping on social media trends and making thousands of the exact same stupid dance and gimmick videos. If everyone is doing the same thing, nobody will be memorable. Having no original ideas is not something to be proud of.

Thinking about some of the Gen Z traits that probably won’t age well to me would be the “I’m always right” mentality, calling people out instantly with zero nuance, acting like every thought needs to be public, getting super attached to micro labels, confusing internet norms with adult world norms (office siren look), the exhausted/ironic nihilism thing.

I'm not sure if this counts as generational per se, but as a teacher of younger folk the trend I'm most concerned about is how having any interest outside of social media is seen as cringe or embarrassing.

I remember certain pursuits being cool or uncool growing up, but in the classes I have been teaching lately, literally anything that isn't a social media trend gets derided, be it playing an instrument, dance, reading, painting... There seems to be less room for subculture and it seems that those most deeply affected by this are the ones actively policing it.

I know bullying isn't new, but we didn't use to have such a ubiquitous archetype such as has been thrust onto people by social media in its current iteration, and I wonder how these things will age.

Again, just my experience in one school, but something I've wondered about.

The trad wife trend. I used to volunteer at a womens shelter and like they're already talking about how there's going to be a massive rise in homeless women among gen z once they hit their late 30s.

Red Pill manosphere trad stuff. I think most young men( some women too) will grow outta it and look back and cringe at their younger selves.

Mental illness glorification is one for sure.

Therapy speak as if they really have had any life experinces.

Hate for age gap relationships

Heightism for men.....really not as common in past generations.

Lack of social skills.

Anything social in the literal, social sense. They are too afraid of being "cringe" but at the same time always willing to stand there and record things instead of using their eyes and brain, so theyre missing out on life and incriminating each other at the same time.

They should be called the surveillance generation.