@fleeksie/TikTok @pretty_badash/TikTok @teawithmd/TikTok
‘Still get carded in my 30s’: Why don’t millennials age compared to Gen Z?
'I think it’s mostly because we use SPF, and don’t smoke'
Jack Alban
Trending
Posted on Jan 7, 2024 Updated on Jan 7, 2024, 1:11 pm CST
Are millennials aging better than Gen Z? That’s what a lot of folks online seem to think. It’s a topic of discussion that’s been making the rounds on TikTok among several users, who have declared that, out of recent human generations, Millennials seem to be aging better than everyone else.
As a TikToker named Jessica (@jessgreenwood) queried in a viral clip that’s been stitched, re-stitched, and re-posted by several other folks on the platform: “Have you noticed how millennials don’t seem to be aging quite like the generations before? I have a theory about this: First of all I’m almost 40 and I get told all the time that I don’t look my age.”
Jessica speculated that the reason why she’s told she’s younger than her age is because she’s not in a relationship, isn’t having sex, and is very selective about the people she lets into her life. She also thinks that the millennial generation’s habit of pushing back against the patriarchy might have something to do with a collective youthfulness people have adopted and embraced on their countenances.
“What if I do look my age? What if what we’re used to seeing as normal aging is actually the result of patriarchal oppression and the literal draining of life force energy from women. What if what we’re used to seeing as normal aging is because women are exhausted,” she says. “They’ve had their feminine energy literally crushed and stifled. What if this new youthfulness that we’re starting to see is because women are pushing back and taking up space and what if the reason that I don’t look 40 is because I have protected my energy. I’ve protected my energy by remaining single and celibate. I don’t give my energy away and I’m very adamant around about not having people around me who drain me.”
For others it has less to do with crappy men stressing people the heck out and more to do with a confluence of events have contributed to this disparity and that many Gen Z-ers look the same age as, or older than their millennial counterparts.
Why could millennials look younger? Is it because they grew up in a time period where healthier eating and fitness habits were prioritized in the general population? Or does it have to do with Gen Z’s susceptibility to social media marketing when it comes to skincare and beauty trends, not to mention a resurgence in widespread abuse of nicotine in the form of vapes? Millennials were believed at one point to be “the generation that ends smoking,” but it appears Gen Z became another generation of smokers in the form of vapes.
Nicotine usage, whether it’s via smoking or vaping, can purportedly age people’s skin cells more quickly. So there is some truth to the belief that a bunch of Gen-Z’ers who have been vaping in the gender neutral restroom from the age of 13 and have consistently done so daily for years, could put themselves at risk for premature wrinkling.
The Daily Mail also wrote that many influencers who’ve shilled skin care products and routines to younger followers may ultimately be leading them astray, as these treatments when performed incorrectly or on different types of skin can make some appear older than they actually are. The English outlet highlighted the 17 age discrepancy between Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian. But because Jenner underwent cosmetic procedures, she looked much closer in age to her older sister, despite being barely legal enough to rent a car.
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we go outside less than previous generations but don't smoke/vape/pop pills as much as Gen Z so in terms of aging it's the best of both worlds 
I don't smoke or drink, fast food is my vice 
