Once the digital pioneers and trendsetters, millennials now find themselves labelled as the 'cringe' generation. A recent podcast episode from The Guardian's Audio Long Reads, titled 'Revisited: Cringe – why millenniels became so uncool', delves into this stark cultural reversal. It explores how a cohort that defined the early internet age became a byword for awkward, earnest, and deeply uncool aesthetics.
The Anatomy of Millennial 'Cringe'
The podcast, hosted by Hannah Moore, revisits a popular 2023 episode featuring culture writer Sirin Kale. It dissects the specific signifiers that now trigger the 'cringe' response. Think of the deep side partings, the 'Live, Laugh, Love' wall art, and the earnest activism of the 'Hello Kitty' phase. These are not just fashion faux pas but symbols of a generational mindset that has fallen out of favour.
Kale argues that millennials came of age during a unique and relatively optimistic period. They were the first 'digital natives', shaping early social media platforms like MySpace and Facebook. Their culture was characterised by a blend of irony and sincerity, a trait that has not aged well in the more cynical, aesthetically polished world of Gen Z. The economic backdrop is crucial: millennials entered adulthood around the 2008 financial crisis, facing austerity, stagnant wages, and the crushing weight of student debt. Their cultural output, the podcast suggests, reflects both this trauma and a clinging to fleeting moments of joy.
The Role of Social Media and Economic Anxiety
The analysis points to social media as the accelerant for this shift in perception. Platforms like TikTok have become engines for generational critique, where Gen Z users ruthlessly mock millennial trends. The very tools millennials helped popularise are now used to archive their cultural missteps. This isn't merely about taste; it's a power dynamic. As Kale notes, 'cool' is often dictated by the young, and millennials are no longer that group.
Furthermore, the economic realities that shaped millennials fostered a culture of hustling and earnest self-improvement—manifesting in 'girlboss' culture, wellness fads, and performative productivity. To a generation facing even greater existential threats like climate catastrophe, this can seem naive or self-indulgent. The podcast highlights how the millennial pursuit of stability—home ownership, a 'meaningful' career—now reads as uncool in a world where those goals seem increasingly unattainable.
Nostalgia and the Cycle of Cool
An intriguing twist explored is the potential for redemption through nostalgia. The podcast mentions that some millennial trends, like the band My Chemical Romance, are already being reassessed and reclaimed by younger audiences. This points to a cyclical nature of 'cringe'. What is embarrassing today may be retro-cool tomorrow. However, the core millennial ethos of earnestness may be the hardest trait to rehabilitate in an age of detached, post-ironic humour.
The conclusion is not simply that millennials are uncool, but that the very definition of 'cool' is a moving target, heavily influenced by economic context, technological change, and the eternal need for the young to differentiate themselves from their predecessors. The 'cringe' label is a painful but perhaps inevitable rite of passage in the fast-moving landscape of digital culture. As the podcast implies, Generation Z should enjoy their moment—their turn for dissection is surely coming.
