Millennials Are Thanking This Woman Who Went Viral For Explaining All The Gen Z Things Her Coworker Taught Over The Summer

As a hardcore Zillenial ('97 baby), content about the Gen Z/millennial generation war often stops me dead in my tracks because I'm spiritually and emotionally very confused about where I lie. Essentially, this is how I feel:

Twitter: @akcbabu

So when a video by TikTok user @bailshenry came across my For You Page, I was made veerrry aware that calling myself Gen Z feels a biiiit of a stretch. In her video, which has now been viewed over 2.5 million times, Bailey, 33, presents TikTok with a list of things she learned while working with her Gen Z intern over the summer.

@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

And as one commenter wrote, class really was in session, cause, like, thousands of us learned a thing or two.

Commenters thanking Bailey for giving them insights into Gen Z
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

She began, "So, I'm a millennial. I'm in my 30s. It is what it is. But I still feel young-ish most days. I often say I still feel 19. Well, wouldn't you know it, this summer, I worked with a precious 19-year-old who's a rising junior at the University of Mississippi. And she taught me a thing or two — number 1, I am NOT 19."

Bailey saying she learned that she is not 19 as she thinks she is

Then, in possibly the most millennial act, Bailey proceeded to sound off her list of learnings from a MapQuest-esqe printed piece of paper, rather than just reading off her Notes app, as one commenter pointed out.

Bailey holding up her list of things she learned from Gen Z
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

So let's get into it:

1."First things first, DHgate. Now, that's not a generational thing, that's just being like an in-the-know thing, and usually, the youth are in-the-know. I did not know. I had nooo idea what DHgate was. I do now. Off the top of my head...seems illegal. Off the bottom of my head...we don't care."

Bailey talking about DHgate
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

For those also unfamiliar, DHgate is an online marketplace that links primarily Chinese wholesale sellers to people worldwide. It's kind of like Amazon in that you can buy pretty much anything on the website, but for a fraction of the cost, and instead of two-day shipping, you'll wait at least three weeks. But it's also kind of like the modern, online version of a sketchy designer goods seller, which is what it is notoriously associated with amongst Gen Z shoppers.

Commenter realizing that DHgate is basically like the guy who sold knockoff designer backs in his van in the 2000s
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

2.Onto number two: "Specifically in college towns, there's a great divide. There are the Golden Goose girlies, and then there's the Air Force 1 girlies. Because you don't wear heels to the bar anymore. And you're in a camp...you're either in the Golden Goose camp or the Air Force 1 girl camp. And there's a big difference, and you just are what you are."

White Nike Air Force 1 sneakers vs. white Golden Goose sneakers

And in case you are the lucky one to be unfamiliar with Golden Goose sneakers, they come "pre-distressed" with scuff marks and fake dirt marks, and cost somewhere in the range of $500–600 a pop. They're kind of a contentious topic, and they're definitely not a camp I will be in, unless my $50 dirty Reeboks count.

Commenters talking about Golden Goose sneakers and how they cost way too much money for coming "pre-worn"
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

3.Moving onto number three: "Alix Earle and Sofia Richie are very important. And to me as an outsider, it seems Sofia Richie is a Golden Goose girl and Alix Earle is an Air Force 1 girl. I don't know what I am saying, but it feels right."

Bailey explaining the Sofia Richie vs Alix Earle shoe camps
Amy Sussman / Getty Images / Golden Goose / Megan Briggs / Getty Images / Nike / Via tiktok.com

If you're sitting here wondering who the h-e-double-hockey-sticks these women are, I got you. In the eyes of Gen Z girlies, if Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are the gods, these are their demi-gods. For her religious Gen Z TikTok followers, Sofia Richie popularized the recent "quiet luxury" style trend, which nods to a sense of style that is minimalist, but high-quality. In comparison, Alix Earle gained her nearly five million TikTok followers by re-popularizing "get ready with me" videos, which feel like an intimate, confessional Facetime experience with your best friend.

Sofia attending an event in a formal gown and Alix attending an event in a casual outfit

Sooooo basically think of it like an aspirational girly and an accessible girly. (Still, both are highly aspirational.)

Amy Sussman / Getty Images / Megan Briggs / Getty Images

4.Anyways, moving out of the Sofia Richie and Alix Earle lore, here's Bailey's fourth bit of knowledge: "They use just *words*. 'Sus.' Does that mean suspicious? I still don't know. 'Mid.' 'Felt,' or 'felt that.' The vibe is so 'mid' here. Like mediocre. I don't know why they can't just say I'm not having a good time."

Bailey talking about the weird words Gen Z uses
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

If you're like me and constantly on Urban Dictionary for clarification, here's a little explainer:

A guide for the words "sus," "mid," and "felt"
Alana Valko's notes app

5.And for Bailey's final part one revelation: "Snapchat is everything. You don't ask for someone's phone number. So you say, 'What's your Snap?'... And then apparently friendships and relationships die on Snap."

  @bailshenry / Via tiktok.com
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

For me, I knew I was aging out of Gen Z when I no longer viewed Snapchat as a reasonable form of communication. In my mind, Snapchat died with the dog filter.

My boyfriend and me with the Snapchat dog filter on our faces in 2018
Alana Valko's Snapchat memories

6.Moving onto part two of Bailey's video, she explained: "Millennials, us, we walk a very thin line of being 'cheugy.'"

Bailey saying she doesn't care if she's cheugy or not
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

You're probably acquainted with this term by now, but if you're not here's what it means: coined by Gen Z, describing something as "cheugy" basically means it's out-of-date and often associated with millennial 2010s aesthetics, like skinny jeans, Gucci belts, Rae Dunn housewares, GIFs, and yes, even BuzzFeed listicles.

Woman on reality TV saying "sorry, not sorry"

7.Onto number seven, for Gen Z, Bailey explained, "Dating is grim. Gen Z-ers, oh bless their hearts. I wouldn't trade places with them for anything in the world. I truly wouldn't. Snapchat, to recap, it has ruined communication [and] flirting. The day after I posted that video I was in Target and I heard a child on the phone — which I didn't think that they did anymore — and she said, 'If you were in my Snap, you would know.' So, get in their Snap!"

Bailey re-enacting the young person's interactions she saw in the store
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

8.For Bailey's eighth Gen Z revelation: "They're little hustlers, and they're very capable, which leads into, like, kinda the economy," Bailey said. "They haven't seen great economic examples, especially in the United States, in the duration of their short, youthful lives, so they're just going for it; they're just living. Credit card debt what? Homeownership who?"

Bailey re-enacting Gen Z and how they will never own a home and probably have credit card debt
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

9.And for nine: "They don't wear open-toed shoes...they think it's very vulnerable to show off your toes. I find that cute, and endearing." As this teacher put it, they don't want to see ya dogs:

Commenter explaining how her students say "Oh the dogs are out" when people are wearing open-toed shoes
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

The same cannot be said for the array of Jesus and gladiator sandals I wore throughout my coming-of-age years. We were ready to fight the Greek War of Independence.

A woman wearing colorful gladiator sandals with tassels on the beach with a tweet overlayed saying the trends of the 2010s were "the worst the human race has ever seen," with mentions of Aztec-inspired leggings, peplum tops, and gladiator sandals
Photo_stella / Getty Images/iStockphoto

10.And lastly on Bailey's list: "Gen Z, they're not super close to their parents. I'm not saying that is a broad [experience], but a good bit of them are not really close to their families, and that makes me sad."

Bailey talking about how Gen Z isn't close to their parents on TikTok
@bailshenry / Via tiktok.com

Overall, Bailey had a fun summer digging into the Gen Z divide, but she said what surprised her the most was just how different Gen Z's experience really is. She told BuzzFeed, "My heart breaks for Gen Z a little bit. So much of their lives have been lived out on the Internet, dating is pretty grim, and thanks to pressures of influencers and pop culture, their standard of beauty is basically AI-generated filters."

The #boldglamourfilter hashtag on TikTok
TikTok / Via tiktok.com

While Bailey said her Gen Z intern taught her way more than she could ever teach, she did have one piece of advice for her, which TBH, I think we all need to hear. She told BuzzFeed, "I did try to guide her a little bit. I told her not to worry so much. Her life will land exactly where it is supposed to, even if it stings a little."

Jemele Hill, a host, nodding her head in agreement

You can keep up with Bailey on Instagram and on her website. Bailey also published a book, which is about living life with infertility. She hopes to take the stigma away from infertility and help women realize they are not alone in their struggles. Yay, millennial women!