Gen Z Is Roasting Millennial Culture. But They’re Secretly Keeping the Best Parts
Millennial culture has entered its most confusing era. It’s “retro” and “too soon” at the exact same time. One minute, Gen Z is clowning a side part and skinny jeans. Next minute, they’re quoting Shrek like it’s a sacred text, and the group chat is emotionally attached to an air fryer.
So what is actually happening here. Is Gen Z rejecting millennials, or just editing them.
A student help company PapersOwl surveyed 2,000 Gen Z Americans ages 18 to 28 and asked them how they feel about classic “millennial era” staples, from fashion and habits to TV and music. The results look less like a culture war and more like a ruthless, highly curated playlist.
Gen Z’s hottest take. Keep what works, roast what tries too hard
The strongest pattern in the data is simple. Gen Z doesn’t blanket-hate millennial culture. They keep what feels useful, fun, or emotionally familiar, and they reject the parts that feel uncomfortable or performative.
That explains why some of the most mocked trends are also not actually “dead”.
Skinny jeans are getting dragged. But they are not gone
If there’s one fashion item Gen Z loves to argue about, it’s skinny jeans. In the survey, 21% called them a fashion crime, or said they tried them and hated them.
And yet, skinny jeans still have defenders. 22% said they love them. That is not a clean cancellation. That is a permanent debate, with people quietly wearing them while pretending they are “just running errands.”
The side part refuses to die
If you want a single stat that sums up the whole “Gen Z vs millennials” situation, it might be this. 55% of Gen Z respondents said they like or love the side part, and 31% said they definitely love it. Only 8% were firmly in the “despise it” camp.
Translation. The side part is not cancelled. It’s just been through a rebrand cycle.
The biggest surprise. Gen Z is keeping a lot of everyday millennial habits
This is where the stereotypes start wobbling.
The air fryer is basically Gen Z approved. 73% said they either love it or still use it, and 56% said they definitely love it. The air fryer has officially moved from “trend” to “household identity.”
Phone calls also performed better than TikTok would have you believe. 70% said they love talking on the phone, or still do. So no, Gen Z is not exclusively communicating via voice notes, reaction memes, and interpretive typing.
Nostalgia is animated, and Gen Z is all in
When it comes to what Gen Z actually watches and loves, animated classics are sitting at the top.
Toy Story was loved by 61% of respondents, and Shrek was loved by 59%. Nearly 9 in 10 said they’ve watched both. That’s not ironic nostalgia. That’s real, shared comfort media.
And yes, Gen Z streams millennial TV staples too. Friends was watched by about 69%, and 34% said they watched and loved it. The Office followed closely, with 32% saying they watched and loved it.
Meanwhile, some shows landed more in the “no thanks” pile, including Supernatural and Glee, while Grey’s Anatomy was among the most beloved. Also in the mixed or less-favored conversation. The X-Files, Shameless, and How I Met Your Mother.
Music is the most “it depends” category
If one artist sits closest to a shared millennial soundtrack, it’s Rihanna. 56% said they love her music.
After that, the data shows bigger splits by gender. Black Eyed Peas was loved by 44% of Gen Z men and 39% of Gen Z women. Adele flipped the pattern. 60% of women said they love her, compared with 38% of men.
In other words, Gen Z isn’t just consuming millennial culture. They’re filtering it. They keep the hits, ditch the parts that feel dated, and remix the rest into their own identity.
Why this matters (beyond the memes)
Generational discourse online often sounds like a never-ending dunk contest. But this survey shows something calmer underneath. People don’t adopt culture because it belongs to “their generation.” They adopt it because it fits their life.
Comfort wins. Convenience wins. Familiar stories win. And the stuff that reads as forced, awkward, or overly performative gets roasted, even if it occasionally sneaks back in six months later with a new name.
If you want the full breakdown, charts, and the complete methodology, the original research write-up is worth the click. It’s a quick read, and the data points are genuinely fun to argue about.
