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‘PR nightmare’: Gen Z makes fun of millennials for the way they wear sunglasses

‘Tough to keep up with the trends these days,’ one millennial says

Brittany Miller
New York
Saturday 16 September 2023 11:02 BST
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Related: Millennials and Gen Z are feuding over side partings on TikTok

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Gen Z has been going after millennials again, this time for the way they’ve chosen to wear sunglasses.

Influencer Jordan Harper recently took to TikTok to expose the “bullying” she’s received for how she wears her sunglasses. “Tough to keep up with the trends these days,” she captioned her video.

“I just want to let you know what kind of just absolute bullying I’ve been receiving all day,” Harper began her video, as she was seen tanning by the pool with friends. “The way I wear my sunglasses isn’t good enough for these people.”

The girl sitting next to Harper started laughing, and described the way Harper wore her sunglasses as a “PR nightmare.” Harper then showed viewers how she typically wears her sunglasses, completely up on the bridge of her nose.

Her friend, who is assumed to be Gen Z, chimes in by telling Harper that her sunglasses are “so shoved into [her] face” and that she looks like “the dad that wears a visor.”

According to her, the correct way - or the more Gen Z way - to wear sunglasses is further down on the bridge of the nose, making sure your eyebrows are exposed.

Harper ended the TikTok by asking viewers which way they wear their sunglasses: the Gen Z or “normal way”, or “the dad” or millennial way.

Since it was posted on 22 July, her TikTok has been viewed more than 600,000 times with over 600 comments.

The comments appeared to be split between the two methods of wearing sunglasses. Some cited practical reasons for wearing their sunglasses “the dad way”, such as one person who wrote: “Properly, so on the top of my nose and not halfway down to let the sun in my eyes and deceive the whole point of the sunglasses lol.”

“Oh no, the dad way they are prescription baby,” another comment read.

“But, they fall off that way,” said someone else, referencing the Gen Z way of wearing sunglasses. “I have a small nose.”

However, other people said they wore their sunglasses low, just like Gen Z, because their eyebrows need to show at all times.

“I’m a millennial and have always worn my sunglasses lower... Brows always need to be showing! Lol!” one commenter wrote.

Another agreed, writing: “Brows out. ALWAYS.”

This isn’t the first time younger generations have called out generations above them for still doing trends that aren’t popular anymore. Younger trendsetters have previously tossed away skinny jeans in favour of straight leg, “mom” jeans, boot cut jeans, boyfriend jeans, and even the low-rise jean. As Gen Z begam to bring back the controversial low-rise jean, older generations were “horrified” at the thought of donning low-rise denim.

As for hair, Gen Z considers a middle part to be superior to a side part. Over the years, Gen Z has also deemed the cry-laughing emoji to be deeply uncool, despite it being the most-used emoji of 2021.

In fact, they also find the smiley face emoji to be passive-aggressive, and admitting to being put off by the cry-laugh emoji because it’s been overused by older generations. Instead Gen Z uses the skull emoji, to indicate they are “dying” with laughter, or the tears emoji to express their emotions.

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