You know those millennials who pepper every text with an “lol” or emoji like it’s life support? Anna Gaddis (@annagaddis) is one of those people — and she’s clapping back at the haters.
In a recent video, she defended her generation’s habit, saying anyone (mostly Gen Zers) who tells millennials to “stop putting ‘lol’ behind sentences” just doesn’t get it.
Gaddis stressed that the “lol” doesn’t signify a boisterous, full-throttle laugh — it’s more like a quiet snicker or subtle chuckle.
“That’s just what it is,” she stressed after acting out the differences between laughs and chuckles.
Fellow millennials rushed to the comments on Gaddis’s August 16 TikTok to weigh in, with the clip garnering over 5.8 million views.
One explained the necessity of the tiny acronym bluntly: “If I don’t use ‘lol’ I sound rude.”
Another chimed in, echoing the sentiment: “It’s to soften delivery.”
A third fired back at critics, warning, “These youths better stop telling the generation that shaped internet and texting culture how to be on the internet & text.”
Some offered practical defenses, like one user who stressed, “That lol can save you from unnecessary arguments.”
Others poked fun at Gen Z’s priorities, with one commenter noting, “Gen Z really needs to focus on learning how to write an essay without ChatGPT instead of always coming for millennials lol.”
In a recent interview with Newsweek, Gaddis further explained that it’s “so easy to write ‘lol’ as it has so many meanings, context to it.”
She added that “you can use it to show humor, sarcasm, nervous laughter, a chuckle or giggle —honestly, anything. It shows lightheartedness in most cases.”
And texting habits are just one front in the ongoing generational turf war.
Millennials are also flooding inboxes with what TikTok has dubbed “millennial thank you notes” — earnest, emoji-packed gush-fests sent right after brunch, a night out or even a quick FaceTime.
“You know when someone texts you right after you get home from hanging out with them and they say, like, ‘I had a great time, so nice to see you?’ What a gift from God,” gushed TikTok user @carlabezanson in a viral clip earlier this spring.
Millennials, it seems, wear their hearts on their texts. Gen Z prefers theirs with a thick layer of irony — and a wink.
Still, licensed mental health counselor Kathryn Lee says millennials might be onto something.
“Millennials would probably prefer more of that face-to-face connection, because that is what they grew up with,” she told the outlet.
When they finally get it, “they’re sure to say ‘thank you.’”
Overall, maybe we can call it the great digital divide: millennials gush, Gen Z shrugs.
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