Gen Z vs Millennial Culture: What They Keep, What They Roast, & What They Still Love

Millennial culture has officially hit that weird phase where it is both “retro” and “too soon.” One minute, Gen Z mocks the side part and oversized scarves. Next minute, someone posts a Shrek clip, and suddenly everyone agrees it is cinematic history! Well, it really is.

🔎What actually sticks. What gets dragged. And what quietly makes it into Gen Z’s daily life anyway? Let’s unwrap today’s agenda shaped by our data-based research!

Key insights

Here, you can take a quick look at cultural differences between millennials and Gen Z. We surveyed 2,000 American Zoomers aged 18–28, and their responses revealed the following insights.:

• Animated classics top the list. Toy Story is loved by 61%, while Shrek is loved by 59%. Nearly 9 in 10 have watched both.
• Skinny jeans take the biggest hit. 21% call them a fashion crime, or tried them and hated them.
• The side part refuses to die. 55% like or love it, and 31% straight-up love it.
• The air fryer is basically Gen Z-approved. 73% either love it or still use it.
• Music taste splits by gender. Black Eyed Peas appeal almost equally to Gen Z men and women, with a slight male skew (44% vs 39%), while Adele shows the opposite pattern, being far more popular among women (60%) than men (38%).

Why do these millennials’ things soak into Gen Z’s life? Reasons vary from parents’ influence to trends that circle back and forth from the 80s to the 2000s.

The most hated closet item is not that subtle

If there is one millennial fashion staple that Gen Z loves to argue about, it is skinny jeans. Those have a noble and evergreen place in the Gen Z vs millennial fashion dispute.

They are the most “I tried this and immediately regretted it” item in the list.

• In total, 21% label skinny jeans a crime against fashion or say they tried them and hated them. That is about 1 in 5 people giving them a hard NO.

And yet. Skinny jeans are also not gone (and they will not). Not even close. 22% still say they love them, which makes this trend less “dead” and more “permanently controversial.” Apart from the generation, people also have personal preferences, different bodies, and diverse outside influences. Hence, attaching an item to a specific period is like robbing a bank with a Nerf Blaster — you will confuse, amaze, and amuse people all at once.

Is the comeback for the side part already happening?

Some trends do not need a rebrand. They need a few confident people and a good hair day.

The side part is the clearest example:

• 55% say they like or love it, and only 8% stay in the “Despise It” team. So yes, the “middle part only” era has solid competition.

There is also a practical theme. The looks that survive the statistics are the ones that are easy, fast, and low-effort. Like the messy bun, which gets a strong “love it” response at 35%.

On the flip side, not every millennial identity trend takes off in the same way. For example, the “Disney adult” vibe gets the most pushback in this set since 20% rate it negatively.

Everyday habits: Gen Z quietly kept a lot of them

This is where the whole “Gen Z is nothing like millennials” idea starts to wobble.

The air fryer is the biggest flex: 73% either love it or still use it. In fact, 56% say they definitely love it. It seems that it’s not a trend anymore — it’s a household appliance becoming a personality.

Phone calls also do better than you might expect. 70% say they love talking on the phone, or still do. Unlike many TikToks that say the opposite, the stereotype that Gen Z only communicates through voice notes and reaction memes is not entirely accurate.

🫂We all need a “human touch”. This might help explain why phone calls perform better than expected among Gen Z. As AI tools become more prevalent in daily life, real-time human interaction becomes more valuable. Talking to an actual person vs a chatbot, hearing tone, pauses, and emotion, offers something that voice notes and automated systems cannot replicate. In that sense, Gen Z’s willingness to pick up the phone is not a contradiction to digital culture — it is a response to it. Thus, the rise of artificial communication seems to quietly increase the demand for connections that feel immediate, human, and unscripted.

And this same value filter explains where Gen Z draws a hard line. Smoking gets the strongest rejection on the habits list, with 25% calling it a complete dealbreaker.  Unlike phone calls or kitchen gadgets, it offers no emotional connection, no practical upside, and no sense of care for the body. This is one of those norms Gen Z clearly chooses not to carry forward.

What Gen Z watches or how cartoons win the nostalgia war

To truly understand the millennial vs Gen Z differences in media, look at the top of the list.

The two most loved movies are animated. Toy Story is loved by 61%, and Shrek by 59%. Nearly 9 in 10 have watched both. This strongly suggests that “cartoons” are not just accepted. They are the nostalgia champions.

TV Shows: Gen Z’s Favorites and Dislikes

Live-action comfort shows still have a strong pull, just in a different way. Friends is watched by about 69%, and 34% say they not only watched but loved it. The Office is close behind, with 32% saying they watched and loved it.

🎥So yes, Gen Z streams millennial classics. No wonder the biggest winners are those that are endlessly quotable, easy to rewatch, and essentially built for memes.

Supernatural and Glee receive the most dislikes from Gen Z, with many either loathing them or not interested at all. On the flip side, Friends and Grey’s Anatomy are the most beloved, with a large portion of Gen Z still watching and enjoying them. Shows like The Office and X-Files have a more mixed reception, while Shameless and How I Met Your Mother are less favored by Gen Z viewers.

Rihanna is the universal pick, but gender shifts and music gaps are real

If one artist feels closest to a shared millennial soundtrack, it is Rihanna. 56% say they love her music.

After that, preferences split in a way that makes total sense if you have ever seen a group chat argue over aux rights.

🎤Some acts skew more male. Black Eyed Peas is a clear example. 44% of Gen Z men say they love them, compared to 39% of women. Others skew strongly female. Adele is the biggest contrast in the dataset. 60% of Gen Z women say they love her, versus 38% of men.

In other words, Gen Z does not just consume millennial music. They curate it. They keep the hits, remix the vibe, and filter it through their own identity and taste.

What does this all say about Gen Z and millennial culture?

Gen Z does not “reject millennials” as a whole. They reject the parts that feel uncomfortable, try-hard, or weirdly performative. Indeed, they happily keep what is useful, fun, and emotionally familiar.

Methodology

Researchers from PapersOwl surveyed 2,000 members of Generation Z to compile this study. Randomly selected participants were asked to discuss their experiences, with no emphasis on a specific gender, ethnicity, or social background.