Social:Millennial pause

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Short description: Pause at the start of some recorded videos


The millennial pause is a pause in speaking that is present at the start of some recorded videos, especially in short-form content and on social media apps like TikTok.[1][2][3][4] The practice of including such a pause is generally ascribed to millennials, the generation of people born from the early-mid 1980s to mid-1990s.[5][6][7][8][9][10] The phenomenon is an example of the digital generation gap between millennials and subsequent generations.[11][12]

Observation

In mainstream media, millennial pauses were first noted in the videos posted by Taylor Swift (pictured), who is considered as a millennial exemplar.

The practice was first observed as early as 1 March 2021, when a TikTok user questioned "why [millennials] pause so long before speaking", and mentioned that they should "hit record and GO".[13][14]

The term "millennial pause" is attributed to TikTok user nisipisa, a millennial who posted a TikTok video on 26 November 2021, pointing out that Taylor Swift, a millennial singer, includes such pauses at the start of her videos.[1][15][16][lower-alpha 1] Kathryn Lindsay of The Atlantic, a millennial herself, stated that this pause is becoming more noticeable as short-form videos are becoming more prevalent on the social network Instagram, instant messaging app Snapchat, and online video platform YouTube.[1]

Videos by people other than millennials have also been described as exhibiting a millennial pause; Parade reported that singer JC Chasez included one in his TikTok debut video, and James Factora of Them mentioned how actress Jennifer Coolidge included one in "a perfect TikTok" during her debut.[18][19][lower-alpha 2]

Theory

It has been conjectured that the reason why people older than zoomers[lower-alpha 3] tend to include a pause at the start of their videos is to make sure that the device they are using is actually recording before beginning to say anything.[1][23] In contrast, younger users either test the device before recording or trust that the devices are working correctly, and begin speaking immediately after the recording begins.[1]

Another theory for the pause's prevalence is that the habit may have first been adopted when earlier recording devices commonly took a split second before beginning to record.[24] Although newer devices do not exhibit the same delay, this habit has proven hard to break.[24]

Gen Z shake

On 18 January 2023, a Gen Z user of TikTok posted a video describing how members of Generation Z often start recording their videos right before placing their cameras on a stable surface.[25][26][27] As a result, the video shakes at the start of these recordings before the camera is set down.[25][28] The user dubbed the behavior the "Gen Z shake", and called it "the Gen Z equivalent to the millennial pause".[25][27]

Lindsay reported that she has also found videos that begin while the recorder is in the middle of a task, such as finishing a bite of food, so that it may take some time before the recorder actually addresses the audience.[25] She stated that, like the Gen Z shake, doing this gives the audience the sense that the video begins in medias res.[25] Lindsay added that the Gen Z shake is "a performance" rather than an unconscious act, and points out that although this phenomenon, like the millennial pause, could be edited out, neither is.[25] Another social media content creator has theorized that, because zoomers have lived their entire lives with the Internet, the Gen Z shake is an act of rebellion, and is done ironically.[25]

Awareness

Becoming aware of the phenomenon has made some millennials notice that they are "getting old".[10] People have also noted that, once they have been made aware that their recordings include millennial pauses, they find their own habit embarrassing, yet still have trouble breaking the habit.[24] Some people have stated that, without the pause, the start of their dialogue would be cut off.[29] Users have also stated that, once one is aware of the phenomenon, it is difficult to ignore its presence in a video.[23]

The phrase has been used untranslated outside of the Anglosphere, including in Brazil,[30] Chile,[31] Denmark,[32] France,[33] Germany,[34] Indonesia,[29] Italy,[12] Mexico,[35] the Netherlands,[36] and Spain.[37][lower-alpha 4]

See also

Notes

  1. The social media user actually used the phrase "millennial obligatory pause" in her video post, though the title of her post included the phrase "millennial pause".[17][16] The post also included a snippet from a video in which Swift exhibited this pause before discussing the re-release of her album Red.[17][16]
  2. JC Chasez was born in 1976.[20] Definitions of "millennial" often include people born in the 1980s, but not those in the 1970s.[5][6][7] Jennifer Coolidge was born in 1961.[21]
  3. A zoomer is a member of Generation Z, the generation following that of millennials.[22]
  4. Spanish newspaper El País used a Spanish translation, calling it "la pausa millennial", though it also mentioned the English-language hashtag "#MillennialPause", and used the phrase untranslated in its English-language edition.[37][38]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lindsay, Kate (6 August 2022). "Are You Sure You're Not Guilty of the 'Millennial Pause'?". https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/08/tiktok-gen-z-millennial-pause-parody/671069/. 
  2. Kelly, Tiffany (13 August 2022). "What the 'Millennial Pause' Discourse Says About Millennial vs. Gen Z". https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/millennial-pause-gen-z-debates/. 
  3. "Taylor Swift's Getting Funnier". https://www.gawker.com/celebrity/taylor-swifts-getting-funnier. 
  4. "Tuesday Briefing: What's Behind Angry Protests Against China's 'Deadly' COVID Restrictions". 29 November 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/29/tuesday-briefing-chinas-protesters-in-their-own-words. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Millennial". https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/millennial. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 Singal, Jesse (May 2017). "Snapchat? No thanks; I'm an Old Millennial". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/01/health/young-old-millennial-partner/index.html. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Definition of Millennial". https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millennial. 
  8. Rogers, Hannah. "What is a 'Millennial Pause'?". https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/what-is-a-millennial-pause-58ms7bg8c. 
  9. "For My Birthday, '90s Nostalgia and the Gift of Grief Literacy". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/12/karen-attiah-newsletter-birthday-grief-millennials/. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Growing Old Online". Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/growing-old-online/. Retrieved 8 January 2023. 
  11. Lindsay, Kate (18 October 2022). "The End of a Millennial Internet Era". https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/10/the-end-of-a-millennial-internet-era/671779/. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Web, The Decline of GIFs is Also That of Millennials". https://www.editorialedomani.it/tecnologia/web-il-declino-delle-gif-e-anche-quello-dei-millennial-wwmzlv50. 
  13. Ferrari, Pauline (2 February 2023). "Sur TikTok, la " génération Z " se moque sans scrupule des " millenials "" (in fr). www.20minutes.fr. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. https://archive.today/20230204061010/https://www.20minutes.fr/by-the-web/4021494-20230202-tiktok-millennial-pause-douloureux-constat-vieillit-tous-internet. 
  14. "Like why do they pause so long before speaking babe hit record and GO ... | TikTok". TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@victoriahammett/video/6934809501593865477. 
  15. "What Is the Millenial Pause on TikTok? The Answer Is Quite Literal". Distractify. https://www.distractify.com/p/what-is-millennial-pause-tiktok. 
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 "#stitch with @taylorswift millennial pause (taylor's version) | TikTok". TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@nisipisa/video/7034893176569728302. 
  17. 17.0 17.1 Lindsay, Kate. "The Millennial Pause". https://embedded.substack.com/p/the-millennial-pause. 
  18. "NSYNC's JC Chasez Joins TikTok, Debuts New Mature Hairstyle". https://parade.com/news/nsync-jc-chasez-joins-tiktok-shows-off-new-hairstyle. 
  19. "This Is Not a Drill: Jennifer Coolidge Is Now on TikTok". Them. https://www.them.us/story/jennifer-coolidge-tik-tok. 
  20. "JC Chasez Biography". http://www.biography.com/people/jc-chasez-21186437. 
  21. "Jennifer Coolidge: Movies, Photos, Videos, News, Biography & Birthday | eTimes". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Jennifer-Coolidge. 
  22. "Words We're Watching: 'Zoomer'". merriam-webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-zoomer-gen-z. 
  23. 23.0 23.1 Marwah, Srishti. "What Is 'Millennial Pause' On Tiktok? Viral Trend Leaves The Internet In A Frenzy". sportskeeda.com. https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/what-is-millennial-pause-on-tiktok-viral-trend-leaves-internet-frenzy. 
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 O'Reilly, Séamas (26 November 2022). "Séamas O'Reilly: I've Been Trying Out New Social Media Sites as an Escape Raft from Twitter". https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-41014232.html. 
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 25.6 lindsay, kate. "The Gen Z shake". embedded.substack.com. https://embedded.substack.com/p/the-gen-z-shake. 
  26. "A TikToker Says 'The Gen Z Shake' Is The Equivalent To The Millenial Pause & Now My Brain Hurts". PEDESTRIAN.TV. https://www.pedestrian.tv/tech-gaming/gen-z-shake/. 
  27. 27.0 27.1 "I figured out what's genz equivalent of the millennial pause! ##millen... | TikTok". TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@homegirlzay/video/7189855904903204139. 
  28. "TikTok has realised The Gen Z shake is the latest equivalent to the Millennial pause". UK. https://thetab.com/uk/2023/01/31/tiktok-has-realised-the-gen-z-shake-is-the-latest-equivalent-to-the-millennial-pause-292524. 
  29. 29.0 29.1 "Viral di TikTok Hari Ini, Apa Sih Pengertian dari 'Millennial Pause'? - Semua Halaman - Hai" (in id). Hai. https://hai.grid.id/read/073663211/viral-di-tiktok-hari-ini-apa-sih-pengertian-dari-millennial-pause?page=all. 
  30. "'Millennial Pause' is the New Talk of Generations" (in pt). 29 September 2022. https://www.terra.com.br/vida-e-estilo/millennial-pause-e-o-novo-assunto-das-geracoes,95a6ed7a707829b9f919daac8565f83agplwr9ay.html. 
  31. "Why Millennials Are the New 'Dinosaurs of the Internet': And How Gen Z Mocks Them" (in es). https://www.infinita.cl/tendencias/2022/10/05/por-que-los-millennials-son-los-nuevos-dinosaurios-del-internet-y-como-la-gen-z-se-burla-de-ellos-2.html. 
  32. "Boomers Used to Take the Brunt, But Now It's a Different Generation" (in da). 28 August 2022. https://underholdning.tv2.dk/2022-08-28-foer-stod-boomere-for-skud-men-nu-er-det-en-anden-generation. 
  33. "But What Is The 'Millennial Break' That You Are Probably Taking Without Realizing It?" (in fr). 26 August 2022. https://www.konbini.com/popculture/mais-cest-quoi-la-millenial-pause-que-vous-faites-probablement-sans-vous-en-apercevoir/. 
  34. Willems, Christina (15 November 2022). "Tiktok Phenomenon Explained: What Actually is a "Millennial Break"?" (in de). https://rp-online.de/digitales/internet/millennial-pause-das-versteht-man-unter-dem-tiktok-begriff_aid-79978193. 
  35. "Millennial Pause: What Gives Away Millennials on Tiktok?" (in es). 14 October 2022. https://www.uic.mx/millennial-pause-que-delata-a-los-millennials-en-tiktok/. 
  36. "So There is a Second Between 'Camera On' and 'Talk', and That is the Millennial Pause" (in nl). 23 November 2022. https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/er-zit-dus-een-seconde-tussen-camera-aan-en-praten-en-dat-is-de-millennial-pause~b7bc14e8/. 
  37. 37.0 37.1 Vázquez, Karelia (30 September 2022). "Millennials Are the New Oldies of the Internet" (in es). https://elpais.com/eps/2022-09-30/los-millennials-son-los-nuevos-viejos-de-internet.html. 
  38. Vázquez, Karelia (3 October 2022). "Why Millennials Are the New Online Dinosaurs". https://english.elpais.com/society/2022-10-03/why-millennials-are-the-new-online-dinosaurs.html. 

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