Gen Z and Millennials often seem like they’re from different planets. But in a heartwarming and hilarious video shared by an Instagram user @livingwithlady, the humourous side of the generational gap was on full display as a Millennial mom and her Gen Z daughter took on the trending “Then vs. Now” challenge. This latest challenge which has taken social media by storm involves charading prompts to show how things were done in the past (the “then”) versus how they are done now (the “now”). From answering the phone to posing for a group photo, the mother-daughter duo tackled each prompt with bursting laughter and plenty of humor.
Their first question was how to answer the phone to which the mom demonstrated the traditional pinky and thumb gesture of answering a phone call, while her daughter hilariously mimicked holding a smartphone to her ear – showing the technology divide in the most fun way possible.
The challenge continued with the “heart hands” charade, where the mom opted for the classic heart gesture using her entire hands, while her daughter, in true Gen Z fashion, threw up signs with her “velociraptor hands,” using only her pointer fingers and thumbs. The mother had a funny outraged reaction and asked, ‘What is that?’
The fun and frolic continued as the “rolling down the car window” prompt was asked to both – the mom demonstrated the manual method of rolling down a window, whereas the daughter opted for the power window button gesture. In response, the mom playfully captioned, “She doesn’t understand the strength those windows took!” Indeed, the days of manually cranking down a window are a distant memory for the Gen-Z batch.
The most entertaining moment of the clip came when the “posing for a group photo” prompt showed us stark differences between the Millenials and Gen Z. While the mom struck a classic pose with a hand on her hip and a popped-out leg – a trademark pose for Facebook pictures, however, her daughter went for a more casual peace sign and a straightened leg posture. Raising the wholesomeness of the clip, the family dog got in on the fun, making a cameo appearance in the final group photo pose. Throughout the video, one thing became clearly evident – the fact that there may be differences between generations, but there is also plenty of space for laughter and lightheartedness. The post received a lot of comments, with most of them expressing both amusement and nostalgia. One Instagram user commented, “The heart sign why they complicating things”.
In the end, as the “Then vs. Now” challenge wrapped up with smiles and laughter, it left us with a soft and sweet reminder – the world around us may evolve, and the ways we interact with it may shift, but the timeless bond between generations will always endure. This clip has now become the latest trend in social media and therefore in the coming days, we can see different versions of this challenge – which could lead to the discovery of more stark differences between the two generations.
You can follow @livingwithlady for more hilarious content.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on February 7, 2024. It has since been updated.
