Do you know how to dial a rotary phone, send a fax or rewind a VCR? Because you just might have the skills necessary to confuse a millennial.
Or do you suffer from crippling debt, a flawed education system and bleak job prospects? Because you just might be a millennial confused by how much your elders have "screwed up" society.
A Twitter hashtag created to criticize millennials quickly took on a different tone over the weekend, as young people twisted the topic around to highlight the apparent shortcomings of older generations.
Many people used the hashtag #HowToConfuseAMillennial to point out the unique challenges facing those who grew up in the new millennium. Older generations griped about entitlement and "kids these days" while millennials were pessimistic about the opportunities ahead of them.
College-age millennials embraced the hashtag as a way to fire back at critics among older generations, over topics such as education, economics and racism.
#HowToConfuseAMillennial tell us we need a college education to be successful & then make it impossible to get w/out going into immense debt
— #1 Bird Dad (@bradylee_) September 4, 2016
You can be expelled from a university for plagiarism but you'll only get a slap on the wrist for raping someone #HowToConfuseaMillennial
— lew. (@Blink1EightyLew) September 4, 2016
Keep wages stagnant as productivity increases and tell people they're not rich because they're lazy. #HowtoConfuseAMillennial
— #NoDAPL (@BlackAutonomist) September 4, 2016
Tell them to follow their passions!*
— sully (@NoMayoTears) September 4, 2016
*as long as they aren't passionate about art, writing, or anything creative#HowToConfuseAMillennial
Complain about this generation being disrespectful & then act like homophobia, racism, social inequality is normal #HowToConfuseAMillennial
— Albie Dominguez (@johnenricoo) September 4, 2016
Everyone in the #HowToConfuseAMillennial tag pic.twitter.com/TFEkjNHnGf
— Prínčé Âłï (@high_techboy) September 4, 2016
#HowToConfuseAMillennial
— Iman A. (@aveiman) September 4, 2016
"Back in my day we could be-" openly racist, homophobic, sexist and islamaphobic? Your bigotry is quite puzzling.
Millennials managed to effectively hijack the hashtag, with the vast majority of tweets in favour of the younger, Internet-savvy generation. One even user mocked the creation of the #HowToConfuseAMillennial hashtag, pointing out that it's largely ineffective to criticize millennials on a platform "controlled" by millennials.
However, there was still a strong undercurrent of grumbling from older generations, who accused young people of being entitled and lazy.
#HowToConfuseAMillennial Tell them they have to take the bus or walk instead of having you drive them everywhere. pic.twitter.com/LQZLGR33To
— Kevin (@AllNightShow) September 4, 2016
Turn off their autocorrect #HowToConfuseAMillennial
— #Jesus (@TheLordHasSpoke) September 4, 2016
Tell them they won't get a trophy unless they actually win #HowToConfuseAMillennial
— Rick (@rwads) September 4, 2016
#HowToConfuseAMillennial
— Andrew (@1andrewfenton) September 4, 2016
Hand them a job application form
Ask them to work overtime #HowToConfuseAMillennial
— Marshall (@MarshallSbar) September 4, 2016
Others took a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the hashtag, by highlighting old technologies that millennials are largely ignorant about.
#HowToConfuseAMillennial ask them the relationship between the two. pic.twitter.com/VzRF9U6UsY
— Eric Alper (@ThatEricAlper) September 4, 2016
#HowToConfuseAMillennial ask them to make a call on this pic.twitter.com/BXUcAPJfs7
— adu1tg33k (@adu1tg33k1) September 4, 2016
#HowToConfuseAMillennial give them this.. pic.twitter.com/vxLIaMZHYZ
— RoeSo Loves UofM! (@roeu812) September 4, 2016
Ask them to tell you five phone numbers from memory #HowToConfuseAMillennial
— Leigh (@leightotheanne) September 4, 2016
#HowToConfuseAMillennial
— SophieDiddles (@sophie_diddles) September 4, 2016
Show them what an antique GPS looks like pic.twitter.com/QbRhP4HNdm
#HowToConfuseAMillennial
— SophieDiddles (@sophie_diddles) September 4, 2016
show them how we used to "google" pic.twitter.com/6gtFJjcLCN