Nothing makes me feel older than opening up TikTok and seeing videos of 12-year-olds doing dance moves I’ve never seen to songs I've never heard while wearing outfits that would have been considered extremely unstylish when I was their age. It’s incredibly challenging to keep up with the lingo and trends of younger generations, but lucky for us, one millennial mom is dedicated to translating them for the rest of us.
Faith Hitchon, a California-based mother, has been sharing updates on TikTok that break down trends her Gen Alpha daughter has explained to her. Anything from fashion to phone accessories can be considered lame by middle schoolers, so below, you can learn all about what’s in and what’s out!
"Trend report live update from my daughter's middle school pickup line"
Image credits: faithhitch
"Do not even think about wearing pants that even hint at being tight. Don't even try a straight-leg leg jean, it's like barely making the mark. If you do anything, if you listen to anything, that's the takeaway.
Starface pimple patches are social currency. They are also a replacement for money, I've been told, so you can trade them for other things. But they're absolutely an accessory, not just a necessity, but they're both."
Image credits: faithhitch
"Early 2000s haircuts on the boys. My daughter calls them 'Chad cuts', I don't know if that's colloquial to Southern California and LA or if that's universal, but they're around, the flippy, the long, they're back.
Hoodies, hoodies, hoodies. There isn't any cardigan in sight. There are barely any jackets. It's all about hoodies."
Image credits: faithhitch
"This one has been happening for a little while now. But if you have a PopSocket on the back of your phone, you should take it off and throw it away or burn it. Because PopSockets are the skinny jeans of phone accessories.
The only acceptable phone accessories, aside from like a cute case, are the little bracelets that attach to your wrist and then attach to your phone.
You can also have the suction cup sticky things from Amazon, if you have both, you get a little bit of street cred, but a PopSocket is an immediate side eye and immediate millennial marker."
Image credits: faithhitch
"When it comes to shoes. It's very chunky. So this is especially for girls. Uggs, sandals, tennis shoes, we're going chunky, think like Skechers 2005 to 2007 style. It's very much back and a little bit more of like a chicer way. But any shoe is preferably chunky.
Staying on the chunky theme. It's also really important to make sure that your jewelry is chunky. We're not necessarily going with super petite anymore unless you are dealing with earrings and hoops.
Jewelry is very chunky, very playful. And the everyday jewelry is primarily silver, not gold. I'm seeing this silver jewelry trend everywhere. I'm clearly participating in it myself. So I think they're onto something here. It's not just them, but it's like very much a thing for them."
Image credits: faithhitch
"This next one is my daughter and I's biggest tension point. She feels, and she says that she speaks for her generation, that millennials are way too sensitive about always having to use 'kk'. She feels like 'k' is a perfectly acceptable response. And she thinks that we need to get over it. So if you get 'k', you're not necessarily getting an attitude, you're just getting a response.
This is an editor's note. Also, for everyone who was so offended and triggered by my last video, I am not saying that you need to be following the trends of middle schoolers. You can hold on to your skinny jeans, I just am in these middle school trenches with my daughter, and I work in fashion, and I find these things fascinating. So do with this information what you will. It's gonna be okay."
Image credits: faithhitch
"This is going to come for the throat of every millennial, but not only are skinny jeans out, so are skinny leggings. If you're going to wear a legging, it needs to have some kind of flair to it, or you need to be wearing sweatpants.
This next one is also very much an attack on millennials, and I apologize in advance because it hurts me too. Throwing a cute piece sign when you're trying to take like a cute fun selfie is no longer a thing, in fact, my daughter always tells me it's cringe when I do it. It is however acceptable to do a heart, or if you really want to impress, you can do the middle finger big heart."
Image credits: faithhitch
"We all know at this point that coquette is very in, as are ribbons, but ribbons are level one of coquette. My daughter said that if you want to get to like max level, you need to be wearing a lot of lace.
A Blair Waldorf style big headband, or even just a heart headband in general, is no longer a thing. However, the thick, chunky elastic headbands are very much acceptable, but you need to make sure that you're pushing your bangs back with them.
If you have to wear a T-shirt on its own, that's fine. But it's much more acceptable to wear a T-shirt and always have a long sleeved shirt of some kind underneath it."
Image credits: faithhitch
"And last but not least, 'slay' is very much on its way out. You can say 'major', but that's still kind of for like the old cool kids. My daughter says that you need to say 'you ate that'.
For example, when she likes the dinner I cook she says, 'you ate that'. I also once talked myself out of a parking ticket in front of her and she also said 'you ate that'.
As always, please try not to get too upset by this. You can keep your skinny jeans and your PopSockets I'm just here in these trenches, sharing Jenny's perspective because they think it's interesting and kind of funny."
You can see one of Faith's full trend updates right here
Gen Alpha is the generation born between 2010 and 2024
If you’re unfamiliar with the youngest generation, Gen Alpha, here’s a brief explanation of this “landmark generation.” As of right now, these are the kids and preteens that have been born between 2010 and 2024. They’re mostly children of millennials, and they’re growing up in an online world even more prominently than Gen Z did, Axios reports.
These kids have never known a world without iPhones and iPads, and on average, they’re receiving their first smartphones around age 9. Much of Gen Alpha will grow up using AI tools like ChatGPT in school, and many of them have already experienced remote schooling due to the pandemic.
And of course, with any new generation comes new trends. It can be difficult to say exactly what trends will be popular in the future for Gen Alpha, because they’re still so young, but thanks to their prominence on social media and mothers like Faith who want to keep us all in the loop, they already have some signature looks and ideas.
Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
Along with their fashion trends, Gen Alpha has embraced mindfulness and progressive language as well
PureWow also published a piece on trends Gen Alpha is embracing, and they note that mindfulness is one that’s already big amongst this young generation. Considering the fact that 42% of Gen Z has been diagnosed with a mental health condition, it’s great that Gen Alpha is already taking steps to look after their mental health. Some schools have embraced wellness practices already, and many kids are speaking openly about the importance of therapy.
Gender neutral language and flexible pronouns are becoming more popular with every generation as well, and Gen Alpha is no exception. “I know about 10 children who have changed their gender pronouns within the past few years—either switching genders or opting to go by they/them,” one parent told PureWow. “The other kids are so much less phased by this and have a much better vocabulary for it than their parents.”
And as Faith has pointed out, Gen Alpha has strong opinions on fashion, lingo and accessories as well. But according to Good On You, the young generation’s concerns about the environment might be playing a role in how ethically they shop as well. Because these young people are more invested in saving the planet and instinctively want to push against any trends that their millennial parents set, they could finally bring an end to the fast fashion industry.
Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
This generation is full of conscious consumers
“Alphas are showing signs of being critical, ethical, and conscious consumers, even pushing back on their own parents’ online behaviors,” Dr. Gordon Fletcher of Salford Business School told Good On You. “Their goal not to be defined by the technology they use may come out in terms of fashion choices,” he added.
Fletcher explains that this generation has been embracing the fashion of previous decades, and they're learning at a young age how to find great vintage clothing that's been made to last at thrift stores. "Seeking authenticity away from the screen—but discovered through the screen—could become defining for Alphas as they enter the workforce and become independent,” he continued.
If you’re a parent of a Gen Alpha kid, you’ve likely heard about all of these trends in your own household. But if this is your first brush with Gen Alpha culture, we’d love to hear your thoughts on it down below. Do you wish to cling on to millennial trends, or do you think it’s time to retire them? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article that millennials might relate to, look no further than right here!
Image credits: Polina Tankilevitch / pexels (not the actual photo)
Later, Faith joined in on the conversation in the replies
Amused viewers commented their thoughts on the videos, while some shared disappointment about millennial trends going out of style
