DJ Reveals How She Spots Difference Between Dancing Gen Z and Millennials

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Alyce Collins is a Newsweek Life and Trends reporter based in Birmingham, U.K. with a focus on trending topics that are both engaging and relatable. Since 2019, she has covered a variety of human-interest stories, from health concerns, wellbeing, fitness and beauty trends. Alyce joined Newsweek in 2023, having previously worked in U.K. press agencies to supply stories to a range of newspapers and magazines. She is a graduate of the University of York. Languages: English. You can get in touch with Alyce by emailing a.*******@******ek.com

Alyce Collins

Life and Trends Reporter

A DJ has intrigued internet users by sharing how she tells the difference between millennials and Gen Zers in the audience. Hint—it’s not skinny jeans.

Singer songwriter Maryse Bernard, 32, who performs DJ sets under the stage name Maryze, has learned to spot some key differences between her audience members. While millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) are often similar in age, there are plenty of differences between the two.

Bernard, who herself is a millennial, told Newsweek that their music taste generally “doesn’t differ too much.” However, it’s often how they respond to the tracks that really shows their age.

“I have to admit, millennials generally commit a bit harder to the dance floor,” said Bernard, of Los Angeles, California. “Maybe we care less about how we look coming from an era where partying wasn’t immediately documented online. That said, our Facebook albums were pretty insane back in the day.”

She continued: “However, Gen Z know more TikTok dances and music video choreography, which I’m always impressed by. They also seem to be in touch with themselves and their identities.”

The DJ, who just released her first single in over a year, titled Versed, shared a video on TikTok explaining detailing the differences between “Gen Z vs millennial dancing.” In the clip, she reveals that her natural millennial urge when dancing is to wave her hands up in the air, whereas Gen Z prefer to raise a closed fist just “vibing out.”

Since the video was shared on February 15, it has gone viral with over 149,900 views and 7,200 likes at the time of writing.

Regardless of their differences, Bernard loves both generations and enjoys seeing them show their personalities.

Bernard said: “When I perform, Gen Z are often super expressive about how much they enjoyed the show. They incorporate internet trends so quickly, which is cool to see. I prefer Gen Z style in general, but a lot of it came from millennial fashion, so the original trendsetting generation is up for debate.”

She also believes that music brings the generations together, because who doesn’t love songs from the nineties and noughties? In fact, she jokes that elder millennials and young Gen Zers probably have very similar playlists, although they might not admit that.

Since sharing the clip online, Bernard has been amazed by the social media reaction. While many appreciated that it was merely a light-hearted observation, others couldn’t get over the fact Bernard is a millennial, which she was flattered by.

“There were some comments saying the video promoted society’s obsession with age, but it really wasn’t that deep. I’m proud of being in my 30s and share it openly,” Bernard told Newsweek. “I’m also finishing my second album, which blends indie electroclash sounds I grew up with in the late 2000s and modern pop production. It’s a project for both millennial and Gen Z listeners, and hopefully everyone else too.”

Plenty of social media users took to the comments section to share their thoughts, leading to over 360 responses on the viral clip.

One TikTok comment reads: “I think millennials dance to have fun and Gen Zs dance for content.”

Another person wrote: “Wait but I feel like the closed hand was also a millennial move.”

While another person added: “I’m a millennial and the gen Z closed fist just feels SO awkward, so it must be true.”

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