7 Things Every Millennial Does & If You're Guilty Of These, It's Obvious You're Pushing 30

Visiting the latest pop-ups

It seems like every single week there's some new pop-up in a major city and they, seemingly, are all the same.

When I say pop-ups, I'm not talking about a farmer's markets but rather those "immersive experiences" or "interactive exhibits" like the The Office Experience or the World of Barbie pop up in Toronto.

Many of these cost loads of money to check out, are usually located in a random mall, and it feels like they're catnip for people who are barring down or have already surpassed the age of 30.

Of course, I'm not immune to this phenomenon as I've attended some of these in the past myself, but you won't catch the teens in these millennial hotspots.

Being a Harry Potter stan

Listen, I love Harry Potter.

I grew up obsessed with Harry Potter, my parents read the books to me and I saw all the movies in theatres. That being said, I have, in fact, seen other movies and read other books since those came out.

Lots of millennials I know seem to be in a constant spiral of Harry Potter rewatching, rereading and desperately trying to relive their youth.

Of course, I would never begrudge anyone for doing stuff that they love and makes them happy, but I would point out that if they're on their third Harry Potter rewatch of the year, they're showing their age.

Performatively using Gen Z slang

This might be more of a personal pet peeve and a symptom of being on social media too much, but I feel like one thing that really broadcasts your real age is over-leaning into Gen Z slang.

If you have a full-time job in marketing, I don't want to hear you say "rizz." If you have an RRSP, don't say "cap" around me.

It just doesn't feel right.

This might seem a bit self-reflexive, but I think it's incredibly clear when someone is trying to jump onto younger trends that they aren't naturally involved in.

Still using Facebook

Facebook was the social media platform for such a long time, way before Instagram, Twitter and TikTok came along.

Around 15 years ago, being on Facebook was like the cutting edge of the future of social media platforms.

Now? It's mostly the place where my grandparents and elder family members post memes about TV shows from the 1970s.

And right along with them are all the millennials who likely got in on the ground floor of Facebook and are now ride-or-die for the platform.

And while the old FB still has its uses and I do pop on there every once in a while, heavy Facebook use shows you're a millennial or older.

Only listening to music from 2003 to 2015

I remember hearing once that most older people just end up listening to the music they loved in their late teens and early 20s.

So, if you're spinning My Chemical Romance, early Taylor Swift, and Metro Station at your next function, there's a good chance those around you know that your birth year begins with "19."

Granted, if they're people from your age group, they probably won't care and will be rocking out to those tunes right along with you.

You say things like "adulting"

Baby boomer voice: "Back in my day, we just called those errands, chores and things you need to get done!"

A thing that I see a lot in the world of millennials is a detached view of adulthood and "adult" tasks.

Even younger people don't call chores like doing your taxes "adulting" — likely because they're too busy destroying their attention spans on TikTok — but the point still stands.

I just think you can't be 30 years old and act surprised when you have to do "adult" things.

You have a Hotmail or Yahoo email address

Remember Hotmail? Or even worse, Yahoo? 

Back in the day, it seemed like there were a bunch of email services for you to sign up for and to pick one other than Gmail felt like a statement.

However, now that we're in 2023 that statement has turned into "I'm old as hell."

Getting an email from someone with a Hotmail, Yahoo or even AOL email address is sort of like going back to visit your grandma and realizing that dog she's always had is still somehow around. 

But hey, if that old email gets the job done, no skin off my back. But just be aware that it's a big flag that screams "I'm almost 30."