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What's The 'Elder Millennial' Meme? The Cringe TikTok Video Of A Roller Derby Woman 'Derping' Out Explained

A TikTok video of a roller derby woman quirkily saying, "Elder Millennial," is going viral for all the wrong reasons.
The borderline doggo-speak has cringed out a large portion of Gen Z and even Millennials themselves.
For many, the woman's flavorful declaration of her age is worse than the Millennial Pause. Others, however, think that the internet is being too hard on her.
Regardless, where did this video come from? What's the "Elder Millennial" meme all about? Let's explain.

What's The Original 'Elder Millennial' Video?
The video has been deleted, but it was first shared by the TikTok account of Assassination City Roller Derby in Dallas, Texas. It was posted sometime in late February, as its first repost was shared around that time.
The brief clip shows the roller derby players in a line, organized by age. The first is the youngest, the last is the oldest, and towards the end, the "Elder Millennial" announces herself. When it's her turn to say a number, she instead says her catchphrase, doing a "rock on" or devil horns hand signal in tow.
@penguin4787 elder millennial 😂☝️ #eldermillenial #meme ♬ lofi beat to chill or study to – realplexxx
What Does 'Elder Millennial' Mean?
"Elder Millennial" refers to a person who was born at the beginning of the Millennial generation, making them the oldest Millennials today. This generally means anyone who was born in the 1980s.
This subset of people is often the subject of jokes and memes online, mostly levied by Zoomers who think they're cringe or out of touch with the modern world — the general, irony-poisoned tone of the internet is too jaded for their pure, pre-social media hearts.
Another thing Elder Millennials love to do is tell people on the internet that they're Elder Millennials. At this point in time, it seems to be a new evolution of the "Only '90s Kids" nostalgia discourse from the early internet.



Why Is The 'Elder Millennial' Meme Viral On TikTok?
There are a lot of alleged Millennial habits that the younger part of the internet finds cringeworthy. The list goes on, including "Millennial Writing," "Millennial Burger Joints" and the "Millennial Whoop," among others.
In recent months, the parody song "We Will Never Die" by Kyle Gordon, notably increased interest in Millennial stereotypes.
With this new roller derby video, it seems to be a visceral reaction to the "Quirk Chungus" archetype that the woman embodies. "TS just ruined my day 🥀💔," some Zoomer said on TikTok, using their generation's latest brainrot slang to mock the clip.
@goofyahhuncs43 nobodys laughing🥀🥀
Meanwhile, others are arguing in the Elder Millennial's favor. One TikToker said that the hate was forced and that her joke was "lowkey a banger."
He continued, "That joke was not meant for us. Look at everyone in that video. That joke was meant for the target audience, and she literally got everybody to laugh … When was the last time you got everybody in the group to laugh at a joke?"
Perhaps he's right, and the argument hits at the core of everything "cringe." It's not cringe until it leaves the target audience. Examples include Danika Thibault's infamous stand-up set and StrangeK3vin's "Female Gaze."
For all of the women in the latter, Kevin truly had that attractive aura until onlookers found out and thought, wait a minute.
So, even though this TikToker is likely being ironic, he's got a valid point. At the same time, people's gut reactions of disgust are also valid. Surely not everyone in that room laughed.
@rarefloorloot #fypシ #foryou #griffinmethod ♬ original sound – Aura
For the full history of Elder Millennial, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.