Early Tuesday afternoon, two Gen Z students entered my university office to share news with Baby Boomer me. Their faces seemed not quite serious.
“Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged,” one said flatly.
Long pause.
“Really?” I replied, thinking: “Why are they telling me this?”
So, I said it aloud.
“Why are you telling me this?”
They smirked, turning not-quite-seriousness into smiling satisfaction, without any meanness.
For I’d unintentionally played my part perfectly. They’d pranked me, these Gen Zers, by being first to tell a Boomer about the engagement of two Millennial celebrities and predicting the Boomer’s reaction accurately as something like “meh.” We laughed.
And that is how I learned about the biggest engagement since the betrothal of a prince and a woman named Diana. Through old-school word of mouth.
It’s not that I don’t care. I like being chatty about the day’s news. And I care that others care.
But I don’t care much, other than to observe (again) how culture now moves at the speed of digital bytes – with an old-school assist from prankster Gen Zers.
More About Generations
From big banana to Fashion Man
What a delightful little cultural vignette!
Boomer bait, Gen Z delivery, and Millennial royalty; this engagement announcement had more layers than a Swift bridge.
Thank you so much Jeff for this lively article.
Well, in Kansas City, Jeff, this news was kind of a big deal. Thanks for giving it its due.
First, you eschew college football mania while working next door to the stadium, and now you are uninspired by the Travis-Taylor T-party.
You’re going to get a reputation.
Steve, I am lost.