I received an email from an American Magazine asking why Millennials look so young for their age, and while my response, which highlighted our carefree youth free from social media stress and less emphasis on skincare and smoking, was not published due to its divergence from their leading questions, I’m sharing it here to provide an honest perspective.
Johannesburg, South Africa (05 August 2024) – I received an email the other day from an American Magazine. They were putting together an article on Millennials and wanted to expand and explore “why we look so good for our age”.
You see, there is a narrative online about Millennials looking so much younger than our age… and Gen Z looking older. Please don’t come for me. That is not my opinion. It is a real conversation happening right now.
@jordan_the_stallion8 #stitch with @staying up podcast #fypシ ♬ original sound – Jordan_The_Stallion8
And as a “29” year old Millennial. I’ll take it.
Unfortunately, my answers were not published. That’s because the article’s questions were completely leading. The piece was headed in the direction they wanted, and my reply was not what they were looking for.
So, I thought I would share it with you instead.
*Please note that I did use some American lingo in my answer, so please don’t be confused by some of my words. I was speaking American.
The question: “Why do you think millennials look so good for their age? Do you think it has anything to do with the kind of messaging they were receiving growing up about the importance of sunscreen as a preventive measure against skin damage and cancer? And their avoidance of tanning beds and smoking? What was your skincare regimen like? Describe. Also, briefly, what anti-ageing measures are you taking now in terms of products and procedures?”
My answer:
I would love to say that I always used sunscreen, avoided tanning beds, and never smoked, but that would be a lie.
Related Story
I spent summers as red as a lobster after spending hours, upon hours, outside in the sun. At one stage, my friends and I would smear ourselves in baby oil to get that perfect tan (as an adult, I realise this is a big no-no). There was also a stage where we would put lemon in our hair (and sat in the sun for hours) to get “highlights”. As I got older and couldn’t find the time to be in the sun for hours, I made sure my skin was bronzed by using “tan cans” on a weekly basis. Sometimes twice a week. I would stand completely naked with my iPod on my head (making sure to move the headphone wires so I wouldn’t get “tan lines”). All the Virgin Active Gyms had them. They were so incredibly accessible.
We did not fear the sun growing up. We embraced it.
Except for when the “hole in the ozone” was above us. That happened a lot. We couldn’t spray deodorant when it was around. Do you remember that? Whatever happened to that big hole? Weird.
Sorry, back to the question.
I’m not sure what you are referring to when you say “avoidance of smoking”?
Smoking was encouraged. I am not joking.
In pre-school, we had these little sweets in the shape of cigarettes. They were long and white with a red tip (like the “cherry” of a cigarette). We would pretend to smoke while eating them. I think I had my first one at 3 years old. They were so damn tasty.
I actually wouldn’t mind one now – the sweet, not a cigarette.
When I got to high school, cigarette brands were the coolest. They threw the BEST parties. Like raves, but not. Peter Stuyvesant hosted the most insane ones. The tickets (usually given away) got you free alcohol, food and cigarettes while being entertained by top local and international musicians and DJs. Those parties were absolutely incredible!!!
As an adult, I realised they were just a marketing tool to make the brand cool while distributing products… I think one of the Ad Agencies actually won a Loerie for the idea. I wonder if they keep that trophy on their shelf or hide it away shamefully now. I mean, smoking is not cool anymore. It literally kills people.
I digress.
I think I smoked a box a day, sometimes more, and they were so damn cheap! R14 ($0.77) for a pack of 20. I’ve just done a search and they are now like R60 ($3.28)!?! That’s small change for America but super expensive for us.
Anyway, I gave that up over 15 years ago.
Oh, and we drank enough on weekends to put some frat houses to shame. Like, Millennials KNOW how to drink. We drink for the first team. Although most of us avoid Sambuca, Peach Schnapps and Stroh Rum now. Don’t ask.
Oh, the question… so why do some think millennials look so good for their age?
Well, I think because we had less stress growing up.
Yeah, we had the social pressures, but not the pressure of social media. We didn’t need to worry about how we looked in photos because only we would see them (once we took them to the photo shop to develop… sometimes months later). The bullying was contained to schoolyards and not for the entire globe to get involved in. You see, in real life (not the internet), people don’t side with bullies. Or run to get our pitchforks to cancel people. We don’t gang up on others to destroy them. We protect them.
Millennials could live our lives without the constant scrutiny or need for validation.
I joined Facebook when I was 20, which was 19 years ago (but I am still 29 if anyone asks). At the time, you could only access it on a computer, and it was mainly used to play silly games, send messages to your friends (that they would only get when they logged on at some point) and poke people. Hehe… do you remember all the pokes? Now, we have multiple online platforms where everything we do and say matters.
And even if you think this is not true, remember that many of our news headlines are birthed from online behaviour.
So, my answer has nothing to do with sunscreen, skincare, smoking, or drinking but with the fact that we had less social media stress growing up.
We stayed “kids” for longer.
As for my skincare routine now, well, since Varsity, I have washed my face with “a” facewash and used “a” face cream at the start of the day, sometimes another at night (I say “a” because it doesn’t matter what brand I use – at some points in my life, regular soap did the job). I now drink loads of water every day, exercise as much as possible and yes, I do a little botox every couple of months – totally as a preventative measure – we don’t judge here friends.
I don’t smoke anymore. Best thing I ever did was give that up.
But I still drink alcohol. Just not anything liquorice, peach or 60% proof. Again, don’t ask.
The reality is that I only really started thinking about taking care of my face (and skin) after I was 30.
And that was around the time Instagram launched.
Coincidence? I one hundred percent believe so.
Social media (and the access to social media via our phones) has completely changed the human race (and the future generations to come), but Millennials were lucky enough to have lived in a time when we didn’t have any of that.
Our formative years were spent in the “real” world. And I think that has made us age differently.
I’m 39 years old, turning 40 next year but I could easily play the 29-year-old card. And I still do. LOL.
Also, Peach schnapps. Yuk.
Okay. Love you. Bye.
by 