ARE GEN Z THE MOST AGEIST GENERATION?
- Melissa Fleur Afshar
- Jan 31
- 4 min read
Newsweek Exclusive Feature
Gen Z’s obsession with youth sparked age-shaming. Now, some are pushing back against a culture terrified of turning 30.
Aging is a privilege that not everyone gets to enjoy, but it can be hard to grasp. The prospect of losing one's youth can be daunting, especially for young women—now Gen Zers, who have grown up among harsh beauty standards perpetuated by social media, the normalization of cosmetic surgery and AI.
A wave of social media trends has cast new light on how looking eternally young became a benchmark not just of beauty, but of social value. In one popular format, women post close-up videos with captions like “this is the skin of a 27-year-old,” only to face swarms of comments judging whether their appearance is acceptably wrinkle-free, or, disdainfully noted to be prematurely aged.
Another trend sees 30-somethings attempting to reassure younger followers that turning 30 is not a death sentence, although sometimes met with disbelief. The message: aging, even a hint of it before retirement age, is suspect. Could this be an ageism unique to Gen Z?
The question caught fire when Remi Otulana, 27, posted a video to TikTok asking: “For my ladies in their late 20s, have y’all started experiencing ageism?”
She continued: "I have been 27 for not even three months and the amount of ageism I have experienced is crazy...I’ve had people tell me I look young for 27—what is a 27-year-old supposed to look like? Am I supposed to have wrinkles?”
Otulana, from Texas, told Newsweek that the video was born from real-life comments.
“People were saying things like I was ‘basically thirty,’ that I ‘look good for my age,’” she said. “I was shocked by how casual these comments were becoming.
"I think Gen Z is the generation most concerned about aging, and social media is a huge contributor...There’s a growing rhetoric on there around preventing aging. Many share [hacks] from preventative Botox to dietary routines, and viewers feel they should follow suit."
She added: "In a culture where online perception holds weight, many feel pressure to look as close to 'perfect' as possible, and youth has become that gold standard. We’ve reached a point where some 18-year-olds think 22 is 'old,' that's crazy!"
Another creator, who turned the cultural mood into comedy, was Saidah Belo-Osagie, a 29-year-old in New York. Her post, which racked up 233,000 likes, parodies the breathless shock some 20-somethings express upon learning someone in their late 20s is—brace yourself—still functioning.
“‘What? Like I literally thought you were 26…You look so good for your age,’” Belo-Osagie mimicked in the clip.
"I’m speaking to the ridiculousness of ageism in your 20s, specifically to that time I told a 23-year-old that I was 28,” she told Newsweek. “He was aghast. He genuinely wanted to know how I was 28-years-old and my bones were still intact.”
The viral phrase “aging like milk”—a term popularized by Gen Z and millennial creators to describe the perception that the former generation is aging faster than the latter—has become a buzzword. But the conversation around age and appearance is not confined to a handful of clips—it has exploded into a full-blown genre online.
One video, by @francesca__xoxoxo, features the 23-year-old recounting how a 19-year-old told her she “looked good for her age.” Her feigned shock and comic delivery mask a sting that echoes Belo-Osagie’s point.
Another viral moment came from @elizabethkayeturner, who shared a close-up of her bare face to TikTok with the caption: “This is the real skin of a 25-year-old.”
Though intended to normalize texture and imperfection, the comments devolved into unsolicited critiques.
“Girl, try Korean skincare. I’m 25 but everybody thought I’m 19,” one viewer wrote.
Another accused the creator of poor genetics, while another added: “Complete the sentence: ‘25-year-old white people skin.’”
Amid the negativity, however, a few comments rallied in support.
“She’s showing what real skin looks like at 25, and suddenly everyone’s a dermatologist with trust issues,” one viewer observed.
Turner's post was part of a broader pushback against the cohort's obsession with perfection. Though the authenticity of these creators has unintentionally highlighted Gen Z's complex relationship with aging.
Even the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that the number of Botox procedures among 20-something patients has risen sharply.
Psychologist Samantha Whiten told Newsweek that valid aging concerns have heightened thanks to social media.
"People were always terrified of aging, but this is more common now that people compare themselves to faces that don't exist in the real world," she said.
Social commentator Jo Hayes added: "Gen Z are so terrified of aging because of the world’s obsession withyouth...Never before has the ‘average person’ been able to access dramatic anti-aging treatments."
Still, creators like Otulana and Belo-Osagie hope that pushing back can allow women to just be, regardless of how they look now or later.
“Most of the comments under my post were from women,” Belo-Osagie said. “Women aren’t allowed to age normally, let alone gracefully. We’re told to have kids early, book 'preventative' Botox appointments, and freeze ourselves in cryogenic chambers because our clocks are ticking.
“I just hope to point out life’s little absurdities so we can all laugh together," she added. "Because if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.”
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