Warning: if you’re a Millennial, born from 1981 to 1996, prepare to be exposed.
As a 29-year-old, I feel personally attacked by Gen Zers – born from 1997 to 2012 – who have pointed out something I do all the time.
What is the Millennial pause?
Dubbed the ‘millennial pause’, it’s what happens when you click record on your camera and briefly pause before you start speaking in the video.
Explained perfectly by video-making software company Biteable, it said: “The millennial pause is a term that has been coined to jokingly refer to the pause that a lot of Millennials leave at the beginning of their talking head videos.
“Attention spans are so short now, especially on platforms like Shorts and TikTok, so when you leave that Millennial pause in your videos a lot of your viewers lose interest.
“Pausing before you start a video clip is totally normal, but edit that pause out before you go ahead and post it.”
What do Millennials have to say about the Millennial pause?
Although the term is simply poking a bit of fun at Millennials, it’s safe to say that we are not impressed.
Over on social media, one person said: “It’s honestly so sad that people’s attention spans are so short that they are losing interest from a millisecond of a pause at the beginning of a video. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me.”
“I am ok with people who can’t wait for 1 to 2 seconds to leave,” a second agreed.
“If I recording a talking head video, and someone loses interest in 1 second, then that person is not the right audience for a talking head video. They are looking for an action video.”
Even one Gen Zer said: “I’m a genz and I can’t keep up with how fast media spits out information nowadays. Plz keeping pausing, millennials, I’m here for it.”
Taylor Swift does the Millennial pause
@nisipisa #stitch with @taylorswift millennial pause (taylor’s version)
♬ All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) – Taylor Swift
Content creator Nisa (@nisipisa) shared a video of Taylor Swift, 35, doing the Millennial pause and many of her fans only just realised.
“I am obsessed with the fact not even Taylor ‘the’ Swift is immune to the inevitable Millennial pause,” the TikToker said.
The Avengers do the Millennial pause
@suprememelia hi🙂 #marvel #mcu #captainamerica #steverogers #wanda #tonystark #natasharomanoff #loki
Taking to TikTok, user Melia (@suprememelia) shared a clip of the cast of The Avengers all doing their version of the so-called Millennial pause.
The likes of Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson all do their version of it as Gen Zers joked: “I thought you were supposed to say ‘is this thing on’ or ‘is it recording’ then acting awkward for five seconds.”
