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A woman has gone viral talking about some Generation Z members who seemingly can't discuss an office crush without using psychology jargon, and she ends up concluding she must be "old."
The clip was shared by @itsrodeoclown and has amassed over 975,000 views since it was shared on November 15.
A note overlaid on the video reads "Gen Z's tendency to 'pathologize' normal behaviors."
Read More on Relationships
The woman in the clip says "I'm so convinced that the younger generation's tendency to pathologize every behavior is gonna be studied for decades to come."
She explains that she came across a TikTok video in which a woman spoke about a co-worker crush and saw another user point out that "this is the mere exposure effect."
The woman says another TikToker wrote "oh that's a convenience crush," while another commented "this is called a proximity attraction."
"There are all of these discussions going on with these different terminologies," the woman noted and "I'm looking at the video and going … am I old?' … because is this not how people use to meet up until 15, 20 years ago when dating apps didn't exist?"
Gen Z—those born roughly between 1996 and 2010—view online dating as "the norm" over in-person connections and that is understandable because they are "digital natives," according to an article by McKinsey & Company, the global management consulting firm.
As the first generation to grow up with the internet as a part of daily life they are "extremely online," says the article published in August, 2024, noting "Gen Zers are known for working, shopping, dating, and making friends online."
But an August 2023 paper shared on the ResearchGate platform notes that "as Gen Z becomes increasingly disillusioned with the artificial and transactional nature of dating apps, there is a notable shift back to more traditional spaces for meeting potential partners."
'Nothing Is Magical'
The woman in the viral clip says "I am old because there are people who have never been alive for a time when dating apps didn't exist. So, the thought of having a crush because they're within close proximity of you isn't normal [to younger generations like Gen Z] because the norm is to use dating apps.
"I'm just racking my brains trying to figure out why there has to be terminology for everything. They think they're creating something new, they think it's a new trend," she says as the video ends.
The viral clip has sparked debate among users on TikTok, with some agreeing with the woman's sentiment.
Cade noted "proximity crush, also known as getting to know somebody."
User @zeitgeist.mp4 noted "'Proximity attraction' always made me think 'You mean, just liking a person?!?!?!' You think the person 5000 miles away that you never spoke to is going to notice you over the person irl [in real life]?"
GRISELDA_FRANGLE wrote "seems everything is formulaic and reduced into easily explained patterns. I've noticed even I think this way now. nothing is magical."
Pea said "I feel this. I find that with the newer generation there's an official term for everything, when it's just a really basic thing that doesn't need an official term. It's very odd."
Brian noted: "I remember a time when meeting someone 'from the internet' was weird and extremely untrustworthy."
Rachel | Author Struggle Bus said: "I agree but this also feels like millennials getting into Meyers Briggs, etc. and desperately categorizing our behaviors into personality profiles."
Others disagreed, such as BrittanyDaine who said "That's not pathologizing, which would be identifying something as a problem, it's just putting a name to a concept so it's easier to communicate about and understand …"
Zwischending also noted "that is not pathologization but descriptors of sociological concepts. Pretty much every interaction with other humans follows sociological patterns. they just know the name of the pattern."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok and email. This video has not been independently verified.
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