Gen X vs. Gen Z: Navigating Social Media Through the Ages

PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Rachel Strella: Welcome back to Untamed Social. I'm Rachel.

Jess Boozel: I'm Jess.

Rachel Strella: I'm really excited about our topic today because, well, I am sort of a Gen X.

Jess Boozel: I’m a Gen Z.

Rachel Strella: There's no, no mistaking you.

Jess Boozel: Yeah, I feel like it’s very clear.

Rachel Strella: Depending on who you ask, um, I am a millennial or I am um, a Gen X. I'm right on that line, I was born in 1981, but um, there's, there's debates between 1971, 1981, if like you're a Gen X or you are a Millennial. I don't know. I don't really care. I know I don't identify as a Gen Z though, so this is a great topic. Um, so I think we could start out kind of talking about how it sort of shaped our, our personal values, maybe, and our social media habits.

Obviously for me, I didn't have social media. Um, it was like maybe I was 16 or 17, the internet even, like it came about and we had dial up and it took forever. And I remember even when I was in college, like I did my first paper and it took like five minutes for the internet to dial up just so I could start typing. So it's still a little new for me. You know, getting used to that, not having it most of my life.

Jess Boozel: Yeah, and for me, I really grew up on it. I mean, I did have dial up. I remember having a family computer in the living room. Um, I never really got on the internet too much. I would usually just play Sims on the computer, but I did grow up with like video games and like being online like that. So I did have that type of interaction. Whereas for most of your childhood, you probably didn't have that. So I feel like as the internet has gotten better and gotten more, I've just gotten older and learned and grew with it as it grew.

Rachel Strella: Yeah, that makes sense. And I think, um, that kind of impacts how it's played in our lives and our values. I mean, like we, when I was a kid, we had to do things to keep ourselves busy then, you know? So like I'd go out and play in the backyard and make mud pies with my little brother. We had like four stations growing up. I lived out in the country. So like we didn't have a lot of those things too. Plus we didn't have the internet. So it was really boring childhood.

Jess Boozel: Yeah.

Rachel Strella: So it was kind of like, a really huge stimulation for me when I got to college and there's internet and there's like lots of tv stations. So it was kind of almost information overwhelm and it's funny because I kind of had um, a fear of missing out, uh, ever since.

Jess Boozel: Yeah I get that, I really kind of grew up the same way. I lived in the country and I would play in the mud with my cousins and all that. But I did get on Facebook whenever I was like 11, 12 years old. And looking back, I was like, oh, I'm such a grown up. Like I belong on this platform. And now being 24, 12 years later, I'm like, my parents should have never let a 12 year old be on Facebook and honestly, they monitored me very well. I remember one time whenever I was little because when you're little you don't realize like, what you post on the internet means something or like who can actually see it and I posted something about how my parents were so mean and then my parents called me over the next night or something and they were like, why did you post this? And I'm like, how did you see that? How'd you know? One of my cousins told them. And so I learned from then on. No matter what you post on the internet, people see it. And I never posted anything about my parents or anybody else ever again on the internet because I was scared.

Rachel Strella: The irony though, is that from my perspective, you have such a great relationship with your parents. So.

Jess Boozel: Oh yeah. Yeah absolutely, I love them. They're my best friends.

Rachel Strella: Funny how you learned at 12, like you can't say bad things about your parents online.

Jess Boozel: Yeah, honestly, I have nothing bad to say about them now. It's just like, they made me mad one day and I was know what?

Rachel Strella: I was just getting the first, like real social media sites that I got was Facebook. Like, aside from like, um, what was it called? Like the IM thing that you had, like that little chat thing. Um, but I got Facebook and that was like in 2009. It's ironic because I started my business in 2010. So what did I know about social media? Not much, but that was just it was like, just like learning my way around of on Facebook and trying to figure out what was what. I won't, I don't know how it shaped anything really, but I thought it was cool to connect with people. On Facebook. Um, people that like, maybe I never even talked to in high school, but I'm like, oh, I remember them. And I went to a small school, you know, so, you know, I graduated with class of 87. It's pretty cool when you can connect with them online after the fact. We didn't have like a lot of class reunions. I can only recall one. Um, so it was kind of, it's kind of cool to be able to do that. And that, that to me, that connectedness. That was, that was just something that always stuck with me. So I do believe I'm in the right field. You know, I do, I think I ended up in the right place, uh, as far as my career goes.

Jess Boozel: Yeah, something that you said was really fascinating to me is that it was interesting for you because you were able to connect with people and you felt like it didn't really affect you too much, just like that was a pro. But for me, I feel like that affected the way that I communicate with people. I used to be hardcore texter. I never liked calling. The only people that I really would call whenever I was younger and even like into my teen years in college and stuff were my parents and then family members like my aunts, my pap, my grandparents like don't really text. Um, but everyone else, like my friends, school members, everybody, they, I texted them, we communicated through Facebook chat or through Instagram DM, whatever it was that we texted through social media. And that affected the way that I would call people. And I feel like maybe a lot of younger viewers can relate to this. But I feel like calling became a scary thing to do. Calling people that you weren't close with at least like if I had to call the doctor if I had to call somebody new about something it was just like a scary thing for me because I was so used to being online and texting with these people not having to actually use my voice. But through the years and as I get older, I definitely rely more on calling now. I would. That isn't to say, like, um, I'm up for calling all the time. I definitely like to have text messages whenever I really need to think out what I'm saying and who I'm talking to, but whenever it's like my friends and I'm just calling to see what they're doing, I love to call them, not text them, because I get an immediate response whenever I call them, but with texting, you kind of have to wait to get a response.

Rachel Strella: Yeah. I'm gonna, I've had, you know, I've been around a lot longer and I still hate phone calls. So I'm with you. When I'm, when I see somebody that's calling me when they could have sent a text, I'm like, what do they want? Or they could have, when I send an email and they call me instead, I'm like, why? So I understand. Um, and it's really funny you say that because when I was in college, And this was before like the internet was like really, really huge. And social media was huge. This was like maybe 2003. Um, I wrote a paper in my media class and it was about, um, how we use media. And. And my professor highlighted something that I said in the class, and it was, it was about how I liked using instant messenger because I could say things on instant messenger that I wouldn't say in person. And I don't know why he highlighted that to my class, and I felt like a nerd. Um, but it kind of stuck with me as sort of my, my M. O. I'm not saying that I wouldn't say those things in person, but I just felt more comfortable being behind the screen, I think. Um, being able to, I've always been more, I've been a writer. Um, just, just, that's just been who I've been and I can express myself better that way. So, um, it's, it's, it's not just somebody that's young. Um, it's, it's, there are many more that are like you.

Jess Boozel: That's good to know.

Rachel Strella: So do you think that you, go ahead.

Jess Boozel: I was gonna say, so with social media evolving so much, it seems like we both sort of started on Facebook. Are there any platforms besides Facebook that you're like, in love with today? Cause I know specifically for me when TikTok first came out, I wasn't sure about it, but now I absolutely love it and I spend a little bit too much time on and that's definitely like my favorite app.

Rachel Strella: Um, I would say Facebook is not actually my favorite anymore. I just get served a lot of ads that I really don't need and buy a lot of stuff that I really don't need. Um, but I think I actually really do like Instagram. It's, I like, it's a lot cleaner in the interface and I can sort things a little better.

Jess Boozel: Do you watch Reels on Instagram?

Rachel Strella: Um, you know what's funny? I can get really sucked in on both Facebook and Instagram reels. Like I can't help myself. I'll see cute little kitten dancing with like a dog and then get sucked into who knows what. It's two o'clock in the morning. I should probably go to bed. So yes, I would say I like reels. Yeah.

Jess Boozel: I feel the exact same about Tik Tok. I literally, if I wake up in the middle of the night and it's like 2, 3 AM, if I get on my phone and I get on TikTok, I literally will be there until 5 AM. And I just I like, I started to force myself not to touch my phone whenever I do that because then I don't end up going back to sleep right away.

Jess Boozel: I'm like, I can't. I need to get away.

Rachel Strella: They're the devil.

Jess Boozel: Yeah, it's funny the apps we love are the ones that we are so addicted to and can't pull ourselves away from.

Rachel Strella: I know, I know it's bad. I have to stop and they know which ones to serve me next because I can't help myself. I'm into roller coasters and water parks and somebody's always doing something crazy.

Jess Boozel: Something that I love about the algorithm is how well it knows you. For example, if I see something that I like and I actually like it, I end up seeing five more of it, and I'm sure that you will are the same exact way. If you like a trend, you end up seeing like all the videos that have to do with that trend. And I just think that my cat, I just think I didn't want her getting in the video. I just think that, um, they've gotten so much better SEO and better at recognizing what you like and interact with on social media.

Rachel Strella: Yeah, it's sometimes it's scary, um, but yes, uh, they know how to keep you scrolling.

Jess Boozel: Yes for sure.

Rachel Strella: So let's talk about like preferences for content for a minute. So like, do you prefer posting sort of like casual sort of off the cuff stuff, like whatever you're doing that day? Or do you prefer more of the polish type of thing? Um, like, do you have, did you lean a certain way? Like what's more authentic or.

Jess Boozel: Honestly, for me, it's both. I love to have, like, those meaningful posts. Like, my graduate my college graduation, like, my birthdays, and stuff like that. Like, I feel like those are very meaningful posts. But I also love to have, like, I recently just posted my October pictures from October and they were pretty like random pictures from my month. I love to take pictures of little things like I went to a garden in October. I took a picture of that and I just love to have that sporadic content but for a brand I feel like it's better to keep things aesthetic and good looking.

Rachel Strella: Yeah, I can agree with you there because, well, so for me, um, having a social media business, I feel like I'm always on display and I can't make mistakes and I can't just post something off the cuff. You know, I feel like

I'm always going to be. Um, sort of judged on that. So I'm careful a little bit about what I post, especially on business pages. So that's very different, but my personal Instagram, I've gotten a little more lax with lately and especially on stories. So, you know, when I'm in Jamaica, anything goes, um, whatever I feel like posting there. And if someone unfollows me because I'm in Jamaica and I'm having a good time, like they are probably not people I want to be connected to anyway. Um, but like, what post on your business pages or whatever is a little different. But I've always been a little more polished in, in terms of what I post. Only because I do feel like I'm held to a different standard.

Jess Boozel: Yeah, and I definitely think that it also matters what platforms and how polished you are depending on the platforms. For example, um, TikTok, I think, is pretty loosey goosey.

Rachel Strella: Yes!

Jess Boozel: And then, um, Instagram, I feel like, is a good, like, in the middle. You can be funny, you can have those cute little sporadic posts. But then, um, Facebook, at least for me, Facebook is like where most of my family members are. So, um, I would never post anything that was, like, controversial or, like, something that they wouldn't like to see on there, even though, like, I would think it's fine. Like, say me drinking out of a bottle of alcohol. I would never post that on Facebook for the fact that my family's on there and stuff. It's okay if they know that I drink, but, yeah. You know what I mean.

Rachel Strella: But yeah, you want to be appropriate. No, I get it. Because I, on TikTok, just about anything goes for me on my personal TikTok. Like, if you really want some unfiltered stuff, have some fun there. Um, but, you know, it depends, yeah, it definitely depends on the channel. I'm going to post, like, on LinkedIn, obviously, you're getting a lot more professional looking atmosphere. So, good point there. So, that brings me to another question. Do you think that like Gen Z's and Gen X's, we have a different preference or we lean a certain way for sharing things about our lives. So there's, there's the general idea that Gen Z's have more openness about sharing online, while Gen X's have a preference toward boundaries, um, and certain things are too personal to share. What are your thoughts on that?

Jess Boozel: I think that I'm kind of going to talk about boomers a little bit too with this. I think that the day in the life trends and like come with me to do blah, blah, blah. Those kinds of trends on Tik Tok have really spread to other platforms, but they are also the thing that started this like openness for people to share their lives and share what they're doing every single day. I have also seen what I eat in a day, what I drink in a day. Like it has gotten to the point that we know what this influencer is doing every single second of her day. And I, to an extent, do not think that it's all real. I mean, you can't, you have to remember that whenever they set the camera up and they walk out the door, they have to walk back in to grab the camera. Like, everything that you see online is definitely curated and planned, and so to say that you're really seeing the truth of their life is a lie, I would think. Um, but, I want to bring in boomers because I notice a lot of boomers on Facebook use Facebook as their diary. And I think sometimes the people that do that can even be more open than these influencers that are filming what we think is most of their day. Do you know what I mean? Like, do you ever see people, older people specifically, who maybe don't have that many people to call or talk to, so all they have to do is go on Facebook?

And so, they write a lot of their lives on Facebook.

Rachel Strella: Yeah. Well, I think there's a, um, a, a knowledge, uh, barrier or gap too, um, where they probably don't really know some of the things that they're posting or doing. Um, and, and I, and I'm not, I'm saying that with just, just experience level and seeing what people are doing. And they probably don't realize it too. How much they're sharing, but I will say that there, all of these things are kind of generalizations, just looking at personalities, I'm more of an open person online, um, and I'm a Gen X and I, I've shared a lot of very personal things online that many people would not. Um, but I think it all comes down to context. I wouldn't just get on a platform and start spouting off about something without context. I wrote very controversial, blog posts, um, very on, very controversial, very controversial topics, but they had context with them.

Um, and I think that makes a big difference. Um, but I think your personality, I think is generally speaking is, is a little bit different. Um, you're, you're not gonna put your whole life out there on social media, and that's okay. So I think it really comes down to personality and style more so than, maybe just generation. I think that there's this generalization because your generation grew up with social media. So we're just going to throw everything out there. And I don't know that that's necessarily true because there's still a lot of people that are Gen Z’s that aren't going to put their entire life on social media and probably don't even want to be on social media other than to lurk like Ella who's admitted that in our last podcast. Okay. So since we work in social media um, do you feel like it's challenging to separate our work and personal lives online?

Jess Boozel: Honestly, I kind of combine mine and I feel like maybe your answer will be the same because like we both post about Strella a lot um, I'm very proud to work with Strella and I'm very grateful, so I do share a lot of our social media stuff to my own page I also share like a lot of achievements that I've had with Strella. Like whenever we went Utah, I posted our entire trip on Facebook and I've posted on stories I literally have a highlight on my personal Instagram. It's a highlight that says Strella. And every time that we post something I put it on my story and then I highlight it and put it in Strella. So I feel like I am one of those types of people where I'm okay with posting for social media and I feel like you guys are okay with me doing that because, I mean, I'm not like a bad, I don't have a bad presence online. I'm not bad things online, so I'm not a risk flight to have being posted like hey, I work here. I'm not a risk or anything. So, um, I really I combine mine.

Rachel Strella: We appreciate that. Like, that's what you want. I mean honestly, one of the things that we advocate for our, our, our businesses that we work with is like, have people in your company talking about you, they should be excited because these, this is what's going to get more people that want to work with you. Um, so you, in terms of what you're doing, absolutely. And it makes, it makes me happy. Of course. Um, as far as me, I mean, my business is my brand. So like. Not that everybody cares about my work, so I don't want to post about it all the time, nor do I want to talk about it all the time. Um, but you know, who I am online is who I am in person, who I am in my business. Um, but I may go a little bit further with who I am, maybe on TikTok on certain things, or on an Instagram story on certain things, and then maybe I would on like, like I said before, on a LinkedIn post. So, um.

Jess Boozel: I even was trying to get my masseuse. I was like I went to her yesterday I was like you need a better social media. Let me know I was trying to hype us up.

Rachel Strella: Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! I love it. Alright, um. Do you think it's, um, there's a pressure to like, be real online? Like, um, you know, how each of us interpret authenticity? Um, as you as a Gen Z, me as a Gen X?

Jess Boozel: I think at one point keeping it real was like I should, I, let me reword that. I think at one point being too perfect was the expectation, but then it got to point where people didn't like influencers that seemed out of touch and like, you're too perfect. There's no way that you don't make mistakes in life. Or maybe it would come out that they did make a mistake in life. And then people were like, you were lying to us. You're not this person that you told us online.

And I think that recently keeping it real has become so much more important and a more needed thing, a necessity for influencers, like they need to be real with their audience or else their audience isn't going to trust them or want to watch them.

Rachel Strella: I agree. I mean, there are people I see online where I'm like, are you just here for PR or what is your purpose? Because they're always doing something where it's like the humble brag. Or something along that line where it doesn't feel like anything real is happening here. They're just there to look good.

Um, and I can't connect to that. I can't, that doesn't resonate with me. It resonates with me when somebody is vulnerable. Um, you know, I'm not saying that it needs to be like that all the time, but it resonates more with me when there is that sense of rawness and you can sense the difference between people that are real and people that are just, like, just showcasing certain things online.

Jess Boozel: Yeah I agree, I used to watch someone who would do unboxings and she would get free PR and it got to a point where she had mountains of PR behind her and when she was looking at them, she'd go, nice. Just like, throw it off. I'm like, you don't even care what these people, what these brands are giving you at this point. Like, you're not grateful at this point. You're just doing it for a video, doing it for money. It was just, it got, it got less real. It got less likable.

Rachel Strella: I just wonder when people are going to figure that out. And these people become exposed because there are people I'm thinking of specifically in my mind, um, but that's another podcast for another day. All right, for a little bit of fun, I thought we could do generational slang quiz, um, where we could pick five or eight slang terms, quiz each other on them, and, um, for the reference, we do not know what slang terms we picked. I deliberately did not want to know because I have habit of peeking and googling. So who wants to go first?

Jess Boozel: I can go first. Do you want to do like one word at a time and we switch back and forth? Okay, so my first word, and these are all words that I actually say, um, the first one's slay.

Rachel Strella: Slay. Um, I'm gonna say like crush it, like killing it.

Jess Boozel: Mm hmm, basically. Or yeah, slay, like you did good.

Rachel Strella: Okay, alright, yay, okay. Um, mine is chill pill.

Jess Boozel: Okay, yeah, like you need to calm down.

Rachel Strella: Yeah, helps you relax, like a chill pill. Yeah.

Jess Boozel: Yeah.

Rachel Strella: Okay.

Jess Boozel: This one I feel like you've probably heard me say multiple times. It's period.

Rachel Strella: Um, like, like, um, story over, end of sentence? No?

Jess Boozel: Yeah, sort of. Kind of like a confirmation, like a yes. Yeah. But I feel like it could be used for that too. Like an ending. Yeah. I mean, that's a period is meant to end a sentence, but like also like, if you're like, yeah, I agree with that statement period. Like, yes, it's over.

Rachel Strella: Okay. I've heard angry women say that in the 80s and 90s, but I thought this was like a new one. So, okay. All right. Cooler than I thought. All right. Um, phone it in.

Jess Boozel: Um I've heard this before. Is this where like you ring it in like. Like kind of like we need to focus type thing.

Rachel Strella: Sort of, yes. Um, it means like you do something with very little effort or enthusiasm. Like it's just mediocre. You just dialed it in, phoned it in, you know.

Jess Boozel: Okay. Okay, I've I've heard that before but I've never really knew the true meaning.

Rachel Strella: Yeah, I phoned it in, so it just did whatever. Okay.

Jess Boozel: Good one. Okay.

Rachel Strella: Okay.

Jess Boozel: This one I say a lot. Um, it's I fear.

Rachel Strella: Okay. So, I kind of thought it was like, I fear for this person who, X, Y, Z, like, that kind of.

Jess Boozel: It's like. It's kind of like I'm scared to tell you.

Rachel Strella: Okay. Cause I, I had, okay, I'm scared to ask, I'm scared, no, okay. Okay. Okay, that's not too hard off. All right, that's all right.

Jess Boozel: Mm hmm.

Rachel Strella: Okay, um, flossing.

Jess Boozel: Flossing?

Rachel Strella: Flossing.

Jess Boozel: Is that like dancing?

Rachel Strella: No.

Jess Boozel: I've heard not like, not Gen Z, but like younger generations have a dance called flossing. So, but I knew that's not what you meant. I don't know that one.

Rachel Strella: Flossing is more like, um, you're kind of representing yourself the most attractive light. Like, I drive a convertible, you know, I've got bling and jewelry on, so flossing, yeah.

Jess Boozel: Flexing.

Rachel Strella: Flossing.

Jess Boozel: Flossin. Oh, okay. Oh, I--

Rachel Strella: Ha ha.

Jess Boozel: Flexing I feel like is the same thing and they sound very similar.

Rachel Strella: It might be, it might be I might not know flexin but it could very well be.

Jess Boozel: They sound very--

Rachel Strella: It could be the modern day flossing.

Jess Boozel: Yeah. The next one it's actually from like old cartoony stuff, but it's come it's made its way back around. It's womp womp.

Rachel Strella: Womp, womp, that means you screwed up or mic drop, right? No?

Jess Boozel: Well, yeah, I would say yes, it's kind of like you're wrong you screwed up also like like someone says something that you don't like and you say womp womp like I don't care type thing.

Rachel Strella: Like, buzzer, like, wrong answer, right?

Jess Boozel: Yeah womp womp.

Rachel Strella: Yeah. Okay. Um, props.

Jess Boozel: Props like props to you.

Rachel Strella: Yeah.

Jess Boozel: Okay. Yeah, like congratulations.

Rachel Strella: Yeah. Like, respect. Like, credit. Yeah. Okay. All right.

Jess Boozel: Um, this one is like a trend that's been recent on social media. It's very demure.

Rachel Strella: Oh, is that from Emily in Paris?

Jess Boozel: I don't know. Maybe they said it on there. I can't remember. I haven't watched the second part either. So I don't know.

Rachel Strella: It sounds very attractive but I have no idea.

Jess Boozel: It just means classy very demure very classy.

Rachel Strella: It sounds attractive, classy, okay, okay. Not too far off. All right, all right. Um, as if.

Jess Boozel: Oh, I've heard. Yeah, just like yeah, right.

Rachel Strella: Right, so like, okay, I'm really gonna jog your brain here. Do you know who kind of coined the term or what movie it's from? You were probably born the year it came out.

Jess Boozel: Is it Clueless?

Rachel Strella: Yes!

Jess Boozel: I just watched Clueless the other day!

Rachel Strella: No way, yes, Cher, yes.

Jess Boozel: Yes, I love that movie.

Rachel Strella: Alright then, okay, alright. Do you have any more?

Jess Boozel: Those were all of the ones I-- No, those were all the ones I had.

Rachel Strella: Alright, okay, I'll give you one more, um, one more, let's see. The bomb.

Jess Boozel: The bomb.

Rachel Strella: Yeah.

Jess Boozel: Cool. Yeah.

Rachel Strella: Yeah, all right. See, not too bad for what?

Jess Boozel: We did, we did really well for each other.

Rachel Strella: Your parents probably use the terms. I'm on social media.

Jess Boozel: Yeah. And I feel like like the womp womp, some of those like have made their way back or even still being said. Yeah.

Rachel Strella: All right, so we'll wrap up here. Um, you know, what platforms or trends you think are here to stay or like what you think is like going to cringe over time.

Jess Boozel: I think over time, Twitter is going to be definitely more used for a sports and like political area, maybe some show like live tweeting, but for the most part, and adult entertainment, adult entertainment is huge on Tik Tok or on Twitter. And I think that those, like, few niches are gonna be what takes over. I feel like people don't go to Twitter anymore for, like, just casual life update type things. I feel like Twitter is gonna become less of an app.

Rachel Strella: Back in my day, you used to go to X for like actual updates, like when you wanted real live news broadcast updates, that was your source. Now it's just, I know of credible people who've just deleted the app and they're done.

Jess Boozel: Yeah.

Rachel Strella: Um, oh gosh, I'm trying to really decide on this one, and I'm going to take a different stance on this. I, I. I still stand behind rich content. Um, all of these channels are still distribution platforms. I still stand behind blogs, podcasts, video content, like YouTube or video series, because these are like, like more rich distribution sources, rich platforms, you know, they're not just going to be hanging out on these kind of sites that are owned by other places that can just get chopped and to bits and pieces and sold off and get rid of the next day. You want somewhere where you kind of have this, this longer form content that can have staying power. So, um, my prediction is, well, it's not really a prediction. It's more of a recommendation. Use the staying power content because it's really the only thing that you have.

Jess Boozel: Yeah, great advice.

Rachel Strella: All right. Well, this was fun. Um, Hey, Gen X versus Gen Z we have more in common than you think, right?

Jess Boozel: Hahaha yes.

Rachel Strella: Okay. Well, thanks everybody for tuning in to the Untamed Social Podcast. Look for episode 10, our final episode of the season, coming up next.

Jess Boozel: Bye!