Press the record button on the camera, ensure it’s recording, and then begin speaking.
Seems like a logical approach to starting a video, right? However, it turns out that one small detail in that sequence can reveal your age.
Generations distinguish themselves in various ways, from critiquing work ethic to enjoying iced coffees, mocking skinny jeans to mastering every TikTok dance.
Some distinctions are more apparent than others, and one that many millennials might have overlooked is the so-called ‘millennial pause’.
Millennials didn’t coin the term themselves – it was identified by Gen Z pointing out our ‘errors’ – but it has certainly sparked conversations.
The ‘millennial pause’ pertains to recording a video and involves making sure the recording has started before performing for the camera.
After all, you wouldn’t want to discover that the beginning of your video was cut off, would you?
To me, it seems prudent to ensure the recording is underway before starting, but apparently, it’s a sign of getting older.
Gen Z, it seems, jump right in without hesitation, and if they do hesitate, they likely edit the video to eliminate any dead air.
This behavior is so widespread that it even has its own Wikipedia entry, which describes it as ‘a pause in speaking at the start of some videos, especially in short-form content and on social media apps such as TikTok’.
A Reddit user highlighted the habit on the ‘Today I Learned’ subreddit, sparking admissions from Reddit users that it is indeed a real thing.
One user joked: “I thought you were supposed to say ‘is this thing on’ or ‘is it recording’ then acting [sic] awkward for 5 seconds.”
Another commented: “Gotta make sure it started!”
However, one Reddit user defended the pause: “I know millennials get made fun of, but this is SO much better than the Gen Z style of videos where they always seem surprised that someone (themselves) started videoing them halfway through their sentence.”
All I can say is, Gen Z better not complain when they record a ‘storytime’ video and find out the first two seconds are missing.