Photo: TikTok; popcorner/Shutterstock
This man believes the answer for his age-defying skin is much simpler than sunscreen or drinking water.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Apr 12, 2023
A woman on TikTok posted a video explaining her theory on why Millennials don’t seem to be aging quite like the generations before them — attributing it to something about patriarchal oppression and the liberation from the powers that be kind of thing.
In response to that video, however, a man named Bui explains that he actually knows the real reason why Millennials aren’t aging as much as time goes on, and the reason might actually be somewhat similar to what the woman’s original argument was.
Bui claims that Millennials aren’t aging as much because they’re depressed.
He starts off his video by first explaining why Baby Boomers might actually just look older than they should, saying “we know that Boomers smoke, which ages the skin.” According to WebMD, “Smoking chronically deprives the skin of oxygen and nutrients.”
That can result in your skin losing elasticity, the development of wrinkles and lines, and even a difference in the tone of your skin.
Although Bui is making a massive generalization by claiming that all Boomers smoke, he’s also entirely joking, as next up he says that “we know that Gen Z vapes,” referring to another generalization that came as a result of the sweeping E-cigarette bans that the FDA have been making over the last several years.
Smoking and vaping — nicotine consumption in general — is very popular in the United States. But not quite as popular as depression among millennials, according to Bui.
“And, Millenials? Millennials have depression, so we’re indoors all day and we don’t let the sunlight age our skin,” he claims. “So, we look great on the outside, we’re dead on the inside.”
Although Bui’s lighthearted demeanor and joking attitude make it seem like this is all for fun, he actually makes a very good point here — and that’s that Millennials are depressed.
Even if it’s a joke, Bui is right that Millennials are having a hard time.
Business Insider published a scorchingly hot article in October 2020 that talked about this very phenomenon, and “Millennials tend to have higher rates of depression than other generations,” according to a Pew Research Center study.
The article talked about job burnout, the COVID-19 crisis, loneliness, and all-around mental health struggles without the ability or opportunities to get help. Nearly three years later, things…really haven’t gotten much better.
“Our [diets] are made up of Dino nuggets, Lunchables, and hot pockets. All [those] preservatives [are] also preserving our youth,” Bui wrote in the comments, sitting among a plethora of other comments reiterating many of the same problems and issues.
Money is tight, the workforce and income growth have stagnated, burnout is still very much an issue, we can’t afford anything, and the future just seems all the bleaker as I stare at milk prices over $5. As a fellow Zillennial, I sympathize with Bui and the 21,000 people that commented on his post.
“We can’t afford houses so we buy skincare instead,” someone commented, as someone else wrote, “Literally the no sun + emotional support water bottle combo is ELITE.”
There’s also the recent trend and discovery of the magical effects that sunscreen has on our skin, but it’s a lot funnier to think that depression is the root cause of our glowing skin.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.