How people text on their phones reveals if you’re Gen Z, Millennial or Boomer

There are several ways to spot people of different generations, from their clothes to their hairstyle.

But how you type on a smartphone is also a giveaway.

TikToker Tyler Morgan recently shared a video after observing friends and colleagues of different ages type on a smartphone keyboard.

He found that most Millennials type with two thumbs or use the one-handed swipe feature, while Generation Z does the same but faster.

Generation X and Boomers, according to Morgan, are likely to use one finger and add their index finger once they reach a certain age.

Nokia released its 9000i Communicator phone in 1993 which was the first to support texting, but users had to push a button several times to input a specific letter.

Then in 1999, BlackBerry hit the market that featured a full keyboard – changing the way people communicated with a phone.

Users could push individual letters using their thumbs, which survived when the iPhone launched in 2007.

Morgan said that most people from their pre-teens until their 50s will use the technique, but the younger Gen Z group tends to type fast with just one hand.

‘Age 65+ is where you start doing this thing,’ said Morgan, holding the phone with one hand and using his index finger to type,’ the TikToker continued.

‘You’re getting up there if you’re doing that.’

He did show another, less popular way of texting, which turns the smartphone horizontal.

‘Giving an honorable mention to the people that type this way,’ Morgan said.

‘If this is you and you find yourself typing this way, I don’t honestly know how you do it – but it’s impressive.’

Gen Z has become the voice of the internet in recent years, calling out other generations for wearing ‘cringeworthy’ clothes and using ‘out of date’ slang.

TikToker Allegra Miles gave fans a lesson in modern-day vernacular by sharing the Gen Z version of common millennial phrases.

The 21-year-old said words such as ‘YOLO’, ‘game’, ‘slay’, ‘on point’ and ‘vibe’ popularized by millennials have all been replaced by Gen Z.

Allegra said those in their late twenties to early forties should stop saying ‘vibe’ and go for ‘type beat’ instead.

‘This one might seem a little abstract but it makes sense in my brain and that’s ‘vibe’ to ‘type beat’,’ she said.

‘You could say, ‘The restaurant has a really intimate vibe’ or you could say ‘It’s a chill Italian-type beat’.’

The millennial term ‘on point’, referring to something exactly right or perfect, should be replaced with ‘locked in’.

‘These are not quite exactly the same but definitely same energy,’ Allegra said.

The term ‘game’ refers to someone’s success at attracting a romantic partner but Allegra said the new version is ‘rizz’ short for ‘charisma’.

YOLO, which is short for ‘You Only Live Once’, became a very commonly said millennial phrase when rapper Drake coined the term to promote a mixtape in 2011.

However, Allegra said Gen Z are phasing the term out and instead opting for ‘F*** it, we ball’.

Instead of ‘slay’, which is used to describe when someone does something exceptionally well, Allegra said to start saying ‘eat’ instead.

‘They both are epic ways to hype people up,’ she said.

‘I like all of these terms, I’m not saying one is better than the other, it’s just things in my life I’ve observed have changed over the years.’

Allegra shares the slang suggestions in a TikTok clip that was viewed more than 189,000 times.

‘This teacher says thank you,’ one woman laughed.

‘I’ve never heard type beat in my life, I’m 31 for reference,’ another said.

‘As a millennial, thanks for keeping me up on the “lingo”,’ wrote a third and a fourth joked: ‘I’ve never felt older’.

‘Gen X here. Staring blankly. Did not understand one word,’ someone added.