Millennial pause

Celebrity singers JC Chasez (top) and Taylor Swift, both said to include millennial pauses in their videos

The millennial pause is a barely perceptible pause that is present at the start of some recorded videos. The practice of including such a pause is generally ascribed to millennials. The phenomenon is an example of the digital generation gap between millennials and younger generations.

Observation

The term is attributed to a millennial user of social media who posted a video pointing out that Taylor Swift, a millennial celebrity singer, includes such pauses at the start of her videos. Videos by people other than millennials have also been described as exhibiting a millennial pause; Parade reported that celebrity singer JC Chasez included one in a video posted to a new social media account.

Theory

It has been conjectured that the reason why older users tend to include a pause at the start of their videos is that they pause to make sure that the device they are using is actually recording before beginning to say anything, in contrast with younger users who are said to trust that the devices are working correctly, and begin speaking immediately after the recording begins.

Alternatively, another theory for the prevalence of the pause amongst older users is that the habit was first adapted when using earlier recording devices, which took a split second to begin recording, and that although newer devices do not exhibit the same delay, the habit has proven hard to break.

Awareness

Becoming aware of the phenomenon has caused some millennials to question whether they are becoming too old. People have also noted that, once they have been made aware that their recordings include millennial pauses, they find their own habit embarrassing, but also have trouble breaking the habit.

The millennial pause is considered one of a number of things common in what Kate Lindsay of The Atlantic called the "Millennial Internet Era", which also includes social media network Facebook and GIF files used as reactions.

The phrase has been used untranslated outside of the anglosphere, including in Brazil, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,, Mexico, and Spain.

See also

• Cultural cringe
• Digital divide