Millennials survived the early Tinder years and the “u up?” era, so they’re hardly in a position to lecture anyone about dating. They’re doing it anyway, and some of their complaints about Gen Z are actually pretty fair.Reddit threads like “What has dating in Gen Z become?” and an AskReddit discussion about the Gen Z dating crisis have people sharing their frustrations with dating today. BuzzFeed rounded up some complaints, too. The complaints run from reasonable to completely bonkers.1. When Pointing Out the Age Difference BackfiresOne older Redditor discovered that younger people aren’t especially discouraged by a 20-year age difference. Or by being told they’re young enough to be someone’s child.“They are FORWARD. I’m attracted to women a good bit older than myself as well, so I get that part, but I’d say the majority of flirting I receive comes from women and nonbinary people 10 to 20 years younger than me. You point out that you’re old enough to be their mother, and they say, ‘Okay, mommy,’” wrote u/psara.Well, that settles that.2. Skipping Humans Altogether“People are replacing real relationships and intimacy with dating apps that are basically just hookup apps, internet porn, and even AI chatbots that they use for companionship or sexting instead of connecting with actual people,” wrote u/th3_blu3.The chatbot complaint has some numbers behind it. A Talker Research survey from July found that 27% of Gen Z adults had engaged in sexual conversations with an AI chatbot. Before millennials start feeling superior, 16% of them admitted to doing the same thing.3. Being Nice to Your Girlfriend Is Now Embarrassing“If a guy is genuinely loving toward his girlfriend, his buddies will call him a ‘simp’ or say he’s ‘pussy-whipped.’ Men are basically shaming each other for being affectionate toward their own partners,” wrote u/aria3246.Imagine being embarrassed because your friends found out you actually like your girlfriend.4. The Personality of a Deflated BalloonDating would probably go better if more people were willing to flirt with each other in person. At least that’s what one Redditor would like everyone to consider.“Whether you’re a man or a woman, don’t expect the other person to magically realize you’re flirting and ask you out. You actually have to put in some effort. You need to have at least a little more personality than a deflated balloon,” wrote u/Pharmaguardian.5. Raised by ScreensThe phone addiction complaints were bound to come up, although this Redditor has some pretty strong opinions about how Gen Z was raised.“So many Gen Z’ers have normalized antisocial behavior that they’re terrified of putting themselves out there. They’ll call anything genuine ‘cringe’ while spending an entire weekend inside on social media. You can quickly tell which ones were raised by screens and which ones were raised by their parents. The former seem to lack any personality or will, while the latter seem like very well-adjusted young adults,” wrote u/the_toast_of_you.6. Therapy Speak From People Who Just Turned 22People are throwing around terms like attachment styles and love bombing after knowing someone for about three weeks. Sometimes a disappointing date is just a disappointing date.“There’s way too much ‘therapy speak’ and way too many expectations from people who barely have any life experience or real knowledge,” wrote u/einsatzpoopen.7. Who’s Paying, Exactly?The debate over who picks up the dinner check is alive and well, with people still getting irritated over who reaches for their wallet.“Women say they ‘no longer need a partner to pay,’ yet ‘I don’t date guys who don’t pay’ also seems to be a very popular attitude these days. Sounds like a contradiction to me,” wrote u/optimusprime1994.8. The Relationship Status With No NameThere’s now an entire stage of dating where you’ve agreed not to see other people but still aren’t calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend. You can see why that might get old.“This whole ‘exclusive but not official’ dating phase that Gen Z has normalized just seems like an excuse to avoid commitment. People treat each other as disposable and don’t want to invest the time and effort to actually get to know someone and work through their flaws or issues,” wrote u/Sumo-Subjects.In fairness, millennials helped make ghosting a household word, so they might want to go easy on the lecturing. Then again, at least they never had to compete with a chatbot.The post 8 Gen Z Dating Trends That Millennials Absolutely Hate appeared first on VICE.