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Millennials are baffled by the way Gen Z uses the camera app on their phones

The so-called “Gen Z zoom” highlights yet another subtle difference between millennials and the younger generation. Apparently, the two age groups use the “zoom in” feature on their phones very differently when recording videos.

According to TikTok, the typical “millennial zoom” is pretty standard. It involves dragging two fingers on the phone screen to gradually zoom in on a subject. The “Gen Z zoom,” on the other hand, involves a quick cut between a frame from one that’s further away to a closer one, which can have a more dramatic effect on the viewer. It’s more like a jump cut than a steady zoom.

The Gen Z zoom is fairly easy to pull off but requires a few editing tricks in the app. Some users are making viral tutorials to make it easier to understand.

In one recent tutorial, a content strategist named Amber Figlow (@amber.figlow) explains that the magic happens in post-production. After filming a video clip, a person can just head into editing mode, scroll to where they want the jump cut to be and split the clip. Then, all they have to do is manually zoom in with their fingers.

“You pinch and hold after you split it, and that’s how you get this fun jump cut effect,” Figlow says in her how-to.

It’s no surprise that Gen Z has created their own “zoom-in” effect. Unlike millennials, Gen Zers don’t remember a time before the internet and literally growing up on social media. According to Insider Intelligence, they also consume most of their media through video content — hence the reason why video editing comes pretty naturally to them.

That said, the “Gen Z zoom” is really just the latest reminder of the generational divide that exists between millennials and Gen Zers, thanks to recent advances in technology. Plenty of other differences like this have been called out on TikTok before, too — especially when it comes to the way both generations interact with tech.

Last year, people couldn’t stop talking about the millennial pause, which occurs when a person briefly pauses before saying anything at the start of a video. Common gestures also differ between the two generations, like how to mime answering the phone and even the way we pose while taking photos.

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