'Gen Z are going to "soft raves" now and they need to get a grip.'

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I am an elder millennial. When I think back to my glory days, they were peppered with late nights dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

You would stumble into a warehouse or nightclub at 11pm, lose yourself completely to the music, and suddenly, oops, there's daylight streaming through grimy windows.

You'd made lifelong friends with strangers in sticky-floored bathrooms, shared that euphoria of musical frisson as the bass dropped and the crowd moved as one pulsing organism.

Watch: Embracing Gen Z language in the office. Post continues below.

These core memories are etched so deep into our psyche that even now, when 'Love Generation' by Bob Sinclair comes on shuffle, it still sends trickles of euphoria down your spine.

You're instantly transported back to that sweaty dance floor, arms in the air, completely and utterly alive.

They were the times you clung to years later when you were deep in the trenches of motherhood, bouncing a screaming baby at 3am. You'd think: Well, I'm here now and surviving, but bloody hell, I lived.

And now? 'Soft raves' are popping up in my algorithm.

In case you missed this cultural phenomenon, they're taking place in the morning in places like cafés, bakeries, or even bloody supermarkets. Over matcha lattes and during daylight hours.

Excuse me, wait what?

It's said that my successors, Gen Z, are in the midst of 'the quiet revolution'. Maybe it's because they're the first generation raised on constant stimulation that embracing "boring" has become an act of rebellion.

Much like the swinging sixties rose up against the conformity and conservatism of the 1950s, except instead of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, it's herbal tea, mindfulness, and knitting.

I wanted to hear from a (boring) Gen Z-er.

I asked my Gen Z colleague Liv James, Content Editor on KNOW, Mamamia's new Gen Z offering, why her generation is, well... so boring.

"Quiet luxury, matcha rituals and soft raves aren't signs of being boring. They're signs of a generation refusing to burn out for someone else's idea of fun," she said.

"Millennials danced like no one was watching. We dance knowing everyone is, and they all have opinions on how you're doing it."

Look, I get it.

Gen Z are glorifying simplicity and stillness, embracing trends like #Cottagecore and #QuietLuxury. They're prioritising wellness, stability and peace over high-octane socialising. Rejecting overstimulation, they're leaning into mindful, wellness-oriented lifestyles.

And I genuinely applaud this level of self-awareness and peace. Mental health matters, boundaries are important and God knows we millennials could learn a thing or two about not burning ourselves out.

I draw the line at soft raves.

These events apparently emphasise "connection, wellness, and a low-pressure atmosphere". No heavy drinking or late nights allowed. It's like someone took everything that made raving transcendent and ran it through a wellness filter until all the magic leaked out.

Now, it's not about the drinking. I think it's brilliant there's a greater focus on health and steering clear of substances that can genuinely mess you up is smart.

But it's the 'low-pressure atmosphere' I take issue with. Because here's the thing: high-pressure social situations are the makers of us. It's in discomfort that we learn and grow.

It's in those moments when you're pushed outside your comfort zone, when you're dancing badly but don't care, when you're talking to someone you'd never normally approach, when you're staying out way past your bedtime because the night is too good to end, that you discover who you really are.

I just think if you're sitting around knitting on a Saturday night, you're not really living. You're being mindful and present and all those lovely things. But are you creating the memories that will sustain you through the harder chapters of life?

Because let me tell you something about those harder chapters: when you find yourself stuck at home feeding a baby all night, when you're knee-deep in relationship stress or career uncertainty, when life feels like it's happening to you rather than with you, those are the moments you'll find yourself longingly looking out the window, clinging onto who you were.

It's the memories of a freer time that get you through. The knowledge that you once danced until your feet bled, that you once felt so alive you thought your heart might burst, that you once lived so fully in the moment that time seemed to stop entirely.

Gen Z Liv was quick to put my old self in my place (as Gen Z's seem to love doing).

"This story (no offence) is the perfect example of everyone watching us and judging us.

"But we've seen what burnout culture looks like. We're choosing something softer, slower and better for us. If that's boring, so be it. We're reclaiming joy in smaller, safer spaces. And we're tired. Sue me," she quipped.

Perhaps I am being too harsh on my successors. Although I would love to see how tired Liv is in 20 years… but maybe she's right about something (don't tell her I said so). They've watched us millennials burn out from trying to have it all.

While we danced our way through economic prosperity and relative social media innocence, they've had to navigate a world where every moment could become content, where mental health conversations are mainstream because they have to be, where a night out could end up on TikTok before you've even sobered up.

Their soft raves aren't a rejection of joy, they're a re-imagining of it. And maybe, just maybe, they're onto something.

Because while I'll always treasure those euphoric warehouse nights (and the three-day recovery periods that followed), I can't deny there's something appealing about finding connection without the hangover, community without the comedown.

The truth is, every generation rebels against what came before. We rejected our parents' dinner parties and bridge nights for dive bars and warehouse raves. Gen Z is rejecting our chaos for calm.

And when Gen Alpha enters the adult group chat? They'll probably rebel against the quiet revolution with something we can't even imagine yet, which will terrifyingly be my children's rite of passage.

So while I'll keep my memories of dancing until dawn, I'll try to resist the urge to gatekeep what living fully looks like. After all, if Gen Z can find euphoria in a morning rave over oat milk lattes, who am I to say they're doing it wrong?

But maybe, just maybe, they could rest the knitting needles on a Saturday night occasionally and head out while they still have the energy. While they still can.

Before life gets complicated and messy and beautiful in all the ways that make those wild, reckless nights feel like the most precious currency you'll ever spend.

Because trust me, one day you'll be grateful for every single moment you chose to live a little dangerously.

Feature Image: Getty Images.