'I went to a millennial bootcamp and holy heck, I was doing so much "wrong".'

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As the resident 'Elder Millennial' of the Mamamia office, I've watched Gen Z systematically dismantle everything I once held dear.

First, they came for our skinny jeans. Then they attacked our side parts, the sock height fallout is still causing debates in the office, and don't even get me started on the crossbody bag controversy.

But when I learnt there was a Gen Z TikToker providing teachable moments for millennials about social media behaviours, trends, and language usage, I was immediately curious and thirsty for her youthful words of wisdom.

Watch: We go on a Mamamia office tour using Gen Z slang. Post continues below.

Enter Janelle Fuhrare, a Gen Z content creator who has recently gone viral for her "millennial bootcamp" series where she educates millennials on current Gen Z digital etiquette and social trends.

And mostly what we (millennials) are doing wrong.

I have done the homework and learnt the errors of our ways, so you don't have to.

Full disclaimer: I had to interview my Gen Z colleagues to translate some of it.

Instagram: There are many rules (I am breaking).

Fonts

"These are absolute no's. They scream millennial. I hate them so much. There's no reason why you should be using these," she declared, showing fonts called Signature, Bubble, Squeeze, and Meme. Please observe forbidden examples below.

These are OUT. Image: TikTok @janellefuhrare

"These fonts are fine. I really won't think twice about it," she acknowledged of the Gen Z-approved fonts like Modern, Editor, and Poster. "But these are the best, the most aesthetic," she said, highlighting Literature, Elegant, Strong, Typewriter, and Classic. Please observe acceptable and ideal (on the right) fonts below:

Acceptable fonts on the left, most aesthetic fonts on the right. Image: TikTok @janellefuhrare

Silent Stories.

"We're not doing boomerangs. We're not doing music on our stories. No one really listens to stories with their volume on. So you're kind of just like wasting your time," she instructed.

I probably put music on every. Single. Story. I still might do that — I think it adds drama or humour. But apparently, I'm just screaming into the void.

Food photos.

"If you're at dinner with your friends, and you want people to know you're at dinner with your friends, you're taking a picture of the food on two times zoom, turning the brightness down, and then tagging them in like, the very corner of the food," she explained.

Gone are the days of the perfectly lit, group shot huddling around our plates. We're going moody and mysterious now. No people.

Holiday highlights (oh dear).

"If you're gonna post a reel or a video of like a recap of your trip, try to keep it all video or all photos," she said.

"I know a millennial is posting something when they're posting a video, and it's videos and pictures. I don't know how to explain it."

But please explain it, Janelle! Because all videos is just too much, and I am not going to edit and create an entire reel like a video producer while I'm on holidays like I'm some sort of celebrity creating branded content.

And just pictures? That's a bit stagnant and boring. Isn't it?

Filters.

"Filters on the face, the pointy nose, the fake freckles, the bright blue eyes. It's just, I'm sorry. It's just a no," she stated firmly.

What about a cheeky "Paris" filter? Asking for a friend...

Tap in.

"This one's gonna hurt a little bit, but hear me out. The whole tap-in, show yours thing is the new Facebook 'like for a TBH or a confession'. If you're doing that, that's the energy that it's giving. The only acceptable ones are tap in, show your dogs," she instructed.

Okay, so the 'tap in' on Instagram — I knew of it, obviously, as it's the sinful millennial behaviour. The Instagram feature where users contribute their own photos to a themed prompt like "Father's Day" or "September memories" is actually called the "Add Yours" sticker, Janelle. So TAP THAT!

She was saying it's dated, comparing it to the 'like a for a TBH on Facebook', which was alien speak to me. I needed to investigate and interview the head of Mamamia's Gen Z Counsel and Content Editor of KNOW, Liv James.

"Okay, so 'like for a TBH' is an old thing that we used to do on our Facebook walls where someone would put up a status, and it would say, 'like for a TBH', which means 'To Be Honest.'" (Yes, thanks Liv, I know what the acronym TBH stands for…)

"If you liked that status, they would then post on your wall how they felt about you. It was usually something like, 'We're not that close, but you seem really cool. You're super funny. Love hearing you laugh. Love your hair'," Liv explained.

This seems very thirsty. And frankly, I don't see how the two are similar.

Dog influencers are DONE.

"Millennials are known for giving their dogs their own Instagram, and we're just not, it's just not a thing anymore," Janelle declared.

RIP to all the @princess_fluffington accounts out there.

Language dos and don'ts.

Slay no more.

"We're also not saying slay in real ways anymore. We're saying it in sarcastic ways. The new slay is literally just this," she said, nodding her head and touching her 'rude finger' and thumb together repeatedly.

"Because I guess this means 'ate' in sign language."

Please observe the visual aid below:

The new silent slay. Image: TikTok @janellefuhrare

So we've gone from verbal affirmation to silent hand gestures. Got it.

When death is a good thing.

"I'm dead. I'm deceased. I'm sick. I'm screaming. I'm throwing up — all good things. Your friend posts a picture on Instagram. You comment, 'I'm sick, I'm deceased.' That basically means that you look amazing," she explained.

Finally, something that makes sense! Though I do worry about the confusion this might cause in emergency situations.

Phrases we should be saying.

Kiki

"Kiki, which is basically, when you're hanging out with your friends, you're bantering, you're gossiping, you're just having a good Kiki. That's how you would basically, like, use it in a sentence," she said.

Sorry Janelle, but "kiki" isn't exactly fresh off the Gen Z press. The term actually has roots dating back to the 1930s and has long been cherished within the LGBTQIA+ community.

It gained mainstream recognition in the 2010s through drag culture and shows like RuPaul's Drag Race. So while I appreciate the lesson, this millennial already knew how to kiki, darling.

Huzz

"Which basically means, like, side hoe, but not, like, actually side hoe. So it's like, 'oh, I'm doing it for the huzz, like, I'm posting the thirst trap for the huzz', you know, for, like, for my side hoes, or for my hoes, or whatever. But you can use it in like, a non-ironic way, as always," she explained.

Like, disclaimer: I had to Google what a 'side hoe' is — don't tell Janelle...

A "side hoe" is a slang term referring to a person who is involved in a romantic or sexual relationship with someone who already has a primary partner.

Ah, I believe we refer to them as "the mistress" for those playing at home. So we're posting a thirst trap (hot photo) for the mistress?

I instantly scurried over to the Gen Z counsel for advice.

"You would do that to make the side hoe jealous," they explained. I'm still confused on that one. But what would I know? I'm just here for the huzz...

The verdict.

After attending Janelle's millennial bootcamp, I'm left feeling simultaneously educated and exhausted. The sheer number of unspoken rules governing social media behaviour is overwhelming, and frankly, I'm not sure I have the energy to keep up.

But perhaps that's the point. Maybe there's something to be said for our millennial earnestness, our love of a music-themed Instagram story, and yes, even our bubble fonts.

As one commenter on Janelle's video perfectly put it: "Social media etiquette?!? Girlfriend, we are the creators of social media."

After all, we survived the transition from MySpace to Facebook, from Facebook to Instagram, and from Instagram to TikTok. We've earned the right to use whatever fonts we damn well please.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a holiday round-up of videos and pictures to curate with some very millennial music over the top. For the huzz, obviously.

Feature Image: TikTok @janellefuhrare / Supplied.