Gratitude goes digital — and millennials are main the emoji-packed cost.
The newest strategy to say “I love you, man” isn’t with a beer or a bear hug.
It’s with a post-hang textual content — a heartfelt digital love letter despatched instantly after brunch, an evening out and even only a 15-minute FaceTime.
The gist?
“Wow, I needed that. So grateful for you!!!”
Affectionate and aggressively earnest, these follow-up messages — dubbed “millennial thank you notes” — are flooding group chats and inboxes with a tidal wave of emotions.
“You know when someone texts you right after you get home from hanging out with them and they say, like, ‘I had a great time, so nice to see you’? What a gift from God,” gushed TikTok consumer @carlabezanson in a viral video that’s racked up greater than 850,000 likes.
One other mushy consumer, @tpwkky, chimed in, “One thing about me is I WILL be sending the ‘thank you so much for hanging out with me’ text immediately after hanging out. I love telling people in my life they matter to me bc life is short and you should appreciate them while you still can (:”
Cringe? Possibly. Cute? Completely.
And based on a 2023 OnePoll examine for Josh Cellars, People are on the identical sappy wavelength: The typical individual says “thank you” six instances a day — totaling over 2,200 expressions of gratitude per 12 months.
A whopping 83% say they attempt to observe gratitude every day. Millennials are simply selecting to do it with a digital diary entry despatched at 9:47 p.m.
Even Gen Z is catching feels — type of.
“Me fighting the urge to text my friends, ‘thank you for hanging with me today, it was so much fun 😀 You’re literally the reason I’m gonna see the sunrise tomorrow’ every time we finish hanging out,” joked consumer @thatssorav3n_ in a TikTok dripping with sarcasm (and over 573,000 likes).
The generational break up is evident: Millennials put on their hearts on their texts. Gen Z prefers theirs with a thick layer of irony — and a wink.
“I feel like it’s a very Gen Z thing, earnestness through irony,” 27-year-old Andrew Pattenaude not too long ago advised Bustle. “It’s like a layer of protection to say something that you genuinely feel.”
Nonetheless, licensed psychological well being counselor Kathryn Lee says millennials is perhaps onto one thing.
“Millennials would probably prefer more of that face-to-face connection, because that is what they grew up with,” she advised the outlet. Once they lastly get it, “they’re sure to say ‘thank you.’ ”
Actually, gratitude isn’t only a heat, fuzzy feeling — it’s a full-blown motion.
The Put up beforehand reported on the aforementioned OnePoll examine, and the way 57% of People are saying “thank you” extra usually than in years previous.
A stunning 40% even maintain a written gratitude checklist, whereas others gush about every little thing from their households and buddies to their bosses and baristas.
TikTok consumer @paige_netting summed it up finest: “Trying not to send a ‘thank you for hanging out with me, I really appreciate being together’ after every casual hangout with friends.”
Certain, some folks really feel closest to their family members throughout the holidays — when 76% within the examine mentioned they’re extra linked.
However for millennials, the brand new season of thanks is year-round and at all times begins with: “Hey, that was a lot of fun.”
And generally, that’s greater than sufficient.
As @thatssorav3n_ put it: “You’re literally the reason I’m gonna see the sunrise tomorrow.”
