They are under 25 years old and have developed a passion for knitting, embroidery, Scrabble and even bridge. A trend which has been increasing since the Covid-19 crisis and is widely featured on social networks.
What if knitting by the fire, curled up under a blanket, replaced Saturday night clubbing for the younger generation? Knitting, embroidery, Scrabble, fishing or even bridge… These activities connoted “third age” arouse the enthusiasm of under 25s who do not hesitate to flood social networks with videos of their creations or their best card game strategies.
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Cardboard of the “ grandma era » sur TikTok
On TikTok, the trend “ grandma era », where Internet users praise the benefits of adopting an “old” daily life, a hit. Soup recipes, grandmother’s tips, crochet projects… For example, the TikToker who runs the “@khlomousse” account shares her “grandma” lifestyle, as she claims, with her 197,000 subscribers. And the mayonnaise sets. Some videos have more than 2 million views. “22 years old, but 80 years old in my head”, she proudly posts in front of the camera.
@khlomousse Response to @Shaloma here is the advance of the granny square plaid, what do you think? ???????????? #crochet #plaid #mamie #grannysquare ♬ original sound – Chloé????????????
On Instagram, embroidery accounts are also multiplying, but with a “generation Z” touch. Like the account “@brodepute”, which creates embroidery tinged with feminist messages and other political slogans inspired by demonstrations.
The staging of these passions on social networks is the characteristic setback of a generation lulled by digital culture. It explains itself, according to Elisabeth Soulié, anthropologist speaker, specialist in Generation Z and author of the book Generation Z in the X-ray (editions du Cerf), by the absence of dissociation among young people, between the virtual and the real. “This generation cannot do something without it being shared. She needs to connect with other people who are passionate about the same activity and create a community. »
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“Thanks to bridge, I met my best friends and my partner”
Vincent Gallais, for his part, does not share his best gaming tactics on social networks, but is just as passionate about an activity usually popular with grandparents: bridge. At just 24 years old, he has been playing the famous British card game for over fourteen years. “I started in primary school during an activity offered by the school during lunchtime”, he tells the evening edition.
Today, bridge has taken a considerable part in his life. With several training sessions per week, he also competes on weekends, around twenty per year. Originally from Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), he lives in Lille (North), where he is part of a club. “Thanks to bridge, I met my best friends and my partner,” he confides. A graduate of an engineering school, he even made it his profession. Today he works for FunBridge, the leader in online bridge gaming.
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“I have Arlettes and Yves as playing partners”
Aware of the rather outdated reputation of his sport, Vincent Gallais defends it: “The image of four grannies playing bridge over afternoon tea is 1% of the game. Real bridge is played in clubs, in competition, in fact the average age of the The French bridge team is 30 years old. » However, he sometimes plays with people double or even triple his age, with whom he has even created friendships. “I have Arlette and Yves as playing partners and I learn a lot from older people, especially on a human level. » The main difference in gaming between generations? “When we are faced with a problem in bridge, we have the reflex to take out our phone to ask our network for the solution. Not the old school”, he smiled.
“A need to reconnect with themselves”
These hobbies resurrected from the past have found new popularity among young people thanks to Covid-19 and successive confinements. As a political choice to return to a slow-motion lifestyle, far from the pixels of screens and the incessant flow of social networks. For Elisabeth Soulié, this trend is a way for young people who grew up with social networks, “to reconnect with themselves in moments of silence, to return to a time when we are less solicited and to strive towards more authenticity”, she explains.
Taking pleasure in doing creative hobbies or participating in board games would also promote development, “an important marker for generation Z, more than the previous ones”, insists Elisabeth Soulié, where “there is a strong need to take care of oneself”.
