Gen Z Discovers Email, Describes It as 'Unhinged' and 'Basically a Letter'

A TikTok video by user @noemii_nofilter documenting her first experience sending a professional email has gone viral, with her reaction — 'this is unhinged, you're telling me people just WRITE to each other?? like it's 1847??' — resonating with millions of Gen Z viewers encountering formal electronic correspondence for the first time. Noemi Reyes, 22, was required to send an email to a client during her first week at a public relations firm. The resulting video shows her staring at a blank compose window with an expression her followers described as 'how I look at the SATs.' 'There's no character limit,' Reyes narrates. 'You can just keep going. It's like a DM with no rules. And there's a SUBJECT LINE? I have to summarize the email BEFORE the email? That's like writing a trailer for a movie that's also a movie.' The video's most viral moment occurs when Reyes receives a response from her millennial colleague that begins 'Hi Noemi, hope you're doing well!' — a pleasantry Reyes identifies as 'deeply suspicious.' 'Why is she hoping I'm doing well?' Reyes says to the camera. 'She saw me ten minutes ago. She knows how I'm doing. This is performative wellness. In a text I would just say hey. Or nothing. I would just start talking.' The video has spawned a broader discourse about generational communication norms. Millennials have defended email etiquette as 'professional and courteous.' Gen Z has countered that beginning every message with a paragraph of small talk before making the actual request is 'emotional manipulation dressed as politeness.' 'Just SAY what you need,' Reyes said in a follow-up video. 'You don't need to ask about my weekend. You need a spreadsheet. I know it. You know it. The email knows it. Let's respect each other's time.' Reyes's employer has asked her to continue using email. She has complied but signs off every message with 'sent from my phone (slay),' which her manager has not yet addressed.