No matter how timeless first crushes feel in our hearts, one woman's daughter is ripping off the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia.
A video posted to TikTok by Caitlin Baudhuin (@caitlin.the.realtor) shows her Gen Z daughter rating her biggest 90s teenage heartthrobs—and the results are shocking. A series of abysmal ratings showed just how largely generational differences loom, even only a few decades apart. Since it was posted on March 20, it has received 118,000 likes and over 5,000 comments from empathetic viewers.
"These are all teen heartthrobs that I had in the 90s," Baudhuin tells her daughter, Rhyen, in the video. "Got to rate 0-10."
Among the contestants were Zachery Ty Bryan from the sitcom Home Improvement, James Van Der Beek and Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek and Mark-Paul Gosselaar from Saved by the Bell. Rhyen rated the men a three, four, two and two-point-five, respectively.
"Why is his smile...it looks like he's not even happy, it looks like he's fake smiling," Rhyen said about Gosselaar.
Baudhuin told Newsweek she was surprised at how low her daughter ranked her heartthrobs.
"There were a lot of comments about me picking bad photos, but I chose photos that I thought were good. I also learned that a feature she's attracted to must be hairstyles," she said, referring to the comments Rhyen made about Gosselaar's hair. "We all have certain features we find attractive and hers must be hair."
@caitlin.the.realtor Episode 1 of my daughter rating my teen hollywood heartthrobs of the 90’s. 🤦🏻♀️🤣 #greenscreen #90skids #90steenheartthrobs #dawsonscreek #teampacey
♬ original sound - Caitlin - Memphis, TN Realtor
Baudhuin spoke about what she thought might be responsible for the generational difference: context.
"My generation found many of these guys attractive because we were so invested in their characters," she said. "I feel that teens now don't have the teen TV shows that we did. So, they aren't as invested in characters...that created more attraction for us."
Baudhuin said she suspects that YouTube and social media have largely replaced the fad of the "teen TV show."
Regardless, she said she shares a lot about her experiences growing up with her children—pop culture included.
"I absolutely share a lot of my childhood with my kids. I love the late 90s/early 2000s and my kids have had plenty of exposure to music from that time and the games I grew up with and loved," she said. "I haven't talked to [Rhyen] about any of my favorite shows prior to this, though."
Baudhuin's introduction of her favorite teenage TV to her daughter has gone over well with other 90s kids shocked at Rhyen's takes. The duo even posted a part two to the series on March 23.
Even with more choices, though, Rhyen's opinions haven't changed.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
