Like many of us, humor writers Alec MacDonald and Connor Toole were fans of the photoblog Humans of New York. Inspired by the mixture of candid photographs and personal quotes from everyday New Yorkers, the two friends decided to write a satirical piece for Elite Daily called “Millennials of New York.” The article, which chronicled the struggle of entitled young urbanites, was an instant hit. Realizing they were onto something, MacDonald and Toole eventually created a Facebook and Instagram account to harness the full potential of the parody.
“The page isn t really about just hating on millennials,” MacDonald says of his project. “It s about satirizing the parts of modern youth and Internet culture that deserve it.” That means poking fun at our obsession with organic food, inventing jobs such as “meme scouts,” and photographing an array of hipster beards. Often the account takes aim at millennial privilege: “You can t move to New York City unless you re not afraid to fail. I think that s why I ve been so successful—I’m not afraid of having to ask my parents for money when I start running out.” As for the subjects, the comedians drew from their own friend group, who, as MacDonald put it, “are nice enough to let us write awful things about them.”
