PowerPoints are all the rager.
Gen Z’s idea of “work-life balance” was stifled during the COVID-19 lockdown — and now their parties even feature PowerPoint presentations.
A PowerPoint party is pretty self-explanatory: People get together and show each other PP presentations on a topic of their choosing for “fun.”
The, um, point is for friends to get to know each other’s silly, niche interests and funny thoughts.
The get-togethers rose in popularity during the pandemic, but they’re still a big hit among Gen Z today — despite utilizing something seen regularly in corporate environments.
Searching for PowerPoint parties on TikTok will bring up an endless stream of examples, with topics including A-list actor Pedro Pascal, “Things that give me the ick” and a meta presentation of “guessing what PowerPoint everyone prepared.”
It’s such a common occurrence that Cosmopolitan even put out a list of “55 PowerPoint Night Ideas to Spice Up Your Next at-Home Hang.” Some examples include Disney Channel movie supremacy, the most iconic set of twins in history, and the best chain restaurant and why.
People tend to be quite split on whether they find PowerPoint parties fun.
McCall Mirabella told CNN that she asked all her friends to prepare a PowerPoint for her recent 21st birthday celebration — and she loved it.
“They’re so unserious,” she told the outlet of PP nights she’s attended and hosted. “Most of the time, people are left crying from laughing so hard, or bent over wheezing.”
Others disagree, thinking we should leave the PowerPoints in the office — and not bring them into the home.
“I love my friends, and also I absolutely do not want to do this with any of them,” Emily Stewart of Business Insider wrote about the “weird” craze. “Must we turn something we do at work into something we do in our personal lives? Just hanging out without a plan is fine and pleasant.”
Why Gen Z is so infatuated with PowerPoints as a fun pastime isn’t exactly clear.
Perhaps their work and personal lives are blurred due to remote work, or maybe they’re just used to interacting via technology rather than in person.
