“Is he a bad texter, or is he over 35?”

Elizabeth Castaldi, a popular US content creator, has ignited a viral debate on the generation gap in texting within the dating scene.

At 27, Castaldi recently went on a date with a 35-year-old man and was taken aback by the text he sent her the following day.

“Hey, had fun last night. Have a good day,” he texted.

In true Gen Z fashion, Castaldi shared the private message online, garnering over 500,000 views. She captioned it: “I have to start dating people my own age. But I won’t.”

The text message sparked a heated discussion in the comments section. Opinions were divided—some felt she was right, and he was texting like a millennial, while others thought her reaction was unwarranted and the text perfectly normal.

“I’m confused how is this bad?” one commenter asked.

Castaldi clarified that she didn’t get the “ick” from his formal text, but his millennial texting style made it hard to gauge his interest in a second date. “Let’s be clear, I do not have the ick. I just can’t read him and I really, really want to go on a second date,” she wrote.

Another commenter criticised the 35-year-old’s text for being too sterile, saying it lacked any sense of enthusiasm, urgency, or intimacy. “He could have written that to someone at work about a work function,” they explained.

A man countered, calling this critique immature. “I just think it’s ridiculous that we’re sitting here [criticizing] this simple yet nice text. Would you prefer exclamation points and emojis? Like they’re grown adults,” he argued.

Many people supported the man’s formal texting style. “If he texts like my dad, it is a green flag,” one person claimed. “This is the text you send when you’re not trying to simp too much at first,” another added. “I bet it took him hours to come up with this,” one joked.

Other men joined the discussion, asking for advice on how to text better. They were surprised to learn that Gen Z women find formal text messages confusing. One wrote: “Can I please get an example to improve this situation? I am guilty of this.”

“Can I ask what it should say, because I definitely say the same thing? I’m 35,” another pleaded.

“For us, 35 plus, can you advise how to [color] it up? Emojis and exclamations?” one asked.

Castaldi responded, suggesting that emojis and explicitly asking for another date are key to nailing a post-date text. Young women also chimed in, sharing their experiences of dating men in their 30s and being perplexed by their texts.

“I’m trying to decipher a 37-year-old’s texts right now … so it’s not just me?” one said.

“Had a 35-year-old tell me it was ‘great to connect’ and we should ‘stay in touch’ after a date,” another added.

“Dude, it’s painful! Tragic! Confusing! Lonely at the same time,” another joked.

“Had to check what state you’re in to make sure we’re not talking about the same 35-year-old,” one person wrote.

What do you think?