Father shows how younger generation use different hand gesture for phones in viral TikTok

New gesture mimics how you would hold a smartphone

Viral TikTok shows how phone call hand gesture has changed (TikTok)

With corded and flip phones already a thing of the past, it seems the hand gesture that used to be associated with phone calls is next to become obsolete, according to a new TikTok.

On Wednesday, TikTok user Daniel Alvarado shared a clip on the social media platform, where he revealed that younger generations don’t use the hand gesture of pinky and thumb extended and middle fingers curled in to signify they are on the phone.

Instead, many of those born in the 2000s and later simply hold their hand flat against their head to indicate they are talking on a smartphone.

“70s, 80s and 90s babies can relate,” Alvarado began the TikTok. “This is how you know you’re getting old.”

The father-of-two then proceeded to ask his wife to pretend to talk on the phone, to which she showed the now-outdated hand gesture commonly associated with a phone call.

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However, when Alvarado’s young children were prompted to do the same thing, they held their hands flat with their palms facing their ears - a gesture that more closely resembles talking on an iPhone or Android.

Alvarado concluded the clip, which has been viewed more than 2m times, indicating that his mind is blown by the updated gesture used by younger generations - a feeling shared by thousands of viewers who have expressed their shock at the information.

“My mind is blown right now, I had no idea,” one person commented.

Another said: “Tested it with my kids and you’re right!”

“I just asked my kids and...I am officially old,” someone else concluded.

The TikTok was also shared on Twitter, where other parents shared their results after attempting the experiment with their own children.

The hand gesture isn’t the only technological difference between generations, as others used the comments section of the viral video to point out the additional gestures and phrases that don’t apply to younger generations, such as rolling down a window or “hanging up” a phone.