Feeling sorry for Generation Z

[6-eyed]

They are basically the first generation to never experience life in a pre social media world. The dumb shit they posted on social media when they were young is going to come back and bite them in the ass. Older generations have some dumb things they’ve said and done, but they at least don’t have a paper trail leading to all of it.

[SpaceMan]

also probably never got to play with a bow and arrow...or lawn darts

the danger was 80% of the fun

never made a road trip sleeping in the back window shelf
never rat nested their favourite cassette tape then fixed it with scotch tape

[neonspectraltoast]

Doxing is dumb.

[Jessica]

This just sounds like a typical adult getting older and needing to believe they had it better and that everyone who comes after them is inferior. Not that I don't feel that way a bit myself.. i am SO glad to not be a teenager today.. at the same time, i look at them and i read their comments and the ideas they have as a collective, and i frequently feel impressed, thankful and hopeful. And the internet is a big part of it.

Like the way they've all started captioning their videos.. It never would have even occurred to me or my friends to consider deaf people.. and yeah, needing to know what is being said on a tik tok video is not essential.. but it IS part of current society.. and kids now think about that stuff, and realise that by not captioning videos, deaf people are excluded. i think it's beautiful to watch that kind of empathic awareness growing and becoming normal.

i think every new generation should have an aspect to them which is superior to everyone who came before, like we should WANT that because it means as a collective, we are improving. and if they don't, the older generations are failing.

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Making 5 year Olds wear masks, I'm wondering how many OCD / Germaphobes we are creating for 20 years later

[SpaceMan]

germaphobia is the least of what i expect to see in 20 years

[Meliai]

Making 5 year Olds wear masks, I'm wondering how many OCD / Germaphobes we are creating for 20 years later

If my son uses the bathroom before we eat he will wash his hands in the bathroom then come out and wash his hands again in the kitchen before eating because he's afraid of germs he may have picked up on the walk from the bathroom to the kitchen. He's also weird about hugs and close contact now, whereas pre-covid he was pretty affectionate

Its a bit worrisome. I never really made a fuss about covid around him beyond basic handwashing and hygiene that we were doing pre-covid anyways, so I'm not sure where he's picked all this up from

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Oi, not good

[Audiogen]

It would be kind of weird growing up on social media. It seems like there is an aspect of childhood that is stripped away but on the other hand, I'm super jealous about some stuff, like they can become as rich as pro athletes just by playing video games. I probably would have had fewer arguments with my parents about wasting time with video games, had professional gamer been a viable career option,

Like the way they've all started captioning their videos.. It never would have even occurred to me or my friends to consider deaf people.. and yeah, needing to know what is being said on a tik tok video is not essential.. but it IS part of current society.. and kids now think about that stuff, and realise that by not captioning videos, deaf people are excluded. i think it's beautiful to watch that kind of empathic awareness growing and becoming normal.
.

Maybe making it easier for the user to set captions on some of these social media sites is newer but those standards have been in place for awhile for websites and online content, certainly not created by Gen Z. I even made a request announcement about doing that here for photo uploads early on. (Well that would be for the blind)

[Undies]

Generally I agree with what Jessica said about people getting old. But there are some real issues with the social media stuff that I really am glad I managed to avoid. Like I recently saw an article (linked below) about a girl that got kicked out of college and shamed in the new York times because she said "I can drive, nigga" on snapchat when she got her permit at 15. I'm sure at some point during my childhood I said something stupid too, and I'm really glad I survived it.

https://reason.com/2020/12/28/new-york-times-racial-slur-teen-jimmy-galligan-mimi-groves/?fbclid=IwAR2RdGJWou8vCmJO22XI4uXMuhNLkMLlEw6l-OIqSn_xzMse4cJbi1tMDdc

[everything bagel]

On the flip side, Gen Zers are also making millions off of social media. People are launching themselves as a brand, marketing it, and getting rich. Gen Z is the most entrepreneural generation in history. While older people are like "ugh, social media... bad!" kids are making a living with it. And some are getting rich.

Dont feel too sorry

[Jessica]

Maybe making it easier for the user to set captions on some of these social media sites is newer but those standards have been in place for awhile for websites and online content, certainly not created by Gen Z.

okay but i was just referring to what is normal subject matter to them, the type of things they think about, and their awareness of others' experiences.

they're also more aware of politics, etc. it's like watching a return to the 1960s where because it was tangibly relevant, young people were aware of it.
i feel like from the 1980s - 2010 the generations that grew up in these three decades were most distracted by consumerism and entertainment. there will have been plenty of exceptions, but i don't remember anyone i hung out with in my teens discussing the concept of UBI or post-capitalism, the environment, institutional inequalities.. that stuff has all become very much talked about by young people in a way that I did not witness as a young person.

[WritersPanic]

I was in the Ecology club in Junior high school. We mostly cleaned junk out of creeks and ponds. I don't remember when ecology went away and environment took over.

[mallyboppa]

On the flip side, Gen Zers are also making millions off of social media. People are launching themselves as a brand, marketing it, and getting rich. Gen Z is the most entrepreneural generation in history. While older people are like "ugh, social media... bad!" kids are making a living with it. And some are getting rich.

Dont feel too sorry

Yeah I like the ones where they jump up and each time they jump their clothes fall off

[rolling]

my kid...and also every kid.....figured out not to use a real name on facebook years ago....mine has had a dozen fb accounts all with weird names like gmoneysex.....no clue how she does it

[SpaceMan]

you just need multiple emails...theres easy ways around the phone number requirement

i also do not have a facebook under my real name...for other reasons

[WritersPanic]

Years ago I used a TracPhone to have a disposable number. I signed up using it on sites that required it. Then I forgot about it and let the phone expire. So if I forget my password, I'm likely fucked in a few places. But I haven't even wanted to be on FB in about 5 years. I got tired of being bombarded by child and dog pics from people I didn't know but were somehow connected by the thinnest online factors. Then there was the wave of Eastern European princesses looking for a green card. When I realized I was dreading it, I pulled the plug.

Is there a more modern way around the phone number nonsense? I think I'd like to pester some former colleagues and harass some former classmates!

[Meliai]

okay but i was just referring to what is normal subject matter to them, the type of things they think about, and their awareness of others' experiences.

they're also more aware of politics, etc. it's like watching a return to the 1960s where because it was tangibly relevant, young people were aware of it.
i feel like from the 1980s - 2010 the generations that grew up in these three decades were most distracted by consumerism and entertainment. there will have been plenty of exceptions, but i don't remember anyone i hung out with in my teens discussing the concept of UBI or post-capitalism, the environment, institutional inequalities.. that stuff has all become very much talked about by young people in a way that I did not witness as a young person.

we talked about the Iraq war a lot in my late teens, kind of hard not to because I knew people who were deployed there. But if 9/11 and Iraq hadn't happened I think it would have taken longer for myself and everyone I knew then to become more aware of the world.

Whereas I am consistently impressed by teenagers today. They seem very empathetic and sensitive and just in tune with the world around them.

[Jessica]

ah, true. i am obviously only aware of what it was like as a British teenager. The whole Iraq thing, to any extent we thought about it, was overshadowed by Bush being a funny stupid character that satire was made from. that's what i partly mean by "distracted by entertainment"

[Audiogen]

okay but i was just referring to what is normal subject matter to them, the type of things they think about, and their awareness of others' experiences.

they're also more aware of politics, etc. it's like watching a return to the 1960s where because it was tangibly relevant, young people were aware of it.
i feel like from the 1980s - 2010 the generations that grew up in these three decades were most distracted by consumerism and entertainment. there will have been plenty of exceptions, but i don't remember anyone i hung out with in my teens discussing the concept of UBI or post-capitalism, the environment, institutional inequalities.. that stuff has all become very much talked about by young people in a way that I did not witness as a young person.

My best friend early in high school was a Che Guevara t-shirt wearing, red star hat commie ideologue. He didn't just do the consumerism part of it, he also was informed and keen to talk about free tibet and political prisoners and the like. We primarily shared passion in political music like Rage Against the Machine and the Dead Kennedys. But yah he was every bit as radical as the nutjobs today.

I drifted away from him later in high school though and hung out with people who were still mostly liberal but essentially patriotic.

[Sooz]

Gen z are the selfish knowitalls