Rec
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I posted a similar anti-rec months ago, but the topic has come up again, this time with the "gen z stare". I'm sure there's a good mix of ages on PI so there are a lot of perspectives on this, but personally I am on the older side of gen z (2002), and this is my take on this. I don't mind the videos that people are making coming at this from a place of empathy, discussing how the pandemic could have stunted people's social skills, especially young kids. that's a valid take, and it's one I agree with. my boyfriend and I have had plenty of discussions about how concerned we are for the people younger than us, growing up in the environment that they did and are now. but the number of videos being straight up nasty are where I draw the line. people are trying to say that "we all went through COVID at the same time, and I adjusted back so they should be able to!!!" as if going through a years long pandemic when you're a younger teen or child would have the same effect as a years long pandemic on a 30 year old. take the youngest millennial, who would have been born in 1996 and started the pandemic at 24 and compare that to the youngest zoomer, who would have been born in 2012 and gone through the pandemic at 8. say you don't want to go to the youngest, let's say the median instead: ages 31 vs 15. like they're in completely different stages of life during a world stopping pandemic, no shit it affected them differently than you. I personally don't think that I was too affected socially by the pandemic, as it started during the last semester of my senior year of hs. I can't say that it didn't affect anyone my age or on the upper end of this generation, just like I'm sure it affected younger millennials- but it probably was not as detrimental as it would be for a child.
and, like usual, a lot of these conversations are turining into circle jerks of people saying "back in my day, I made half the wage they do and I was never like that!!", "I would have gotten fired if I ever acted like those lazy kids!!", and, my favorite comment so far, "when they say they don't understand what we mean when we talk about this they're using DARVO tactics!!! they're gaslighting us!!!!!". ultimately, the world has changed. things were not the same as they were pre-2016 especially. I've talked on here before about how apathy is a big issue within people my age and younger- and I get why. it's very easy to slip into apathy when your future seems so bleak and it's not even your fault- it's just the world you were born into at the wrong time. personally, if teens are socially awkward or seem like they don't care about work (which is not a gen z thing, every generation gets the "you're lazy and ungrateful and blah blah blah" thing when they're this age), I can see why. does that make it okay? no, but ultimately I see it as a symptom of our society and empathize with them rather than make videos making fun of them. let's also not pretend that the only people who give bad customer service are under the age of 29. let's also not pretend that the cost of living wasn't much lower when the older gens (who are saying that these people don't deserve a living wage) were entering the work force.
ultimately, I think that if we come at these topics from a place of empathy rather than lashing out, it would be a lot more productive. if you're participating in this rhetoric, I implore you to think about what people were saying about your generation when you were younger. I remember growing up hearing the same talking points about millennials from gen x and above. perhaps we break the cycle this time instead of being nasty online. discussing how younger people's social skills were stunted by the pandemic is something that should be talked about, however it should be done with care. they didn't ask to be in their developmental years during the pandemic. I do also think it's unfortunate that many people are saying that being mean about this is "revenge" for pointing out the "millennial pause", which I had for a bit because I too used snapchat when there was that one second delay at the start of a video. but when it's said like that, I think that shows exactly the motivations behind some of this discourse: pettiness. yes, a teenager may have made a skinny jeans joke, but does that mean you should say that everyone ages 13-28 is aging like milk and has no social skills?
this turned into a yap, but you get the point. we need more empathy in the world. please don't turn into the same people in older gens who bullied the ones younger than them.
and, like usual, a lot of these conversations are turining into circle jerks of people saying "back in my day, I made half the wage they do and I was never like that!!", "I would have gotten fired if I ever acted like those lazy kids!!", and, my favorite comment so far, "when they say they don't understand what we mean when we talk about this they're using DARVO tactics!!! they're gaslighting us!!!!!". ultimately, the world has changed. things were not the same as they were pre-2016 especially. I've talked on here before about how apathy is a big issue within people my age and younger- and I get why. it's very easy to slip into apathy when your future seems so bleak and it's not even your fault- it's just the world you were born into at the wrong time. personally, if teens are socially awkward or seem like they don't care about work (which is not a gen z thing, every generation gets the "you're lazy and ungrateful and blah blah blah" thing when they're this age), I can see why. does that make it okay? no, but ultimately I see it as a symptom of our society and empathize with them rather than make videos making fun of them. let's also not pretend that the only people who give bad customer service are under the age of 29. let's also not pretend that the cost of living wasn't much lower when the older gens (who are saying that these people don't deserve a living wage) were entering the work force.
ultimately, I think that if we come at these topics from a place of empathy rather than lashing out, it would be a lot more productive. if you're participating in this rhetoric, I implore you to think about what people were saying about your generation when you were younger. I remember growing up hearing the same talking points about millennials from gen x and above. perhaps we break the cycle this time instead of being nasty online. discussing how younger people's social skills were stunted by the pandemic is something that should be talked about, however it should be done with care. they didn't ask to be in their developmental years during the pandemic. I do also think it's unfortunate that many people are saying that being mean about this is "revenge" for pointing out the "millennial pause", which I had for a bit because I too used snapchat when there was that one second delay at the start of a video. but when it's said like that, I think that shows exactly the motivations behind some of this discourse: pettiness. yes, a teenager may have made a skinny jeans joke, but does that mean you should say that everyone ages 13-28 is aging like milk and has no social skills?
this turned into a yap, but you get the point. we need more empathy in the world. please don't turn into the same people in older gens who bullied the ones younger than them.
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ðŸŽirony and a lack of sincerity seems to be a big part of how a lot of gen z seems to operate. you have to be nonchalant, you can't be too excited about something because that's cringe, but when someone makes an account being cringe ironically that's funny, and this commitment to the bit is very important- this leads us to meta-irony. and I can't hate much, I've been known to laugh at these things too
the cynicism is, at least in the perspective of an american zoomer, due to the state of things in the country/planet. at my high school, we were encouraged to go to college in STEM fields because that's more financially stable but now people with those degrees can't find employment, and that's happening with every degree. entry level jobs are requiring experience- like buddy, you are the experience. and when you're working minimum wage after college outside of your field with student loan debt, you're watching the housing crisis and knowing you'll be a renter forever. and you're also watching the climate crisis and trying to enjoy the planet before you're swept up by a tornado or get dust pneumonia or get hit by a hurricane. and you're watching our current administration take us into authoritarianism and some people are even happy that they have a dictator now. scary and uncertain times lead to the level of cynicism that we have finally reached and I worry for the generations following ours, especially seeing how the alt-right has been exploiting the growing cynicism in our generation
the cynicism is, at least in the perspective of an american zoomer, due to the state of things in the country/planet. at my high school, we were encouraged to go to college in STEM fields because that's more financially stable but now people with those degrees can't find employment, and that's happening with every degree. entry level jobs are requiring experience- like buddy, you are the experience. and when you're working minimum wage after college outside of your field with student loan debt, you're watching the housing crisis and knowing you'll be a renter forever. and you're also watching the climate crisis and trying to enjoy the planet before you're swept up by a tornado or get dust pneumonia or get hit by a hurricane. and you're watching our current administration take us into authoritarianism and some people are even happy that they have a dictator now. scary and uncertain times lead to the level of cynicism that we have finally reached and I worry for the generations following ours, especially seeing how the alt-right has been exploiting the growing cynicism in our generation
Mar 21, 2025
Rec
🤫this is all super off the cuff but i think the "rise" of snark is also possibly partially due to:
-covid isolation depriving all of us of a normal level of gossip-producing social interaction and opportunities for petty gossip, so some people sought it out on the internet, see also the rise of podcasts like normal gossip
-as the digital panopticon has increased (eg., tiktoks people make of strangers?? in public??), our own reflexive self-critique and awareness has increased. being in online forums where people have some level of anonymity allows them to feel a level of escape from this and succumb to the behaviors that they now fear doing in public spaces. AND we cant ever really escape the judgments of the panopticon (plenty of which are aesthetic or normative judgments rather than moral ones) so people in these anonymous spaces still turn to the same judgments
-last thought is even more underbaked than the others but i think there's something to the younger generations being the first ones who grew up with influencers as part of the culture since adolescence
May 9, 2024
Rec
😃I kinda feel like I lucked out even though there is draw backs (one of the smallest demographics with political power and caught between two generations which causes chaotic organization in political causes but ya know!!!!). You get dunked on by both but you also can dunk on one or the other of your choosing. I had some of the benefits of millennials like not living in fully tech world and having a very unplugged childhood while also adapting extremely fast to the technology and having the CHOICE because I was so young. I would probably say I belong in the Gen Z camp but sometimes idk what they are on about.
This is my morning burst of caffeine and ADD med post.
This is my morning burst of caffeine and ADD med post.
22h ago
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📩seriously though I don't know how to make the first step in making friends on here but my friends can attest that I'm cool 😠I just need to get over my leaving comments anxiety but until then just know yall can message me if you're ever looking for someone to chat with 🙌
May 19, 2025
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I was bullied a lot for my eye color as a kid (because me having very dark brown hair and very dark brown eyes made me look "evil", apparently) and, naturally, began to dislike them. but as I've gotten out of school and away from people who put me down, I've realized how insane it is to bully someone over their eye and hair color and grown to love the color of my eyes. I mean, they may be dark but there's nothing wrong with that. and I can take pretty pictures of my eyes too, I just have to blind myself and almost stare into the sun to do so lol
Feb 27, 2025
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📖recently, when I wake up in the morning and have time to kill, I've been spending a bit of time reading before or after I get myself ready to go about the day instead of sitting on my phone when I first wake up. I feel like it helps clear my mind for the day and it feels nice to not immediately scroll when I wake up like I used to
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