As someone born in 2006 and a member of Generation Z, I see the struggles many of my peers and I have faced growing up in one of society’s most transitory periods. We saw what was becoming the new normal for others, but to us, it was the only thing we knew. One noticeable difference we faced compared to our parents and grandparents was the rapid growth of technology. There isn’t a part of life I know that doesn’t include various brands of phones, tablets and computers.
I think we have all heard older adults say, “You can’t go anywhere without your phone.” However, we don’t know any different. Innovations in classrooms appeared quickly for this generation. Every classroom started to fill with iPads, and computers slowly began to replace the traditional pencil and paper. New technologies were coming at an unimaginable pace, with both positives and negatives. This is truly where problems arise, too much too fast.
Gen Z started to focus on these products popping up in everyday life, and with this, those negative aspects have begun to show.
Desensitization is a standard product of the media's constant cycle. We have been exposed to tragedies, clickbait for engagement and unrealistic standards spread throughout the news and media. This pattern quickly became overwhelming and discouraging for Gen Z viewers.
We are constantly pushed down by the news about the resources we are expected to be present in our future and how they are fading away or are now deemed unrealistic. Inability to afford property, struggles with having children and government departments constantly being attacked have become our painful truths.
A substantial number of Gen Z members struggle with a variety of mental illnesses due to the society in which we have been raised. In the U.S., 46% have been diagnosed with a mental health condition with 37% suspecting they are undiagnosed. The two most common are depression and anxiety. There is no sign that these rates will be slowing down any time soon either in Gen Z or within other generations.
Gen Z has a noticeable amount of apathy toward different problems in our world including the socioeconomic and geopolitical state we are in. We are fed continuous news about our environment and global warming. Traumatic events, such as wildfires and hurricanes affecting millions of civilians, are one way apathy arises. It becomes a coping mechanism for many, turning them away from seeing that as our actual state of life.
The COVID-19 pandemic was one of, if not the most, transcending time periods for Gen Z. The oldest members of my generation were in their early 20s.
Other members of Gen Z were still in middle school and high school. Building and maintaining relationships with our peers is crucial during these years, but during the pandemic, challenges with socialization began to emerge. In-person interactions started to dwindle, and social distancing became our new norm during crucial developmental years. Outcomes of the pandemic include unhealthy parasocial relationships, lack of social skills and an inability for some to make connections away from the internet.
Anxiety, stress and depression are all effects of social isolation, and when these are present during these developmental years, they have been proven to carry into adulthood.
The future is uncertain, and Gen Z has been brought up in a society of instability. We choose to be cold about the problems at hand because the resources and tools that were promised to us for our future are diminishing. We have been isolated and told to deal with it.
Instead of judging Gen Z for being lazy or sensitive, take time to realize why we seem careless about certain things. If older generations had the same reality as we do at our ages, they too would understand the need to disassociate ourselves. So, yes, maybe we are the most apathetic generation, but hopefully, older generations will now be able to grasp why.
Grace Triebsch is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Grace Triebsch about their column? Email them at @gt875123@ohio.edu.
