Gen Z: Fixation with Identity and Overcoming our Differences
Let me preface this essay by saying that I hate throwing terms around and grouping a whole generation together for the sake of criticism. The very core of this essay is about judging people and its consequences — so I should at least be self-aware of what I’m doing here. In the end, being vocal about something you don’t like is only natural. The important thing to do is to filter what truly bothers us, and reevaluate the weight we’ve been putting on such issues.
But more on that later.
People born in the late 90’s / first decade of the 21st century are typically referred to as Gen Z. Various authors have been trying to characterise this generation and understand their behaviour. We (because I’m too part of it) are commonly described as radically inclusive. Some say we’re ambitious, yet prone to anxiety. Even though it’s impossible to find one truth that fits us all, the two terms I see associated the most when describing us are open-minded and accepting.
For once, we present a new generation capable of must needed changes: cementing the importance of diversity and inclusivity, urging to take action on climate change — all while influencing each other under this digital stratosphere we all live under.
But where do we fail?
It’s no secret that in this day and age, we are all hyper stimulated. We run through TikTok and every social media in a mindless rush, to spend time scrolling, entertained by the most sophisticated algorithms — the ones that pull us in the first place. The shorter attentions spans, the saturated colours, the never-ending clips, and the reigning desire to see what is going on in other peoples lives, that leads to the inevitable loss of comparing ourselves to them.
We were already born in this new age. Growing up with Facebook, Instagram, all these different mediums where everyone is living their best lives and making sure they show it. Now, you watch pretty faces being pushed to your For You Pages in an almost infinite resource of people that are what you seemingly can’t be.
This causes Gen Z to experience an active obsession with their image, to the point where their perception of themselves is a pure reflex of how they are perceived by others. Now more than ever, I feel like people know they should fit some kind of box too. Find an identity, from the things we embrace to the pronouns we choose to go by. And in the end, find people we can relate to.
Our identity is what ultimately allows us to find comfort — in our way of being, the stances we take, the people we accept. These tendencies define our place in such a spectrum, shifting with a lack of thought on how we end up conforming to certain social constructs and how those may affect others. We also fail to predict if it will prove toxic in the long run — our insecurities lie beyond that point.
Gen Z craves for attention and validation for many reasons — motives that I can only imagine. Maybe it’s because we see other people getting that same validation all the time, and we feel like we’re missing out while being our current selves, hence the need for change. The focus on being appreciated becomes the sole reason to be who we are.
With that, we are quick to understand what is appreciated in the circles we visit and cherish, and as a hive mind, we reject anything and everything that doesn’t fall under that category — anybody, really. The accepting version of us — the one that raised awareness on LGBTQ issues and oppression; the one that stood up against institutional racism and vouched to receive with open arms each and everyone — that version of us completely falls flat as you go through what their following is, the people they mock and are so quick to despise — an almost full 180 of the core values I was hoping to find.
Why are people so judgemental?
Why is their defence mechanism so aggressive?
From what I gather and experience, we only judge those who are different to avoid the potential fear of being deemed as less than what we are, and to protect the innate urge to be right. Its no surprise cancel culture is as prominent as it could ever be these days, and even though it battles against some people that in every right should be silenced, it is still an attempt of censorship, one that might bring serious consequences in the future.
But that’s a whole another topic.
As we grow up, we learn to enjoy different things. We develop our own interests, and we cherish what makes us happy. It’s okay to have preferences. It’s only natural. But there’s no need to shame others based on theirs.
That makes me wish everyone could be a little more comprehensive with people who are just doing what makes them happy. We became so self-centered, that we started to see the world in black-and-white lines of what is cool and what is not. And what is not cool, is not tolerated.
That seems to be the trend these days. Somehow, Gen Z tends to develop signs of cultism once they find something they really like, especially if it’s niche and approved by the people they see as authorities on that topic — like being proud that you’re so different because you just started listening to some indie bands, or whatever that might mean. This behaviour only inflates their false sense of superior taste and views, cementing their dormant disgust for what it is considered to be below them.
Like, please…
You enjoy songs that go on the radio?
Reading young-adult fantasy novels?
You think an A24 film could have been better?
Unfortunately, this judgemental attitude only progresses with time. And it goes well beyond interests. At some point, there’s some tendency to become hypercritical of everything that doesn’t strictly match what it seems safe to like and get approve of.
Words like ew and cringe make up their whole vocabulary. Somehow, not enjoying something different has become the safer, trendy option that protects our status. Protecting that so important, yet fragile perception that other people might have about us without ever realizing.
More than that, taking new initiatives becomes more and more of a risk, socially speaking. If you don’t excel of what you do instantly, then those people will not fail to take that chance and try to put you down. Which is somewhat funny — as those who judge the most, are usually the ones who do the least. They don’t dare to produce something new — something that they can call theirs. And are satisfied with being the so-called critic of everyone’s and their own lives, without ever stepping into the play.
Be aware that everyone has their bad moments. And I too am arrogant sometimes. Judgy, obnoxious. It’s in the moment I feel like I’m changed that I relapse and do things I am not proud of. The least I can do is owning it as a mistake of mine, be honest, and go back to the words I tend to preach. Reminding myself that everyone is just trying their best to succeed and should not be the aim of my bad mouth. It’s not the perfect course of action, but it works.
Enjoy things.
I vouch for you to enjoy things.
It’s not cool to enjoy things anymore, it seems.
Criticising and rejecting ideas looks far more sophisticated. When you love something and you are transparent about it, you risk shattering the idea others have of you.
In the end, that’s what repels such people from being vulnerable, failing to see that if everything outside of their identity is not worth their enjoyment, then it’s their problem. If you become incapable of seeing beauty in others — that will become final.
It does not even matter how cheesy they are, simply do it. Talk about what you love without second-guessing, and never stop being passionate about what really makes you happy.
Be it pop music.
Reading young-adult fantasy novels.
Or annoying pretentious film majors.
In the end, I just wish everyone could be a little more kind to one another.
I end this essay with the absolute certainty of having stated the obvious. There are things that are bound to our human existence, bound to repeat endlessly — and I am fully aware of that. In fact, there’s a provocative quote from Socrates, who has been dead for more than two millennia preaching the same ol’ story that every generation must have heard at some point in their lives. Proving that some things… might never change.
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
But I was promised change.
I guess I was too hopeful.
