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Like the millennials before them, Gen Z is now the subject of every well and not-so-well meaning thinkpiece about what they are doing wrong. But the fact is that it's still smart to listen to one’s elders and learn from their mistakes, experiences and stories.
Someone asked “What’s something Gen Z isn’t ready to hear?” and people shared their thoughts. So get comfortable as you read through, if you are in the right category, perhaps take notes, upvote your favorites and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
If you're "triggered" by some harmless, normal, everyday thing, to the point you can't function, then it's your job to get therapy. It's not society's job to reshape itself so **you** never experience stress.
RELATED:
#2
Not every bad thing that happens to you is "trauma.".
#3
Other people aren't responsible for your safety or emotional comfort.
Lost Panda 1 month ago
I had to hit the up button 5 times, but I still don't think it was enough
#4
You don't know nearly as much as you think you do.
When you look back at yourself 10 years from now, you'll realize this too.
It happens to everyone.
Taibhse Sealgair 1 month ago
This is basically every generation. But you only realize it when you're old.
#5
It's actually not ethical, in most cases, to film and post random strangers. Your friends, with their permission? Sure. Someone on the street, clearly experiencing mental illness issues? Not ok. Goofy children you don't know in a park? Nope. People you're sitting with in the ER? Violation of privacy.
A good rule of thumb would be that if you're not willing to approach the person for permission to film or post (because they would be embarrassed, because they would be mad, or because they would deny permission) then you probably shouldn't be filming them. You aren't entitled to use other people's images for fifteen minutes of tiktok fame.
Earonn - 1 month ago
Like the disgusting terf who filmed a woman at a train station, claiming it was a man or a trans woman. The highlight was "I didn't confront him out of fear he might react with violence". Luckily, all you see is a photo of the back of a woman wearing a dress in a size bigger than 10; her face is hidden. F*** terfs.
#6
I'm a part of Gen Z but I have something to add: the amount of disrespect some of us have is just shameful. I was sitting in class yesterday and the teacher was telling some kids to get off their phones RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM and they just continued to ignore her and keep staring at their phones. You can last 1 hour of your life without your phone, put it down and do some work.
Roland Nijveld 1 month ago
It's also that teachers can't act on it. 20 years ago that would mean you're phone is gone for at least the day, you probably have detention and probably are in trouble with your parents as well
#7
Sometimes in life, you gotta do something you really dont want to do. Just buckle up and do it. No one in your life will do it for you.
Geoffrey Scott 1 month ago
And you'll be amazed, once you do it, that it really wasn't THAT bad in the scheme of things.
#8
Dealing with confrontation and discomfort is a necessary life skill. Not everyone who challenges you and makes you “uncomfortable” through mere argument or disagreement is a bully. If you want to succeed in business or life in general you will need to handle difficult situations. Nobody owes you a “safe space” for your feelings.
#9
Being mentally ill isn't quirky. The entire community around mental illness on tiktok is so anti recovery.
JD 1 month ago
I wouldn't go claiming an entire community is XYZ. It may seem that way, but you have no idea how many people are involved. The four jerks you interact with is not the entire "community" These kinds of blanket statement says more about the person making them than whoever they're talking about.
#10
You don’t have to strive to be famous or to go viral. It’s perfectly ok to be average.
#11
That boomers ran the civil rights movement. There's a lot of racist old people don't get me wrong but gen z act like they are the first generation to consider human rights.
Edit: for everyone telling me boomers were only teenagers during civil rights I implore you to go to a protest and notice how many teenagers show up. They don't have to work and they are often the most radical. Teenagers have always been a big part of social movements, y'all just hate boomers because your media has pitted the 2 groups against eachother for fun.
Child of the Stars 1 month ago
And boomers weren't even the first at that either. Women's sufferage came before that. And before that was the abolitionist movement. Before that were the French and US revolutionary movements. And so on and so forth throughout human history. One group of humans or another has been fighting for their rights at some point in all of our history.
#12
I’m in gen Z, and I would say that one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that it’s okay to *not* be opinionated. It is far more beneficial to yourself and others if you take time to listen and understand multiple viewpoints instead of seeking to form a concrete opinion.
Along those same lines, it is okay if your opinions change. That shows that you are growing and learning about what you value most in life.
#13
Not everyone is special and sometimes people need to be told they aren't a good person.
#14
“Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”
-George Orwell.
XenoMurph 1 month ago
If you have 20 years more experience, then Yes you are "wiser" whatever that means. And also yes people in the 90s 2000s were more enlightened than the generations before, and thehy were more enlightened than the previous ones when racism was acceptable. My father only had anger and alcohol to cope with hereditary depression and anxiety, we have counselling and therapy. But we might be losing the enlightenment.
#16
Being gay and/or trans isn't a personality. Sincerely, someone gay and trans.
#17
Guard your privacy AND YOUR KIDS’ PRIVACY. Your children don’t know who they are yet and you’re sharing a bazillion photos and videos and other c**p - or their literal c**p - with the world via internet. Don’t get me started on where convicts with child pRon start their collections… but I’ll give you a hint and it’s abbreviated SM.
The internet is fun and all but consider keeping some of that stuff as personal stuff. LOCK IT DOWN. (I’m looking at you, face scanner for iPhone, allowing apps to track your personal data, and location services). I know none of y’all read books anymore, but I’m sure someone’s talked about 1984 on a podcast.
#18
People aren’t black and white. Everyone has good and bad traits, and no one is perfect.
#20
Teenagers should know that it’s ok to feel depressed and heartbroken. It’s okay to feel like everything is out of control and that you should talk about all these feelings to an adult.
Tabitha 1 month ago (edited)
Because, believe it or not, that adult was once your age and had a lot of the same problems you’re having now—-and most adults have not forgotten how it felt (yes, some have, so seek out an adult whose memories of it haven’t faded to nothing—-or been altered to fit what they want others to believe of them). So they actually DO understand and know a lot about what you’re going through. That includes figuring out how you want things to be when you come out the other side of your present issues, and how all that depends on your actions and decisions about it every day, starting right now.
#21
We can't all be content creators some of us are gonna have to be plumbers.
Lost Panda 1 month ago
I would so rather be a plumber... you know how much you can make doing that?!
#23
Middle class is over and doing better than your parents is unlikely.
#24
Well as a gen z, you (we) are contributing as much (or more) to pollution and waste production than previous generations because of our partaking in the constant cycling of clothing trends and constant use and consuption of new products and technology. With really dirt cheap online shopping probably being more accessible, prevalent and normalized in our generation than any one before, we really won’t realize the damage done before it’s too late. They’re definetely gonna blame us for being the straw that broke the camels back when it comes to the environment in 30-50 years and i shudder to think about it.
Little Bit 1 month ago
Every generation replaces one form of pollution with another. For example, in the mid 20th century smog caused by smoking chimneys was the norm. Solid fuel fires were the main and only source of heating in most homes, however not many people had cars. Fast forward to today and although the smoking chimneys and solid fuel fires have largely been phased out, we have millions more cars on the roads, over consumption, the world has been taken over by plastic and mass tourism.
#25
Not everything can be solved with a YouTube video.
Kat Alison 1 month ago
And some of them are wrong, or even dangerous. People in general really need to question everything they see online.
#26
The “cool” clothing you’re wearing now will look silly in five years.
Luke Branwen 1 month ago
That's why I never follow trends. Rock band hoodies and jeans are timeless 😆
#27
It's okay to give yourself a break from fighting injustices. I see a lot of gen Z posting about different problems in the world to bring awarenesses to those issues but if you're engulfed in every problem out there, you aren't giving yourself a chance to actually be happy. So it's okay to not know about every issue all the time. Give yourself a break sometimes and just try and have fun.
Kristy Raymond 1 month ago
Awareness doesn't actually DO anything. It can start things, but just having information rolling around in your head benefits no one. I don't believe you need to be aware of every problem. Just the ones you are personally ready to work on. This does not include hassling celebrities about donating to causes. You like it, give them YOUR money.
#28
Looking through these comments as a Gen Z, you people didn't say anything I haven't heard, so I'll help you out.
Hey, Gen Z, you know all those s****y trends and horrible "pranks" and the cancel culture you follow along with? Yeah, that's gonna stick around FOREVER. Unlike our predecessors, our mistakes can't just be left in the past because they're on the internet.
Sam Trudeau 1 month ago
And the Minecraft movie could be used to show how bad the trends have gotten.
#29
I know it's sounds Boomer like, but you're way more addicted to the internet than you would admit.
I'm also Gen Z btw.
#30
It's not uncool or irresponsible to be hopeful, joyful, gracious, or to happy with yourself. Take a break from the news and the internet, it's making you too anxious to really *live*. It's cliché, but I mean it! Turn to your community and make change and relationships where you can see them in real life. Let yourself be inspired and don't listen to older grumps who want to yuck your yum just because the world keeps turning.
#31
Trying to establish exactly what kind of victim you are is ultimately not going to get you anywhere.
The seemingly pervasive belief that you are either a victim or an oppressor... so, it's better to be a victim... is false.
We are all victims AND oppressors on some level. It's more important to improve yourself, be a more compassionate person, and focus on the future, than to obsess about how you have been wronged or mistreated.
Move forward. Thinking of yourself as a victim will only hold you back.
#32
Crypto currency isn’t going to be the future.
Luke Branwen 1 month ago
Remember when the techbros were head over heels over NFTs, convinced it's gonna be the future of investing? 😅
#33
Some people are victimised. Bad things happen to good people for no reason. It’s not your fault.
Celebrating victimhood, and defining yourself or others because of their status as a ‘victim’ is not a good long term strategy however.
Be it people of Color, or women, or trans people or whatever…. Relegating them to a permanent status of ‘victim’ is not going to help them or you change your situation for the better.
#34
This is for any queer gen-z. I’ve seen some horrendous takes online that shows me that a lot of them don’t know queer history. There are books, google and some older queer people (unfortunately we don’t have as many elders as we should because of the AIDS epidemic, and that’s part of our history too) to talk to. Please learn it.
athornedrose 1 month ago
THIS. the amount of younger kids in the community who seem to have no idea what even just the past 30 years have been like let alone the since the civil rights movement. please look it up. please don't let everything that has come before you be erased
#35
Staying inside staring at screens for your entire childhood has made many of you socially inept.
you are trying to learn lessons at 18 that you should have been learning at 12.
Child of the Stars 1 month ago
Tbf, an 18yo today was 13 when the entire world literally shut down.
#36
Just like harry potter/disney/anime/lolcomic bacon culture millennials, you, too, will one day be an embarrassment in the eyes of teens and anyone else who isn't chronically online. quit seeking the most moral and respectable of interests - just be cringe! be a decent person, but enjoy tiktok, or youtube gamers or cringey music or anime, or whatever. nothing matters! enjoy your hobbies and shed guilt from your guilty pleasures
#37
You're in an echo chamber online.
Not everyone agrees with you.
Some of us just don't want to write our opinions on twitter for fear of abuse because you can't get across nuance and complex topics with a character limit.
Lost Panda 1 month ago
Some of us don't write our opinions because we have better things to do then get into arguments online.
#39
Extremists are who got us to where we are today. Those super dramatic peers of yours are not the leaders. The calm cool and collected that look out for everyone are the people you push to the front to represent you.
#40
You are terrible, terrible content creators. And you will have to live with your shame for the rest of your life.
Tonyah Mcanelly 1 month ago
Some content creators have useful advice . Some people create content for the fun of it I personally like content of people doing voice overs for animal videos it makes me laugh in a world full of crazy . How does that make you a terrible person? I think if you can make one person a day smile you're a good person . Even if it means creating content .
#42
The internet is a terrible place to get your world view from . Seriously .
I’ve noticed this especially with teens in the west and how they react to news (most recently American teens) and it’s usually internet hysterics that whip them into an almost delusional frenzy. It’s terrible for your mental health , and its seriously lacking in perspective .
This is not Gen Z specific , but generally for young people time immemorial - when you’re young it’s easy to see everything in absolutes , black and white , if it’s not y its z and that’s that. It’s easy to hold super high morality standards and the internet makes it very easy to get a justice b***r with minimal effort . Trying to get nuance is important .
Scott Rackley 1 month ago
I was kind of floored by the reaction when they were going to shitcan tiktok. It was like you took h****n away from an a****t.
#43
Stop chasing moral purity. You are problematic, your faves are problematic. There is no perfect smol bean meowmoew, and when you put people on that pedestal, they mess up once and you f*****g destroy them like you were betrayed by the s**t YOU did to begin with. You need to learn to grapple with this reality- that we are all imperfect, even your idols- and sit with the difficult grey area, or you will be intellectually lazy and have a weak character forever. And being intellectually lazy and having weak character will make you a f*****g morally and ethically bereft psychopath before long- because you have no sense of morality you didn't outsource somewhere else because it was emotionally easier for you.
moral absolutists are the exact same as the "cold logic atheists" we all hate. Stop being that person. Grapple with s**t that might make you think hard about two opposing truths, read a complex book, some Maya Angelou or something, instead of your tagged uwu coffeeshop fanfiction for f*****g once in your life.
#44
Go to work.
Peter Bear 1 month ago
But only do the work you're paid for. No free extras. No above and beyond. Your job does not care about you and will abuse you at every opportunity. Be professional, but do not be a doormat.
#45
That people who have “jobs” are generally happier than those who don’t.
There’s a million ways I’m on the side of a modern Labor movement, but this notion that people would be happier without *any* semi-mandatory need to get out and do something that someone is willing to contribute capital toward has approximately zero correlation with my lived experience.
Becky Samuel 1 month ago
Being unable to work is a mind-numbing and incredibly difficult life path. You go through stages of despair, grief, feelings of worthlessness, and endless boredom. It's all too easy to fall into depression and lose social skills and ability to interact with the outside world. What feels like freedom for a few weeks quickly sours when those weeks drag into years, which stretch into decades. You get to watch your body and mind deteriorate while being in the full knowledge that you still have decades of this ahead of you.
What do you think ?
Orysha 1 month ago (edited)
A few were interesting most of them were a bunch of hateful spite.
AuspiciousTree283 1 month ago (edited)
Not every little thing has to be a debate. I've seen people online froth at the mouth because someone likes pineapple on pizza (no, seriously. It wasn't a joke). I've also been judged for disliking certain types of music, and I've seen others make flash judgments based on little context. It is not worth caring what other people think online, and it took me too long to realize how miserable it was making me. It is mature to consider perspectives, but also mature to take a step back. Go for a walk. Smell the roses. Hum a tune. The quietness of the world is so peaceful, and I wish more people would notice this.
Tom De Paul 6 days ago
Attraction in the matters of taste is the last mystery and not subject to debate.
Load More Replies... Vin Paver 1 month ago
I'd add, don't get caught up in the hysteria generated by tiny, very vocal minorities about perceived issues that have little or no relevance to the real world. You're just playing into the hands of people trying to disrupt society for their own gain.
Ellinor 1 month ago
I'm curious, which minorities are you talking about ?
Load More Replies...
Orysha 1 month ago (edited)
A few were interesting most of them were a bunch of hateful spite.
AuspiciousTree283 1 month ago (edited)
Not every little thing has to be a debate. I've seen people online froth at the mouth because someone likes pineapple on pizza (no, seriously. It wasn't a joke). I've also been judged for disliking certain types of music, and I've seen others make flash judgments based on little context. It is not worth caring what other people think online, and it took me too long to realize how miserable it was making me. It is mature to consider perspectives, but also mature to take a step back. Go for a walk. Smell the roses. Hum a tune. The quietness of the world is so peaceful, and I wish more people would notice this.
Tom De Paul 6 days ago
Attraction in the matters of taste is the last mystery and not subject to debate.
Load More Replies... Vin Paver 1 month ago
I'd add, don't get caught up in the hysteria generated by tiny, very vocal minorities about perceived issues that have little or no relevance to the real world. You're just playing into the hands of people trying to disrupt society for their own gain.
Ellinor 1 month ago
I'm curious, which minorities are you talking about ?
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