Gen Z: The Pessimist Generation

According to media surveys and global happiness reports, Generation Z is a very, very disillusioned and lonely cohort. Apparently, those born in 1997 and after have none of that Millennial optimism that got soundly dashed in 2008. Our millennial friends’ struggles taught us not to get our hopes up, apparently, about anything.

Then came the second “once-in-a-lifetime” event: the pandemic. Thankfully, during the COVID years, I was in a state and at a college that placed a heavy emphasis on in-person interaction. I am one of the rare few that never had a fully online class. The only bummer was that I didn’t have an undergraduate graduation ceremony.

However, I know that I am the lucky exception, not the rule. Other Gen Z and Gen Alpha students had two to three years of online school, and the isolation did not do wonders for their mental health, which was already on the dip due to rampant social media use. Like the Journal points out, many of us lost out on internship and job opportunities during this time, all while struggling with massive amounts of student debt. Not exactly a good jumping-off point to adulthood.

If we had any faith in institutions before 2020, those notions were quickly swept away by the US government’s completely bonkers reaction to the pandemic. This is to be expected. Being told every day to “trust the science” got funnier and funnier when the science seemed to change based on the speaker’s political affiliation. Then, you had the federal government going after “misinformation” and “disinformation” (read: any opinion they didn’t like) from doctors and anyone else who dared to question the CDC orthodoxy.

Then, after the dust settled on the COVID debacle, inflation came rushing to the fore. But hey, at least we’re all mostly employed (unless you are in the technology space). Even so, it rankles us that our take-home pay gets almost completely sucked up by inflation-driven price hikes on rent, food, and gas. I know that the pundits are telling us that the economy is great, but they must not be seeing what we are all seeing at the grocery store. Most of us are just hoping that if we get a raise (a big ‘if’ these days), the pay bump at least matches inflation.

Then, you have the histrionic rhetorical crap-flinging on both sides of the political aisle that we usually try to tune out. Why? Because we know that it doesn’t change anything — in fact, according to the Journal’s survey, 63% of us don’t think either political party accurately represents our views. I certainly count myself among the 63% — how about you?

Fellow American Gen Zers, did you watch the State of the Union address? Me neither. How about the Oscars? Same here. The Republican candidate debates? Don’t make me laugh. I elected to spare myself from celebrities or politicians talking about “[Person I Don’t Agree With] will be the death of our democracy,” or “Climate change will spell the end of the planet if we don’t do something right now.” Please spare us the moralizing. First of all, we’re a constitutional republic, and secondly, what am I supposed to do about rising sea levels?

Then, there’s dating. I hesitate to even bring up this sore subject, but we all know that the dating scene is completely messed up. There are no rules of the road anymore — you have to negotiate everything, including whether to have sex five minutes into the first date or five hours into the second date. Personally, I lasted all of 48 hours on the Tinder app before I gave up in complete overwhelm. “I guess I’ll meet a guy in person somehow or just die alone,” I thought. Anything was better than the app and its commodification of human interaction.

The Journal notes that many of us are getting our news from non-traditional sources, not professional journalists. While some of these sources are dubious at best, you can’t blame Gen Z for not trusting the Mainstream Media considering the bang-up job they did during the pandemic and Trump’s presidency. Unfortunately for the MSM, we are not old enough yet to forget the Yellow Press unit from our high school history class.

Is there any hope? Is my generation doomed to be nostalgic for eras gone by? How do we get out of this malaise?

To be honest, I do not know. I think the only solution is a spiritual one — and it starts with examining our own sins. Even so, inexplicably, I cannot help but feel that the worm is turning. There is some good news: People seem to finally be voting in their own interests. Plus, the Trans craze seems to be dying down.

Oh wait. New statistics just dropped. 22.3% of Gen Z now identifies as LGBT. And doomsday climate cafes are a thing.

Never mind the whole optimism idea.

You know, in my head, I dream that I was born in the early 1970s. Back then, kids did not have smartphones and only had to be home by dinnertime. Boys still asked girls on dates, and the girls didn’t have to “put out” afterwards. That sounds nice, peaceful. I guess this is our Just Deserts from the Sexual Revolution.

I think I will go make a Pinterest board, call it “1980s Vibes,” and watch The Breakfast Club. Good luck out there, Zoomers.