Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay
If there’s something that everyone has these days, it is that almost every single person has an opinion and a hot take on our current generation. This generation is too anxious - does not feel enough, is too bold - is too scared, knows nothing - knows a little too much, does not work enough - loves the hustle culture too much, and finally, is too selfish or cares too much about what others say. This perfectly sums up all there is to say about Generation Z, a group of people born between 1997 and 2012. A generation that grew up with the internet as our playground, mental health vocabulary as everyday language, and global crises as background noise. In short, Gen-Z did not simply grow up; we evolved with the world changing right under our feet.
Gen-Z has, if anything, experienced contradictions. We’re all a little contradictory by nature, even though we demand certainty and consistency from others. While we were growing up, life accelerated. Suddenly, information had no limits, opinions overshadowed truth, and the idea of what our lives were supposed to look like changed entirely. We learned about loss and instability through real-life experiences. Political unrest, pandemics, economic downturns, and climate anxiety, rather than through stories, became our teachers. Before we even understood ourselves, we were expected to make sense of the already complex world we inherited: a world already bent out of shape.
And yet, Gen-Z emerges as an incredibly intelligent, aware, and perceptive generation. We are not afraid to question systems, challenge outdated norms, or confront uncomfortable truths. The viral “OK Boomer” phrase, often dismissed as disrespectful, was not just a “meme”, a phrase made to create laughs or subtle humour. It pointed to a deeper generational shift: we recognise that the world cannot continue working the same way, and we are not afraid to say so. And it is high time that the world imposes those changes and walks the walk of a generation that is constantly writing what would be remembered as history in the future.
Life for Gen Z is not easy, but surely they do know how to make the best of it. Generation Z has been one of the most successful people who can navigate the complexities of today’s modern world with a grace that the adults watching us grow can’t seem to understand. Sure, their ways of doing things may not be standardised or even conventional, but they do know how to think outside the box and rely on their instincts. Their biggest strength is their ability to bring awareness to topics that were once considered taboo. Mental health, emotional well-being, social inequality, burnout, trauma, identity, and classism are not topics that must not be discussed but conversations that need to happen. We do not sweep them under the rug, nor do we pretend that silence equals strength. Instead, we talk about them, relate to them, and bring about awareness to those around us. We might not be emotionally connected, but a digital connection to the entire world has surely brought a subtle revolution to ideas, cultures, lifestyles, identities, and perspectives far beyond what previous generations had access to.
This does not mean that we fail to acknowledge our shortcomings. Generation Z is a lonely generation. It longs to understand the deeper meanings and look for connections that run deep, but is often left with surface-level interactions mediated by screens. Our friendships unfold in group chats, voice notes, late-night texts, and online communities. The world has taught us to be emotionally intelligent, yet simultaneously guarded. We long to understand and be understood, but vulnerability feels dangerous in a world that moves too quickly and feels a bit too judgmental.
We wish to escape this box of labels that the world has been following for a long time, which often leads to an identity crisis even before the term makes a comprehensive sense to us. We want to be successful and happy all before we’re even 25, which leads a straight road to burnout. A crisis that seems to be normalised, where productivity is the only way, and rest is villainised, and the deep-seated belief of guilt kicks in. What follows is a cycle of overexertion and emotional collapse. Productivity becomes our badge of worth. Rest becomes guilt. Ambition becomes panic. The result: Burnout at 18. Existential crisis at 21. Disillusionment at 24. We want time, but only when it fulfils our definition of success, not when it means being happy with family or friends.
Yet, despite the loneliness, confusion, exhaustion, and constant self-questioning, there is something profoundly calm and resilient about Gen-Z. We are not afraid to feel. We are not afraid to question. We are not afraid to rebuild what was carried on for centuries, either. Unlike previous generations, we do not view vulnerability as weakness. We treat empathy as a strength. Growing up in this generation means learning to balance survival with softness, ambition with rest, awareness with hope. It means learning to live in a world that is to be renewed every day, where nothing is certain but everything is possible. And if there is one thing Gen-Z knows how to do, it is to keep moving forward - not perfectly, not effortlessly, but authentically and with utter grace.
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