I mean I agree with the overarching sentiment contained within, but this is less readable than MapQuest directions stapled to my nuts while I am driving.
I teach jr high/highschool(highschool presently) and the state of affairs all around is bleak .
I can see why most of genz is just completely numb; they have never had any time of real peace. Peace referring to both the state of global affairs and personal(internal)
Many of us grew up in a time were we could "shut off" or disconnect. You can barely get away with that these days and most do not bother to even try anymore.
The larger population is completely pacified and distracting themselves with whatever dopamine high they can chase, this is by design.
Hope has gone from this world, we were supposed to build a world we would be proud to raise children in. Instead most have realized we have created a world they would never wish for a child to grow up in.
Humans were not meant to live in the monolithic consumerist societies we have constructed.
Speaking as a Gen Zer here- not a typical Gen Zer, I have to admit, but as a definite member of that generation- I can't say I'm numb, nor can I say I've never experienced real peace. I can certainly disconnect if I want to. I assume this is in part because I didn't start using the Internet on a frequent basis until I was about 16. I don't think this is very common, but if I were a parent I don't think I would let my kids use the Internet until around that age. There's absolutely no reason why any parent should feel guilty about not letting their kids use the Internet. A lot of people shame parents who do this, claiming that it reduces computer literacy, but computer literacy isn't nearly as valuable as people make it out to be. All you really need to know how to do is use a keyboard and a mouse.
Way worse than the Internet, though, for one's development, are video games. I never played video games, so I have to confront the real world directly on a daily basis. I think if I played more video games when I was younger, I'd be at about the same level of brain rot as my peers. I find video games extremely boring and I have no idea why anyone is into them. As a result, I can't relate to anyone in my generation. I don't understand anything people my age do. This makes me alienated- but it makes me alienated in a very distinct way, where I only understand myself, but that's good, because I understand myself in an extremely cohesive fashion.
I'd argue part of the reason Gen Z seems so distant and detached is because everyone older than them is extremely condescending. This is nothing new- back in the early 2010s the same treatment was given to Millennials, everyone complained about how selfish Millennials were, how irresponsible they were, etc. Now the same treatment is being given to Gen Z. The last person I would want evaluating me, if I were a Gen Zer with less hope, would be anyone in the field of public education. Nobody likes teachers, especially teachers who try and come off as "hip" or "cool" to the youth. This is invariably cringe. Part of the issue is that we incentivize public education too much, creating an endless cycle of out-of-touch older people trying and failing to relate to bored younger people, and we don't funnel enough money into the arts. I hear people my age going "Oh boy, I'm going to become a substitute teacher!" when what we really need is the new Tom Petty. Where's the Tom Petty of Gen Z? The last thing we need is another guy who comes into a classroom for three days a week, doesn't do anything the rest of the year but still gets paid more than every starving person on the street, and tries to relate to people half his age. This is a broken, repetitive cycle that Gen Z is going to fall for as much as Millennials.
Really, Gen Z is sad because they try to attain the unattainable. They think, 'Wow, if I work hard enough I'm going to be able to buy a house!" This isn't really our fault- we've been told this for years, this overly optimistic propaganda, that if you apply yourself you can make it big, but you'd think at this point- where it's been proven, again and again that's not the case, we'd have caught on, and given up. How I maintain happiness is, I accepted a long time ago that I would never do all this fancy shit. I'm not going to college, I'm not buying a house, I'm not buying a car, I'm not buying a yacht- and that's OK, because I can eke out a pretty decent, fulfilling life without any of that crap. I don't want a world I'm proud to raise children in, because I don't really like children, and I'm not having any. I just want a world that's nice for me to live in, and as far as I'm concerned, I pretty much have that, give or take.
