I'm a zoomer, still in high school and I try to pay attention to stuff that's going on in the culture. I'm from a pretty normal suburban area that's split as far as politics go so I think I have a good idea of the general experience for young people rn.
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Gen Z doesn't feel like life is inherently worth it. It's normal to hear people say things like "I hate myself" or "I want to die" or casually talk about wanting to commit suicide. Girls seem to say things like that more often but it's not really shocking to hear from everyone. Young people feel comfortable openly talking about their mental health and psychological problems even if they don't even know someone that well. Everyone just wants to share as much as possible. Although we're more likely to share with other teenagers than older people I think.
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Relationships aren't as much of a thing anymore. Same goes for sex. Guys will typically be "talking to" a bunch of different girls, flirting with them and being emotionally there for them without an actual relationship going on. It's common for girls to be "talking to" a guy who doesn't really put much effort into them while also having a bunch of "platonic boyfriends" who are basically in the friend zone and provide emotional support where the guy she's attracted to doesn't. Not really much actual sex going on any side.
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Almost every young guy is addicted to porn. This one is probably connected with the last. It's a pretty common thing for guys to go to the bathroom and wack off at school since a lot of us are straight up addicted to it now and can't go 8 hours without stroking one out. Sometimes guys will pack extra underwear in their backpacks and it's a meme to go through someone's backpack to see if they brought extras. It's really bad.
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Probably less than 10% of guys are gay or bi but something like 70% of girls are. Or at least they say they are. A lot of girls will say they're bi or pan but only want to date guys so I'm guessing they just say it to be progressive or keep their options open.
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Guys are extremely redpilled but the girls are almost always liberal. Black guys are the most conservative group in my school at least and white guys are usually split based on if they're gay or not. Most girls are very easily offended and try to act offended on behalf of everyone else. They're just really sensitive to things that aren't pc.
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Everyone is really stressed out and burned out. Zoomers have basically given up on "hustle culture" and the pressure to be always working and doing something productive. No one expects to be able to own a home or start a family when they're older so there's not much motivation to work hard. The stereotype that zoomers generally hate work is true. Most see it as a waste of time and something that makes life suck more than it's good.
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A lot of us can't do shit. I know a bunch of people who are terrified of driving and don't even want to get a license. No one can cook. No one knows how to build things or use old school computers that don't have built in apps. Anything serious is always taken care of by the parents because our parents don't trust us at all. We don't learn because they never let us do anything that's even a teeny bit risky or requires any level of judgment. I'm sure this isn't the case in rural areas but in the suburbs parents never let their kids grow up. And then they get pissed when we constantly need help doing things.
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We don't have attention spans. Watching a whole movie by itself without break is considered very boring to most zoomers. Concentration has to be broken up every few seconds or else we lose interest. We're used to a constant stream of different images and sounds and ideas so we're pretty good at multitasking, but intense concentration on just one thing is not our strength.
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Everyone feels like a celebrity. If older generations had "reputations" then we have something else, maybe like a "brand" or something. Social media puts us on a stage 24/7. Most zoomers only have 1-3 real friends and probably hate leaving their bedrooms but at the same time we're also constantly in competition with the whole world online. There's very little social activity for it's own sake. We socialize to produce an image of ourselves and none of it is real basically. But that's related to my last point.
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Religion doesn't play a serious part in most of our lives so our "story" has to be a personal one instead of a religious one. We have to tell a story of personal success with our lives because if we don't then we're worth nothing. I really wish I could word it in a better way but it's something I've been thinking about a lot. Since the universe doesn't have meaning anymore, the only way to have a meaningful life is to give it meaning ourselves by being unique I guess? I think that's something a lot of people feel subconsciously. We're really alone in a universe that makes no sense where no one has any objective role or determined future. We have to build everything ourselves because if we don't then what do we have? God gave us nothing, so we have to earn everything or just give up if we can't. That's the mindset I think. Even people who believe in God feel like this because religion isn't a part of the culture anymore. It's all personal achievement and individualism. There's nothing connecting ourselves to the world or connecting us to a story that's greater than ourselves.
Feel free to ask questions if u have any
40+, barely millenial, here.
3 - That's really different issues. Going to the bathroom to pull the pud is nothing new. To force you to cope with it, your sex drive is just insane, until 20+. If I wasn't physically exhausted, or sick, I doubt I managed 8 waking hours, between about 13 and 20. 15-16, it was more like 10-15 times a day, most of it with no access to any visual or auditory aids. It eases off, later.
While porn is a problem, it appears to me to mostly be a symptom of the breakdown between the sexes, and general emasculation, rather than a cause. That is to say, it appears as a superior product to nothing, but an inferior product to a sexual relationship, long-term physical pursuit, or long-term creative pursuit (both of which would often taken on by young men to improve their luck with the ladies). I have noticed, FI, that kids into sports are much more into it for the sport, these days, if they're not gunning for a scholarship.
4 - Also nothing new. They do it for attention, and were doing it 20-30 years ago, too. The high rate of apparent identity issues, the LGBT agenda helps make worse, is worrying, though. The gullible adolescents don't realize how silly it really is, on one level (rebellious trendy behavior), or destructive, on others.
5 - I've seen surveys to this effect, and it is interesting. Not necessarily good for society in the short term, but I think it will help in the long run.
6 - As a millennial, this started before y'all, but is getting worse. I hope the Gini coefficient wins out over bread and circuses sooner, rather than later.
7 - Again, this began before you, but is now worse. I have had to learn many basic life skills at 25+, and still learning things my ancestors had mastered by their teens. Gen Xers were mostly left to their own devices, and learned enough. Boomers, if not taught, were in environments that encouraged them to try and fail, even when it cost their parents, neighbors, school, etc.. My dad's childhood stories of getting into, learning about, and modifying electronics and mechanical things are situations that would have been verboten, outside of our home, when I was kid...and, that's only gotten worse.
What I have noticed, though, probably related to #1, more than anything, is zoomers generally lacking any interest, curiosity, or critical thinking, as workers.
8 - Yup. This is bad, and there are numerous causes. If you're willing to stop with short form content, though, you can improve. You're going to have to want to do it, because it won't feel good, for awhile (that's pretty much what you are training). But, if you have the intellectual capacity for delayed gratification, you're not permanently screwed.
9 - Histrionic and narcissistic traits have been on the rise since the Boomers. Has it reached a peak? Maybe, maybe not. Social media has made it worse, for sure, though.
10 - This one will blow up. The will to live, get along with each other, and raise kids (not just make them), are tied to religion. Regardless of whether any religion is correct or not, a lack of it will doom a society. They can try to downregulate some genes, but it will just remove necessary motivation.