this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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Gen Z's biggest problem (which spawns all the other problems) is being constantly online, but it's hardly their fault. The older generations (which I'm part of) founded the internet, molded it into digital heroin, and then went ahead and purchased the kids their devices that had mostly no restrictions or protections.
It perfectly fits the Who Killed Hannibal meme.
Internet through the 90s and smartphone adoption in the late 00s-early 2010s changed so much about how people interacted. I was part of the last generation to adopt the internet growing up and can remember not having it.
Boomers get shit on but they at least had some fulfillments of their generational ideals, they probably changed their own world more than any other generation by their own will so far. They had civil rights and strong unions which counts for something. They couldn't escape the apparatus that sustained them and will always be defined by it, all the rock and roll in the world cant bring down the institutions, they merely adopted it for themselves.
GenX was the exact opposite, the notion of authenticity going back to the boomers reached it's apex at the exact time economic conditions stripped away any meaning and relevance of it. They both had the dream and saw it dismantled, got the first popular reactions towards the coming climate doom, with the backdrop of impending nuclear apocalypse. At least they could ride on the coattails of the post-war economy, and benefitted from the 90s.
GenZ actually has it the worst so far, they never had the dream GenX did. With internet and smartphones they now see themselves at all times from the perspective of how other's see them, they exist fully saturated in this hyperreal space of endless consumption. They don't have the economic benefits of previous generations, and their GenX parents probably need their retirement money. GenZ is experiencing the strain of the empire, the degradation of social services, the weight of the impending climate catastrophe, meaningless politics and all routes for change blocked off. They have the fake world to escape to and can experience anything they want at almost any time. They are self-aware of this though, at least the smart ones are, they know it's bullshit but they don't think that matters, and they're absolutely right.
Something about the demise of 3rd spaces (ie public parks) also plays a role. Just yesterday was told we couldn't have a library in our neighborhood because of lack of surface level parking.
Minimum parking requirements in cities need to be abolished
But then you'll just be making it harder for my automobile overlords to have complete control over our shitty infrastructure! Don't you just love going anywhere and seeing nothing but parking lots?
huge citation needed...
couldn't possibly the rigged economy, two tiered justice system, racism baked into every system, religious fundamentalism, imminent environmental collapse, no it's the phones...
Your argument would be valid if this phenomenon was specific to USA, but it's not. It's happening (to my knowledge) everywhere where kids were given unrestricted access to the Internet. That's the common denominator, not political or social issues.
That we also have political and social issues is not making the situation easier, but I don't believe that's the root cause for kids' increased mental issues. The previous generations had their part of alarmism and issues as well -- e.g. world wars, nukes, oil crises, cold war, smaller wars everywhere all the time (Korea and Vietnam even constituted a general draft in the US, which must have not been a great time), satanism panic/red scare/gay scare.
I think his argument is valid, just as yours is.
You're right it's not only the US. But he's also right that phones are not the only reason / common denominator. Basically every country has a rigged economy and a two class justice system - some more, some less. But the ruling class secured their privileges everywhere. Our planet's doom looming over the horizon is also a global phenomenon.
What unrestricted access to the internet is doing: it's making everyone much more aware of those things, their global scale. Everyone gets a feeling of how bad it is because there seems to be no greener pasture anymore.