Is Gen Z The Worst Gen Ever Or Just Tolerably Bad?

steph :) argues for just, like, taking a chill pill

Dear Republic,

We’re having a debate on Gen Z! steph stiner goes first with the optimistic position. It’s probably not a great sign for the world’s ability to survive Gen Z tbh that this is written in all lower-case (doesn’t that just make things harder to read? isn’t it more time-consuming to have go into Word and find the shortcut that disables upper case?) but other than that steph is completely charming and makes me more hopeful than I’ve been in a while for our collective survival.

-The Editor

IS GEN Z THE WORST GEN EVER OR JUST TOLERABLY BAD?

if i were you, i’d definitely be worried about the kids these days. i mean, how could you feel confident leaving the fate of mankind in the hands of young adults too riddled with social anxiety to call for a reservation? who are voluntarily outsourcing their basic cognitive functions to AI? who have no respect for tradition — not even time-honored grammatical conventions? it’s true, if i were anything but one of these ill-educated, incompetent little deviants, i’d be more than worried about the kids these days. as my generation’s official spokesperson for these next dozen paragraphs, however, allow me to explain why i’m actually not worried much at all.

what are the first few words that come to mind when you think of gen z? lazy? entitled? boring? completely and insufferably woke? i’d bet a nickel your first instinct wasn’t very flattering. if your impression of my generation is filtered primarily through instagram reels and eye-rolly op-eds about our online antics, your catty remarks are justified. i, too, find my peers’ internet behavior quite the cause for concern. between the moral policing and therapy-speak and corny tiktok trends, we truly do seem like bad company. i wouldn’t want to grab a beer with us, let alone trust us to uphold civilization.

here’s where the math isn’t adding up, though. i haven’t encountered one real-life gen z’er who resembles this caricature we all love to hate. i haven’t met one who’s too inept to make phone calls, can’t complete tasks without ChatGPT, or attempts to cancel people IRL. i’m willing to entertain the idea that each gen z’er i’ve met throughout my days is a statistical anomaly, and that all the others do, in fact, embody this dreadful caricature. but i think that another theory is more plausible: a quiet majority of young adults are leading normal, innocuous lives, while a very vocal, very online minority is doing serious damage to our brand.

this vocal minority effect is a burden every demographic must bear in the digital age — gen z just so happens to be in the spotlight as the latest subject of humanity’s age-old kids these days discourse. naturally, everyone has an opinion about whether or not we’re fit to be “real adults.” posturing that we’re not is the path of least intellectual resistance, and if you’re a content creator who’s beholden to the algorithm’s appetite for outrage, it’s the more lucrative path, too. i know this temptation well, as i am constantly fighting the urge to fear-monger for a taste of that sweet, sweet engagement. piling on the doomsday discourse would be dishonest, however, because i don’t buy it. and that is not a coincidence.

i’ve opted to go cold turkey on alarmist content, not only for the sake of my cortisol levels, but for my literal sanity. do you know how disillusioning it is to read an accredited news story about gen z’s “loneliness epidemic,” only to put the phone down and see no signs of one? surely, the young adults i see playing cards in the park and making out with each other on vodka-stained dance floors can’t be the same young adults the washington post just said are all chronically lonesome, right?

unfortunately, our older counterparts have limited exposure to gen z beyond these mediated portrayals. even more unfortunately, “young adults are acting weird and you should be scared” is a catchier hook than “young adults are acting fairly young adult-ish.” the consequences of these two truths have landed us square in our current predicament — drowning in a flood of cynical content, left with nothing but a vague sense of impending doom. but while nuance might not pay the bills for youtubers and major news networks, i am unhurried and unsupervised, so let’s get realistic.

most of the gen z’ers i know are complicit in the transgressions our elders point to with concern. they spend more time on tiktok than reading novels. they occasionally act entitled in the workplace. they use AI to write emails, and they’ve definitely been in more situationships than our founding fathers intended. but these young women and men, when they’re not busy pissing off boomers with their unorthodox ways, are at the library writing law school essays. some are running startups. many are grinding at their nine-to-fives while finding time for friends and hobbies after hours. one is organizing events to help twenty-somethings in our city meet new friends. another is clerking for a judge in hopes of someday reforming climate laws. all of them exercise regularly, pick up new skills for fun, and actively try to limit their screen time. most tellingly, the gen z’ers i know, who will soon be running our hospitals, courts, boardrooms, and local communities, all believe the future is still worth fighting for.

they maintain this sense of optimism despite being dealt a distinctly shitty hand. they’ve watched their parents struggle through the collapse of our financial institutions, entered adulthood during a deadly pandemic, and witnessed our country lose faith in its long-standing institutions — and that’s all before earning their bachelor’s degrees. but even in the face of this chaos and uncertainty, the gen z’ers i know aren’t giving up on the future; if anything, they’re doubling down on reimagining it.

i believe these two truths can coexist: a majority of our generation is still pursuing traditional goals — stable careers, meaningful relationships, a good old-fashioned sense of hope and purpose — but we’re doing so in an increasingly untraditional reality. if it looks like we’re losing at the game our parents and grandparents created, that’s because the same rules no longer apply. we’ve inherited the aftermath of companies, technologies, and governments built to maximize short-term gains rather than ensure a sustainable future — which, yes, has made us a little annoying and unpolished. but these circumstances have also taught us a new kind of intelligence: one that allows us to see through broken systems, adapt to change quickly, and rethink what a better future looks like.

so no, i’m not worried much about the kids these days. you might think that’s delusional, but i think it’s the only way forward. looking ahead, we have two choices: keep indulging in the same tired doomsday story, or acknowledge that, messy as it is, the world probably isn’t ending anytime soon. and if that is the case, it’s worth trusting and investing in this next generation of “real adults.” we’re doing some things differently, but maybe that’s exactly what’s required to move forward.

steph is a twenty-something writer and marketer in miami. equal parts digitally fluent and relentlessly out 'n about, she's drawn to the messy convergence of her generation's online narratives and offline realities. you can find her on substack refusing to capitalize her sentences, to the displeasure of many.