i had a very illuminating conversation with a guy about 10 years younger than me that really put this change into perspective, which is this:
i have a very distinct memory, in my childhood, of the moment of my disillusionment. i believed that grown-ups knew what they were doing, and that the things that seemed so obvious to me had to be obvious to them, too (things like DONâT GO TO WAR IN IRAQ, for example). i believed that, and had that belief pulled out from under me, so my disillusionment comes with a sense of betrayal.
a mere 10 years younger than me, this guy has no such moment or memory. he never believed grown-ups were fundamentally competent, or good, or reasonable. he never lived in a world where things didnât feel constantly careening wildly out of control. thereâs no betrayal in his sense that the government has failed him - of course it has, it was always going to. he doesnât remember a time pre-bush, or pre-9/11, or pre-iraq war. this is just what the world has always looked like for him. so itâs not really a sense of âdisillusionment,â actually - his generation never had any illusions to lose. theyâve just been in this world so long itâs all theyâve ever known.
In my experience as an older Gen Z, we arenât totally blasĂŠ about the whole end of the world thing.
Itâs just that, youâre right, we donât have that sense of betrayal that the millenials are always going on about.
The attitude is less âOH MY GOD, THE WORLD TURNED OUT TO BE SHIT, WHAT DO WE DO?â and more âOh, the world is still shit then. Guess we better get on and fix that.â
