I'm going to be 28. However, in some ways, I'm emotionally stuck at 19 although I am wildly out of touch with pop culture today. However, I have some younger relatives, and some casual friends on FB who are in the age group of 12-17 and I have to say...While a part of me will always appreciate the fact that I grew up in a more physically social time than today's youth, at the same time, I envy your generation. Gen Z seems to me to be for one less whiny and less entitled than my generation. Secondly, because many of you grew up in a more "connected" world, you're more prepared for the more multicultural future than my generation is; your generation grew up on the Internet and with smartphones and from what I've observed, you are a lot more mature and insightful in your teens than my generation was. I remember when I was 12, 13...My peers were like, well, children, as was I. We were more innocent and less sharp. I look at my niece, who will be 12 next month; I look at my other niece, who is 19; There is a keeness of intellect and depth of thought present that we didn't have at those ages. It is hard to explain. But I look at Gen Z and see hope. I hope we can learn from each other, too.

Speak for yourself.

Speak for yourself.

Speak for yourself.


Haha. I have my own thoughts but I want to know why you  and mqg feel this way.

Haha. I have my own thoughts but I want to know why you  and mqg feel this way.

OP seems to be speaking from personal experience. My personal experiences do not align with his. Also, I don't think OP has spent much time on the online platforms a majority of 10-17 years olds occupy such as YouTube, Snapchat, and especially Twitter/Reddit. Those kids are extremely immature lol. I have a niece who is 11 years old and she is very mature for her age. I am very proud of her. However, I have some younger cousins (and know others between then ages of 10-17) and they are not mature by any means. Overall, it comes down to how you're being raised as exemplified by the contrast between my niece and those other kids. Some people instill their children with disciple and a sense of responsibility. Other parents do not care to teach their children anything.

OP seems to be speaking from personal experience. My personal experiences do not align with his. Also, I don't think OP has spent much time on the online platforms a majority of 10-17 years olds occupy such as YouTube, Snapchat, and especially Twitter/Reddit. Those kids are extremely immature lol. I have a niece who is 11 years old and she is very mature for her age. I am very proud of her. However, I have some younger cousins (and know others between then ages of 10-17) and they are not mature by any means. Overall, it comes down to how you're being raised as exemplified by the contrast between my niece and those other kids. Some people instill their children with disciple and a sense of responsibility. Other parents do not care to teach their children anything.


YouTube, at least the comment section, brings out the worst in people of all ages. Snapchat isn't for me. I hang out on Reddit but I don't know what subs Gen Z would hang in.

I just think overall the next generation is more mature at their age, than mine was at the same age.

YouTube, at least the comment section, brings out the worst in people of all ages. Snapchat isn't for me. I hang out on Reddit but I don't know what subs Gen Z would hang in.

I just think overall the next generation is more mature at their age, than mine was at the same age.

You're good doing what you're doing now. Stay away from the majority of Reddit, Twitter and Snapchat lol.

OP seems to be speaking from personal experience. My personal experiences do not align with his. Also, I don't think OP has spent much time on the online platforms a majority of 10-17 years olds occupy such as YouTube, Snapchat, and especially Twitter/Reddit. Those kids are extremely immature lol. I have a niece who is 11 years old and she is very mature for her age. I am very proud of her. However, I have some younger cousins (and know others between then ages of 10-17) and they are not mature by any means. Overall, it comes down to how you're being raised as exemplified by the contrast between my niece and those other kids. Some people instill their children with disciple and a sense of responsibility. Other parents do not care to teach their children anything.


Here are my thoughts:
I think it’s way too early to truly define Gen Z. You guys are too young to cement. I think we’ll have a true feel for you guys when half of you are over 18 and that’s a ways off.
I can only go on my impressions:

Gen Z is in its infancy.

You are being modern kids...there you go.

90sguy has slightly poignant observations. You guys ARE slightly more mature compared to us millennials…but perhaps only because we millennials grew up during a major transition in humanity’s history while you guys grew up in a more established period…but he’s right, there seems to be something slightly, only slightly, more mature about Gen Z…so far. It’s not so much because you’re naturally better, but because millennials had to experience the heady Y2K age before finally dealing with the ramifications.

It is strange watching a lot of you guys see Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and in a way most we older millennials don’t see them. In 98, we argued over whether Courtney murdered Cobain. To a lot of you guys…he’s Hendrix, or the Beatles, or Elvis, a deity who died so long ago he’s above discussing such earthly matters over.

Are you guys less whiny? Maybe. You guys are still very young. You guys are at the age millennials were at in 98-2000 and people didn’t develop their bullcrap over millennials until around 2009. That coincided with Obama’s inauguration. A lot of people hate millennials because of our left-leaning interests and concerns. Trust me. Most people who lean towards disliking millennials are moderate or right-leaning. Some people say you guys are more conservative. I’ll decide if there’s some truth to that in 2020. I’ll decide if there’s solid truth in 2024.

You're good doing what you're doing now. Stay away from the majority of Reddit, Twitter and Snapchat lol.

I'm 14 and i never used Reddit only for occasional stuff but i never registered for it. And Snapchat is confusing as hell so i will never use it.

Here are my thoughts:
I think it’s way too early to truly define Gen Z. You guys are too young to cement. I think we’ll have a true feel for you guys when half of you are over 18 and that’s a ways off.
I can only go on my impressions:

Gen Z is in its infancy.

You are being modern kids...there you go.

90sguy has slightly poignant observations. You guys ARE slightly more mature compared to us millennials…but perhaps only because we millennials grew up during a major transition in humanity’s history while you guys grew up in a more established period…but he’s right, there seems to be something slightly, only slightly, more mature about Gen Z…so far. It’s not so much because you’re naturally better, but because millennials had to experience the heady Y2K age before finally dealing with the ramifications.

It is strange watching a lot of you guys see Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and in a way most we older millennials don’t see them. In 98, we argued over whether Courtney murdered Cobain. To a lot of you guys…he’s Hendrix, or the Beatles, or Elvis, a deity who died so long ago he’s above discussing such earthly matters over.

Are you guys less whiny? Maybe. You guys are still very young. You guys are at the age millennials were at in 98-2000 and people didn’t develop their bullcrap over millennials until around 2009. That coincided with Obama’s inauguration. A lot of people hate millennials because of our left-leaning interests and concerns. Trust me. Most people who lean towards disliking millennials are moderate or right-leaning. Some people say you guys are more conservative. I’ll decide if there’s some truth to that in 2020. I’ll decide if there’s solid truth in 2024.


What I find is that there is less pain, or perhaps a better way to put it is, there is a less self-destructive edge to them, less pathos, than there was for us. They have memes to fall back on; they have all these subcultures that blend together. Ours is the last generation that was separated by distinct subcultures, by distinct social hierarchies in middle and high school. To put an exact point on it: I cannot see Gen Z being so pained as so many of us are; I cannot see Gen Z having a heroin epidemic as we do. There is a great sorrow and a great depth of unresolved pain and self hate among many of our generation; there is a reason why over 20,000 of us per year die of overdoses, and millions more struggle with addictions. I do not believe that that same darkness or whatever word you wish to put it exists for them.

We grew up on the cusp of two worlds - the industrial world and the post-industrial (Internet) world. We grew up in a confused time wherein everything was sort of a compromise: gays had some rights...but not all. Transgender people were acknowledged...but only barely. We grew up for part of our youth in a carefree 90s America, and then the second half of our childhood was spent in the shadow of 9/11 and Anthrax scares; our early adulthood was fraught with great difficulty not only finding jobs but also finding ourselves in the midst of a recession. Our generation is one of extremes - we are either far left or far right politically; I believe Gen Z will be more centrist in comparison. We are in a sense the new Baby Boomers, raging and rebeling against what is, and what we were given, and the times we live in. Perhaps Gen Z wil be like Gen X - more apathetic to these issues.

They grew up in a world where the issues I spoke of above have been largely resolved. Gay marriage is a fact of life for them. The Internet and social media are worlds they are being raised in. They have more concrete identities than we did. I know when my peers were 14-15, many girls who turned out to be lesbians dated boys because that was just the way things were. They experimented, and many of us considered bisexuality a fad. A girl of the same age nowadays if she is gay is aware of that identity and is encouraged in it and she has a greater sense of self. They are coming of age at the very end of a recession; and apart from those who lost relatives to it, 9/11 is more a historical fact to them than a part of living memory; the war on Terror and all its insanity isn't something most of them remember; the inanity of the Bush years was their childhood - not something they were truly conscious of.

Theirs is a more resilient generation; theirs is a generation which has more of a unified identity; they are less at odds with each other than we were. To again compare the two generations to past generations, we are the GI Generation, and they are the new Silen Generation. We are political and we are passionate; they are more stoic and less phased.

This is a recent article that discusses the rise in depression in young pregnant women in the 2010s in comparison to their mothers in the 1990s:

https://gizmodo.com/pregnant-millennials-may-get-depression-more-than-their-1827550402

What is your thoughts on this phenomenon OP?

What I find is that there is less pain, or perhaps a better way to put it is, there is a less self-destructive edge to them, less pathos, than there was for us. They have memes to fall back on; they have all these subcultures that blend together. Ours is the last generation that was separated by distinct subcultures, by distinct social hierarchies in middle and high school. To put an exact point on it: I cannot see Gen Z being so pained as so many of us are; I cannot see Gen Z having a heroin epidemic as we do. There is a great sorrow and a great depth of unresolved pain and self hate among many of our generation; there is a reason why over 20,000 of us per year die of overdoses, and millions more struggle with addictions. I do not believe that that same darkness or whatever word you wish to put it exists for them.

We grew up on the cusp of two worlds - the industrial world and the post-industrial (Internet) world. We grew up in a confused time wherein everything was sort of a compromise: gays had some rights...but not all. Transgender people were acknowledged...but only barely. We grew up for part of our youth in a carefree 90s America, and then the second half of our childhood was spent in the shadow of 9/11 and Anthrax scares; our early adulthood was fraught with great difficulty not only finding jobs but also finding ourselves in the midst of a recession. Our generation is one of extremes - we are either far left or far right politically; I believe Gen Z will be more centrist in comparison. We are in a sense the new Baby Boomers, raging and rebeling against what is, and what we were given, and the times we live in. Perhaps Gen Z wil be like Gen X - more apathetic to these issues.

They grew up in a world where the issues I spoke of above have been largely resolved. Gay marriage is a fact of life for them. The Internet and social media are worlds they are being raised in. They have more concrete identities than we did. I know when my peers were 14-15, many girls who turned out to be lesbians dated boys because that was just the way things were. They experimented, and many of us considered bisexuality a fad. A girl of the same age nowadays if she is gay is aware of that identity and is encouraged in it and she has a greater sense of self. They are coming of age at the very end of a recession; and apart from those who lost relatives to it, 9/11 is more a historical fact to them than a part of living memory; the war on Terror and all its insanity isn't something most of them remember; the inanity of the Bush years was their childhood - not something they were truly conscious of.

Theirs is a more resilient generation; theirs is a generation which has more of a unified identity; they are less at odds with each other than we were. To again compare the two generations to past generations, we are the GI Generation, and they are the new Silen Generation. We are political and we are passionate; they are more stoic and less phased.


My problem with this assessment it is ignoring a lot of the issues facing Gen Z. They're not going through the same complications millennials went through but they are going through their own issues. The acceptance of homosexuality has birthed new issues regarding how to go about dealing with LGBT people. issues regarding gender, issues regarding their own personal sexuality on the Kinsey scale, etc.

Also, we had Clinton, Bush II, and Obama. They now have Trump and who knows what comes after him. Trump has rewritten the rules in a way that baffles everyone. I don't know too many Gen Zers but the ones I do know just seem like regular teenagers to me for the most part. Gen Z just hasn't really had the time or resources to really make their mark or truly even form an identity.

I agree with Bornin86. From the few Gen Zers I do know in my personal life they actually come off as conservative than I was at their age. By ‘conservative’ I don’t mean ideologically, but rather, as The OP stated, because they grew up under a Black president, smartphones & mobile internet being the norm, and Gay Marriage as a ‘settled’ issue they seem to take these things a little for granted.

Even as a younger Millennial, I vividly remember the uber conservative culture of post 9/11 like it was yesterday. I remember the ‘Family Values’ movement of the 1990s & 2000s as a child and the rise in censorship and helicopter parenting were rising in prominence.

Those types of experiences seem pretty foreign to your average kid or teen. The world of 1998 is pretty substantially different to the world of 2018.

@Bornin86 I'm not Gen Z. You are all basing assumptions of Gen Z from a small pool of people you've met.

@Bornin86 I'm not Gen Z. You are all basing assumptions of Gen Z from a small pool of people you've met.


Mmm...you sure you talking to me? Which assumptions?  ???

Mmm...you sure you talking to me? Which assumptions?  ???

The first sentence was directed at you. The 2nd second sentence was directed at others in the thread. Like you said, they seem like regular kids to me and it's pretty pointless to try and analyze gen z when they haven't even entered their 20s yet. Plus we've all admitted to only meeting a handful of Gen Zers. You can't analyze an entire generation from those encounters.

The first sentence was directed at you. The 2nd second sentence was directed at others in the thread. Like you said, they seem like regular kids to me and it's pretty pointless to try and analyze gen z when they haven't even entered their 20s yet. Plus we've all admitted to only meeting a handful of Gen Zers. You can't analyze an entire generation from those encounters.


Ah. Ok. I thought this was the case.  :)

We don't even have a consensus on the starting year for Gen Z yet... so I don't think we'll know exactly how Gen Z is as a generation until the early-mid 2020s. Here's what is known about Zeds so far

- First generation to be born in the Internet age
- Generally are the children of Gen X or Xennials
- Have no memory of 9/11
- Came of age during Trump's presidency
- Nearly all of Gen Z were children during the last financial crisis

- Grew up in the streaming era (Netflix, Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube)
- Hip Hop is what Rock & Roll was to previous generations (Hip hop is in its dominance stage)
- Nihilistic or sarcastic humor/universally understand meme culture
- Emerging mental health crisis
- Shift away from Alt-right/far-left politics
- Last generation to have baby pictures taken with standalone cameras

What is certain is that the vast majority of Gen Z pop culture will be created in the 2020s-2030s. Right now there's an ongoing shift between Gen Z culture and Millennial culture (Drake, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, J Cole, Rihanna). I think that the true Gen Z icons haven't emerged yet, they're either just starting their careers or gaining traction in the underground.

It is strange watching a lot of you guys see Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and in a way most we older millennials don’t see them. In 98, we argued over whether Courtney murdered Cobain. To a lot of you guys…he’s Hendrix, or the Beatles, or Elvis, a deity who died so long ago he’s above discussing such earthly matters over.

It's funny you mention this, Nirvana stans on IG and twitter are CONSTANTLY debating about that. I think the Soaked in Bleach movie rebirthed that entire conversation.