I can't really talk too much about them, because I'm borderline nihilistic and depressed myself, but I got a pretty damn good reason for being that way. Not to say they don't either, but I'm seeing a LOT of them being like that.

Are they being influenced by social media, or is it just a mixture of technology prohibiting physical social interaction with other people? It's kind of confusing to be honest.

My nephews are 16 and 13 year olds, and they are happy and content most of the time. They are normal teenagers: they love their XBox One and PS5. They are into sports, particularly football. And they have friends of course.

I don't know if all teenagers these days are depressed, but I would say it might have something to do with their up bringing. It might also be the prohibiting of interacting socially, like you said.

My nephews are 16 and 13 year olds, and they are happy and content most of the time. They are normal teenagers: they love their XBox One and PS5. They are into sports, particularly football. And they have friends of course.

I don't know if all teenagers these days are depressed, but I would say it might have something to do with their up bringing. It might also be the prohibiting of interacting socially, like you said.


Awwww, they're really lucky. Wish I could get all of those back.  :\'(

Yeah, you're right. Some of them are lucky, some aren't so lucky. It's just natural selection, I guess.

I don't know about the nihilism, but I'm guessing the depression is related to how terrible the economy is.

I don't know about the nihilism, but I'm guessing the depression is related to how terrible the economy is.


Ahhhhh.

Speaking as a Gen Z teenager myself, the reasons are various for my peers: social media gratification on being the most visually attractive (especially amongst girls), family/abuse issues, and sadly, COVID-19. There are other problems too, but those are the usual ones. A lot of us even make nihilistic and meta-ironic jokes on platforms like YouTube, Twitter,  TikTok, etc. to express our suffering lol.

Speaking as a Gen Z teenager myself, the reasons are various for my peers: social media gratification on being the most visually attractive (especially amongst girls), family/abuse issues, and sadly, COVID-19. There are other problems too, but those are the usual ones. A lot of us even make nihilistic and meta-ironic jokes on platforms like YouTube, Twitter,  TikTok, etc. to express our suffering lol.


Heyyyy, someone else here that's around my age. I was born in 2004 by the way, lol.

And you're right, I relate to every single one of those things. Family/abuse issues, social media gratification, COVID-19, etc.

I make a lot of nihilistic jokes too. It's just the way it is tbh.

Speaking as a Gen Z teenager myself, the reasons are various for my peers: social media gratification on being the most visually attractive (especially amongst girls), family/abuse issues, and sadly, COVID-19. There are other problems too, but those are the usual ones. A lot of us even make nihilistic and meta-ironic jokes on platforms like YouTube, Twitter,  TikTok, etc. to express our suffering lol.


Interestingly, as a Boomer, pretty much everything you mention there as the same when I was young. We didn't have the social media gratification  aspect of being the most visually attractive, but we had  the REAL WORLD gratification (or lack thereof). One might argue that's even more intense (though certainly not as public). Nothing quote like somebody telling you to your face that they're not into you because you're not "their type". And some could be even less kind than that. Of course, we didn't have Covid, but we had Vietnam, which was drafting young men a mile a minute.

We didn't really have the  nihilistic and meta-ironic aspect of it. That's more a post-hipster, postmodern, poststructuralist thing. I predate the era of irony and post-irony. 

Because it's "cool" to be nihilistic and depressed to Zoomers.

I can't really talk too much about them, because I'm borderline nihilistic and depressed myself, but I got a pretty damn good reason for being that way. Not to say they don't either, but I'm seeing a LOT of them being like that.

Are they being influenced by social media, or is it just a mixture of technology prohibiting physical social interaction with other people? It's kind of confusing to be honest.

Could be that social media has something to do with the fact that they're so depressed almost all the time.

The image I get of teens today is a fragile, sensitive, and wannabe "socially aware/conscious" generation, like their focus on climate change for one example.

In my own teenage years we were variously seen as apathetic, materialistic, horny, and troubled in the school shooter sense, aint nobody cared about climate change we were just trying to get laid. ;D

The image I get of teens today is a fragile, sensitive, and wannabe "socially aware/conscious" generation, like their focus on climate change for one example.

In my own teenage years we were variously seen as apathetic, materialistic, horny, and troubled in the school shooter sense, aint nobody cared about climate change we were just trying to get laid. ;D


Every gen is like that in their teen years.

Today's teenagers are into the social media challenges on Tik Tok,Facebook and Instagram but back then we had no such dumbass challenges such as the Crate, Cinnamon or TidePod challenges.

Today's teenagers are into the social media challenges on Tik Tok,Facebook and Instagram but back then we had no such dumbass challenges such as the Crate, Cinnamon or TidePod challenges.


When I was a kid, all we had were Clackers and GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip.  ;D

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clackers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe_Adventure_Team

Speaking as a Gen Z teenager myself, the reasons are various for my peers: social media gratification on being the most visually attractive (especially amongst girls), family/abuse issues, and sadly, COVID-19. There are other problems too, but those are the usual ones. A lot of us even make nihilistic and meta-ironic jokes on platforms like YouTube, Twitter,  TikTok, etc. to express our suffering lol.


What you said reminded of the documentary "Social Dilemma" on Netflix. There was a scene which had a teenage girl post a selfie with filters, and while she was getting so many compliments, the one negative comment had her in tears.


When I was a kid, all we had were Clackers and GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip.  ;D

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clackers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe_Adventure_Team



When I was a kid/pre-teen I used to be envious of my friends who had a collection of cool Nintendo games, when all I had was the SMB/Duck Hunt combo that came with the system.

When I was a kid/pre-teen I used to be envious of my friends who had a collection of cool Nintendo games, when all I had was the SMB/Duck Hunt combo that came with the system.


Aw. Duck Hunt wasn't so bad. I actually liked it!  ;D

I mean, the last decade at least has been pretty crappy. Especially the last 4 or 5 years. What is there to be optimistic about?

What you said reminded of the documentary "Social Dilemma" on Netflix. There was a scene which had a teenage girl post a selfie with filters, and while she was getting so many compliments, the one negative comment had her in tears.

When I was a kid/pre-teen I used to be envious of my friends who had a collection of cool Nintendo games, when all I had was the SMB/Duck Hunt combo that came with the system.

I remember Nintendo.

Aw. Duck Hunt wasn't so bad. I actually liked it!  ;D

Duck Hunt was a pretty neat game especially that after when you miss a gun shot the Saint Bernard laughs at you.

Look at the world they're growing up in

Duck Hunt was a pretty neat game especially that after when you miss a gun shot the Saint Bernard laughs at you.


Did you ever shoot at that dog when he started laughing at you? Because I think everyone who played that game did.  ;D

Did you ever shoot at that dog when he started laughing at you? Because I think everyone who played that game did.  ;D

Sometimes.

So due to the depression rates mostly among Millennials and Gen Z, the US has dropped in ranking of the world's happiest countries to #23.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2024/03/20/2024-world-happiness-report-rankings/73039460007/

I think it's because it has to do with social media nowadays.