Gen Z is lazy, dependent, addicted to technology, and lacks motivation. This is what myriad people would say; they are wrong. Gen Z is not like other generations, and society hates new things; they prefer to stick with things they know and understand. This is the reason Gen Z is so commonly criticized by other older generations. Gen Z is regularly questioned for the way they dress, act, speak, their mental health, and their hobbies. Gen Z is the people born between 1995 through 2012. Gen Z is a very unique generation, the first generation to experience a lot of extreme changes, specifically more related to modern technology changes. Gen Z is important to society because they were the first ones to experience advanced technology. I identify a lot with this subculture because I am a Gen Z, I was born in 2006. Since I’m part of the Gen Z community, I’m going to show how it feels to be part of the Gen Z community.
Gen Z has demonstrated that some generations don’t follow rules, expectations, or stereotypes. This subculture resists being told how to behave, look, or feel. This has been displayed in many ways, one way is women having more independence compared to other older generations. Most women born in Gen Z have a stable job, are independent, and don’t depend on men like women did in other older generations. I think this is really important because this shows how much the world has changed. 50 years ago, this wasn’t common. There has also been more acceptance of sensitive topics such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. These acceptances have been really controversial to this day, but this is something other generations would have never accepted within their society. Members of this subculture create identity in a particular way. Gen Z commonly uses social media, they usually post pictures of themselves or something they think it’s important or interesting. They do this to gain likes or followers. If they get a lot of hearts and positive comments about a picture they post about themselves, they are going to feel good because people heart their picture, which is going to make them more confident. There is also the other side where people get hateful comments about their appearance or their body. “ The exposure and experience of online hate have a negative impact on levels of depression, anxiety, self-doubt, and/or confidence.” This is significant because this shows the two faces of social media. Gen Z hates society telling them how to dress, act, or speak. Gen Z challenges their society constantly.
Gen Z is really different from other generations, some even call them rebels, not well-mannered, loud, etc. This is not Gen Z’s fault; they have been exposed to so many bad things that kids at their age from other generations did not. Gen Z had access to many things like social media, Google, and inappropriate websites. All these things have affected them in a good and bad way. There has been a lot of tension between Gen Z and the larger society. The larger society tends to harshly criticize Gen Z. Many of them affirm that Gen Z has no future, they are lazy, addicted to technology, and Gen Z is sensitive. All these comments are something I normally hear from people who were born in a different generation. I think there are reasons behind all these behaviors. People just criticize without knowing what’s really going on. Some of the hobbies Gen Z usually have are gaming, streaming, social media, digital content, sports, creation, photography, fitness, self-care content creation, and traveling. These activities are really fun, and the people who do it really enjoy it. In the article, it says, “The most common misconception about Gen Z is that they are solely focused on technology and social media. While it’s true that technology plays an important role in their lives, they are just as likely to enjoy traditional hobbies like reading, playing sports and spending time outdoors.” This is really significant because this shows that people criticize that Gen Z only focuses on technology and they don’t do other activities. I think Gen Z is really talented, it could be in a sport or painting.
I think the best way to do my field notes on Gen Z was going to a concert at night. My friend and I got there at 8:00 pm. There were a lot of people and we were looking for our seats.The clothing people were wearing was thrift-core and Pinterest board fever dream.Mini tops and cargo pants. Lace and mesh. Cowboy boots and Crocs on the same three-person team.Phones are out long before the first act even starts. -Vlogging, posting, thirst-trapping in bathroom mirrors with LED lights. Verbal communication is minimized until the music starts. Most is expressed by glances, nods, or a hand movement. Inside jokes pass over my head like stray glow sticks. They don’t speak in full sentences, but you understand them anyway. People were excited for their favorite song to play, Crowd choreography: they have the TikTok dance for that one verse.Every song is the moment. Everyone sings along—even if they don’t know the words, they mouth silly syllables with complete passion. Exit in packs for impromptu photo shoots in front of the merch booth or graffiti wall backdrops.Immediate posting of blurry concert videos with captions like “core memory” or “this healed my inner child.”Most were waiting for an uber to pick them up,or one of their family members drove by.
Society has set a stereotype for Gen Z, describing them as lazy people and addicted to technology. It is true that Gen Z has a lot of access to technology, and it could mean that it’s essential for everyday life. In the text, it says “Gen Z consumers (11-26) in the U.S. are affecting the consumer technology industry. The study finds 86% of Gen Z agree that technology is essential to their lives.” This is quite impressive how much technology has changed us over the years. The insider language is very important for Gen Z because we have created a different language that most people don’t understand. Gen Z cuts words to make them shorter so they could be easier to use in a conversation. Therefore Gen Z has shown that they are very unique in many ways. Their clothing, their language, their hobbies, and their mindsets. Gen Z has also been a generation that is regularly criticized by other generations because they don’t follow rules. There has also been more acceptance of sensitive topics such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. I think these topics have been really controversial. There are a lot of people who are very close minded, this makes them have a difficult time understanding or accepting new things because when they were young; they were taught different things, they were that somethings are not right such as being gay or having an abortion. It was very common back then to think this way but times have changed. I’m glad I was born in the Gen Z because I feel like there is a lot of freedom nowadays and anyone could become whatever they want.
AL Statement-
I used Al while writing this essay. I wanted to check my grammar so I used Grammarly to check my writing. I also used Al to check my field notes. I wanted my writing to show a lot of detailed observations to make the essay look better.
MLA-
“Online Hate Speech Victimization: Consequences for Victims’ Feelings of Insecurity – Crime Science.” Crime Science, BioMed Central, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 10 Feb. 2024, crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40163-024-00204-y.
Prabhu, Soumya. “Gen Z Hobbies That Reflect a New Era of Values and Creativity.” Free Press Journal, www.freepressjournal.in/amp/lifestyle/gen-z-hobbies-that-reflect-a-new-era-of-values-and-creativity. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
