Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X & Boomers Have Completely Different Ideas Of What's Wrong With Young People
PeopleImages | Shutterstock Younger generations tend to naturally defy the values and priorities of their parents. However, judgments of today’s young people are more nuanced than just challenging tradition.
Young people today are experiencing a new wave of struggles and pressures, from overreliance on convenience to the consequences of excessive screen time, but there are also hyper-specific pressures that other generations consider the biggest problems for their young peers. Whether it’s Gen Zers and millennials or their Gen X and Boomer peers, everyone has distinct ideas of what’s causing issues with young people today.
What's wrong with young people today, according to different generations:
Boomers and Gen X say social media and smartphones are to blame
If you’ve ever heard an older person complaining about young people today, there’s no escaping the "it’s those phones" phrase. It’s a catchphrase at this point. However, they may not actually be far off. From disrupting sleep patterns to harming attention spans and making critical thinking more difficult for impressionable young people, too much screen time can have many negative effects.
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Especially if technology has become a distraction from boredom, or if a young person’s social media presence leads them to compare themselves too often, they are also likely to struggle with their sense of self.
While phones are especially convenient for keeping us connected with other people and providing access to endless information, older generations with a figure-it-out mentality may even suggest that this accessibility is keeping young people from growing into resilient adults. They’ve adapted to the digital world, but can’t help but witness just how many consequences their young peers face due to their inability to set boundaries.
Millennials argue that young people take pride in challenging the norm
Whether it’s playing around with personal expression, dismissing traditional life timelines, or just challenging mundane parts of society that older generations have grown accustomed to (like a dress code at work), being a challenger isn’t something to be proud of in the eyes of older generations.
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But carving their own path into adulthood is a fundamental trait of today's younger generations. They don’t tolerate the stereotypes and stigmas that their parents and grandparents did, especially when it comes to wellness. They’re breaking free from these restrictive norms and building a new future that truly empowers.
Older generations call this "challenger" attitude the bane of their existence, disrupting the norms that they’ve grown to trust, but it’s up in the air whether Gen Z and other younger generations’ preference for change is actually hurting them or setting them free.
Gen Z knows what holds them back, and they're working to change it
While older generations judge Gen Z for being too sensitive, entitled, or caught up in their phones, there are specific challenges and behaviors that young people are actually aware of that harm their quality of life.
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Most young people actually want to disconnect from their phones and live a more analog life. They’re tired of social media and the endless highlight reel. They want community and to practice their social skills, but they’re just stuck in survival mode, trying to pay their bills and cope with an epidemic of loneliness, which makes it hard for them to let uncomfortable change in.
Especially when there’s such a generational disconnect and so many misunderstandings about their generation out in the world, of course, it’s difficult. Older generations and young people today don’t feel safe with each other, so instead of taking in constructive criticism and advice, they feel pressured to defend themselves.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
