Ossiana Tepfenhart

Ossiana Tepfenhart

Doing Better

Gen Z Is Too Anxious To Function In Society

Sorry kids, you’re on your own for this one.

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Ossiana Tepfenhart
Mar 14, 2024
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Photo by Zyanya BMO on Unsplash

“I don’t know, do the college kids of today feel a little…dead to you? Compared to how your generation was?” my mom asked me. 

It’s a feeling that I know she sees a lot as a professor. Her students no longer seem bright-eyed like they did when I was a collegiate. They just sit there like lumps, tired, trying to write notes — not even talking to one another.

I’ve noticed it too, most often at clubs. People don’t really dance anymore, at least not at most shows. (Raves and EDM are different.) Hell, even trying to talk to a typical 20-year-old seems like a Herculean task. 

Honestly, I know I’m a blowhard and a spicy type of person. I know I tend to rub people the wrong way. But that still does not explain the strange timidity that I see in almost every Gen Z person. 

It’s as if the entire generation just became terrified of people, talking, and confrontation. And it’s going to make life hell for everyone around them. 

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