Talk:Gen Z
Great Read!
I don't quite know where i fall into bracket wise, but i'm currently 22, so do what that what you will.
ANYHOW
Granted Sample Bias / Survivorship Bias in that i am working with OSE and similar groups' (thus have a certain ideology), and also am privileged enough to have a personal computer and some free time yada yada yada, BUT:
I'd say the things me / people in similar age brackets want are:
- Job Stability
- "A good days pay for a good day's work" (So Inflation Adjusted Minimum Wage or more etc) (Healthcare to an extent, although most of us push for Single Payer Healthcare / something more along those lines rather than the more fragile package system we have currently)
- Progressive Policy/Actions (Generally summarized as getting Companies/Governments in-line with the UNSDGs / reducing suffering (radical beliefs i know)
- Both because it is what we value, but also hope (a tangible alternative to the Climate Anxiety / Fear of Democratic Backsliding and Money in Politics etc one gets when they are aware of History / Current Events and Structures)
As for explanation wise, i'd say it's largely due to the internet. For better or for worse we were raised with that being readily accessible. With Wikipedia (Despite all it's faults) you can have (at least from a non-specialist standpoint) all of the world's knowledge at your fingertips. Also not only in reading about, but also integration with other countries. Many can not afford to Travel , but in my opinion that i gained moving around a bunch as a kid that really gives you perspective. It's hard to hate on the person who doesn't know English etc when you've been the one who doesn't speak the language of the area , or you know different systems can exist etc. It may not be perfect due to Media Bubbles etc, but if you can see "Oh Walkable Cities are a thing" or "Oh x Group of People Exist and aren't something Foreign and Scary" that really can shape your ideology.
Improved Public Education may be a factor as well, although at least in the usa that might be HEAVILY location dependent, as School Funds are largely driven by Property Taxes so the poor for the most part receive...poor education. Regardless learning History (Colonialization, World Wars, Decolonialization, Economic Depressions / Policy Choices of the Past etc) and Logical Fallacies / Critical Thinking in general can be a MAJOR vaccine to Political Apathy / Radicalization into the -ism's or -obias
'The Counterpoint to all that would be The Attention Economy and also groups like PragerU which have used advertising and the algorithm to radicalize the younger generations / keep Old Ideas in the Overton Window . People who didn't learn much of Logical Fallacies and all that may be drawn in by PragerU, 4Chan, The "Manosphere" and the like. And as with Conspiracy Theorists Flat Earthers etc, to an extent once they reach that Closed Mindset it is very hard to get them out of it.
Also given how most of the information/public discourse is done not in a Virtual Public Square but rather in a virtual "mall food court of sorts" it is quite controlled. It can either be the algorithm making Offensive/Controversial/Clickbait show up more than Detailed Explanations/Nuance. Furthermore most of the time You Are The Product , when that is the case you must either be paying someone to do so, or won't have the same level of connection/quality. Sort of left out / left at home in the mall analogy.
I'm rambling, but all in all there are about two directions our generation could go
- Option A is "The Good Ending"; sweeping political change, Climate Change Reversal , all the UNSDGs are met, full on "Queer Anarcho-Communism in Space" Star Trek shit.
- Option B is Democratic Backsliding doesn't get stopped in time. Worst Case Scenario would be dictatorships, more likely would be something like the Years of Lead in Italy where non-state political violence is commonplace (Think the current rate of Mass Shootings in the USA, but they are more like the Oklahoma Bombing, Jan 6 Attack, or KKk Type Stuff). The Political Aspect of Option B Could also just be political apathy, ineffective money ruled government, automation and climate change without systemic change leads to a bunch of the average people getting affected by droughts/ Hot Bulb Events and losing jobs to automation; all the while the rich get richer etc. Another aspect would be unchecked Climate Change, or at least it only gets taken care of after more Climate Change Tipping Points are hit.
Also on the note of OSE Relevance of all this i think it is quite simple;
- Given OSE, at least to an extent, has the UNSDGs at it's core, it already has most of those boxes "checked"
- Main thing is just making sure everyone employed is taken care of well, and keeping toxic work environment stuff handled
- All in all though not much needed short of being cognizant of the above aspects when making decisions
Anyhow that's my rant of what "Gen Z" wants, some hypotheses as to why they are that way, and where the future leads
