Older generations, millennials and Gen Z themselves disagree sharply over what is really behind the struggles facing young people today, according to an analysis by chartered social relations expert Zaida Slabbekorn published in the U.S. outlet YourTango.
Slabbekorn writes that every generation has traditionally rejected the values and priorities of its parents, but argues that today's generational arguments go beyond a simple clash over tradition. Young people, she says, are facing new kinds of challenges, ranging from economic pressure to an overreliance on the conveniences of modern life.
Her article sets out three separate perspectives on the problems facing today's youth: those of baby boomers and Generation X, people born before 1980; millennials, born between 1981 and 1996; and Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012.
Why older generations blame phones
Complaints from older people that "it's all down to phones" have become something of a cliche, Slabbekorn writes, but she says the criticism is not entirely without basis. Excessive screen time can affect young people's sleep, concentration and ability to think critically, according to the analysis.
Smartphones become a particularly serious problem, she says, when they are used to avoid boredom or when they fuel constant comparison with others through social media, which she argues can damage a young person's sense of identity. Older generations, who grew up relying on a "figure it out yourself" approach, tend to see the sheer availability of information and services today as an obstacle to young people developing independence and resilience.
How millennials see Gen Z's independence
Millennials, Slabbekorn writes, take a different view of younger people's behaviour. She points to Gen Z's drive to set its own way of living, to reject traditional life scripts and to question established social rules, something that can show up even in everyday matters such as workplace dress codes. Older people, she notes, often read this kind of behaviour as an unnecessary challenge to the normal order of things.
Slabbekorn stresses, however, that the drive to forge an individual path to adulthood is a defining trait of the younger generation, which she says is far less willing to accept the stereotypes and stigmas that its parents and grandparents lived with.
What Gen Z says about itself
Members of Generation Z do not necessarily reject the criticism aimed at them, Slabbekorn writes. Many young people are aware that certain habits and circumstances are lowering their own quality of life, which is why a number of Gen Zers are trying to spend less time on smartphones and return to a more "analogue" way of living, tired of social media and the endless display of other people's supposedly perfect lives.
The difficulty, according to Slabbekorn, is that many young people are living in a near-constant state of survival, having to pay bills and cope with loneliness while also trying to build social connections and develop communication skills.
A generational divide
Slabbekorn argues that the gap between generations only makes the situation harder. Mutual misunderstanding, she says, can leave both young people and older generations feeling unsafe with one another, with the result that constructive criticism and advice are received not as help but as something to be defended against.
Other views on generational change
UNIAN has previously reported that Gen Z workers are turning away from old labour-market rules that earlier generations treated as the norm, aiming to work efficiently within a standard working day, valuing flexibility and polite treatment, and refusing to sacrifice their personal lives for their careers.
UNIAN has also reported that millennials are moving away from the traditional life models followed by their own parents, increasingly not treating a university education as mandatory, paying less attention to keeping a perfectly ordered home, and putting more focus on their children's financial literacy and on balancing work with personal life.
