Rec | CYNICISM / IRONIC

Rec

🎭

Rec'd on 💤 describe gen z in one noun and one adjective

irony and a lack of sincerity seems to be a big part of how a lot of gen z seems to operate. you have to be nonchalant, you can't be too excited about something because that's cringe, but when someone makes an account being cringe ironically that's funny, and this commitment to the bit is very important- this leads us to meta-irony. and I can't hate much, I've been known to laugh at these things too
the cynicism is, at least in the perspective of an american zoomer, due to the state of things in the country/planet. at my high school, we were encouraged to go to college in STEM fields because that's more financially stable but now people with those degrees can't find employment, and that's happening with every degree. entry level jobs are requiring experience- like buddy, you are the experience. and when you're working minimum wage after college outside of your field with student loan debt, you're watching the housing crisis and knowing you'll be a renter forever. and you're also watching the climate crisis and trying to enjoy the planet before you're swept up by a tornado or get dust pneumonia or get hit by a hurricane. and you're watching our current administration take us into authoritarianism and some people are even happy that they have a dictator now. scary and uncertain times lead to the level of cynicism that we have finally reached and I worry for the generations following ours, especially seeing how the alt-right has been exploiting the growing cynicism in our generation

@soulful_old_man_sunshine

Mar 21, 2025

see likes

Comments (2)

Make an account to reply.

@sulkworm

thank you for this response! i 100% agree with all of this. being online and always having to post things to promote art is challenging, how can you really be your authentic self ever? people should fight back and be free in spite of everything. the fact that everything is so bad and we have access to know everything going on at all times is a curse, i want to say ppl can share information w others to combat against the powers that be, but how can you really when the powers that be control the apps and sites we rely on for spreading information? i also think that theres definitely an orchestrated attempt to have people think they care about a topic by just knowing about it but it really is to keep people from actually sharing new ideas, organizing and building community. like how everyone was promoting being nonchalant or not doing too much, like when has that ever been a positive thing to think. people should be passionate and allowed to show how they feel. but i also dont blame ppl for buying into these ways of thinking because we are so bogged down by everything else in our lives thats made to make us feel powerless. this sounds like a conspiracy but think about how much time and resources and power that the rich have to orchestrate movements like this. but theyve shown how dumb they really are so why cant we do the same with what we have? people have adopted this “self care”, ”what can i do about it?” mindset that i think is especially dangerous, especially when they are the people w the most privilege and ability to do something with their time. believing that everything will just get better with time doesnt do much good because if everyone believes that then no one will step up to change it, but that choice to be the change you want to see in the world is very empowering.. its just a matter of realizing in what way you can enact that change. all love. -nate

Mar 22, 2025

@soulful_old_man_sunshine

@SULKWORM I often think about how our brains probably aren't meant to be exposed to this much information all at once and it makes sense why so many people end up burnt out and feeling helpless. like you said, the "what can I do?" attitude is dangerous because people have so much power when they get together and do something. but the ones trying to suppress organization, building community, etc see this and definitely exploit this mindset that people are falling into by doing as much as possible to keep us feeling overwhelmed and stuck collectively but throughout history, during hard times like this, we see so much amazing art emerge and that's been something I've been enjoying, despite it all. the 20th century was full of so much amazing political folk music, and I feel like we're seeing that again! I think it sticks out even more in moments like this where caring is seen as cringe to some. like you said, when people set out to make a difference, even if it's something like making art to give hope in dark times, it's very empowering and important for morale and I hope we see more and more people realizing that they are capable of so much more than they think they are

Mar 22, 2025

Related Recs

Rec

😎

Cynicism sucks and spoils our generation

Irony on top of irony so you can escape presenting sentiment- surely being open with what you love and being passionate is far cooler than acting as though you may hate everything else.
We all used to have a cynical phase, but who has the time anymore?

@glenbek

Oct 6, 2024

Rec

🫂

anti-rec: generational wars (2)

I posted a similar anti-rec months ago, but the topic has come up again, this time with the "gen z stare". I'm sure there's a good mix of ages on PI so there are a lot of perspectives on this, but personally I am on the older side of gen z (2002), and this is my take on this. I don't mind the videos that people are making coming at this from a place of empathy, discussing how the pandemic could have stunted people's social skills, especially young kids. that's a valid take, and it's one I agree with. my boyfriend and I have had plenty of discussions about how concerned we are for the people younger than us, growing up in the environment that they did and are now. but the number of videos being straight up nasty are where I draw the line. people are trying to say that "we all went through COVID at the same time, and I adjusted back so they should be able to!!!" as if going through a years long pandemic when you're a younger teen or child would have the same effect as a years long pandemic on a 30 year old. take the youngest millennial, who would have been born in 1996 and started the pandemic at 24 and compare that to the youngest zoomer, who would have been born in 2012 and gone through the pandemic at 8. say you don't want to go to the youngest, let's say the median instead: ages 31 vs 15. like they're in completely different stages of life during a world stopping pandemic, no shit it affected them differently than you. I personally don't think that I was too affected socially by the pandemic, as it started during the last semester of my senior year of hs. I can't say that it didn't affect anyone my age or on the upper end of this generation, just like I'm sure it affected younger millennials- but it probably was not as detrimental as it would be for a child.
and, like usual, a lot of these conversations are turining into circle jerks of people saying "back in my day, I made half the wage they do and I was never like that!!", "I would have gotten fired if I ever acted like those lazy kids!!", and, my favorite comment so far, "when they say they don't understand what we mean when we talk about this they're using DARVO tactics!!! they're gaslighting us!!!!!". ultimately, the world has changed. things were not the same as they were pre-2016 especially. I've talked on here before about how apathy is a big issue within people my age and younger- and I get why. it's very easy to slip into apathy when your future seems so bleak and it's not even your fault- it's just the world you were born into at the wrong time. personally, if teens are socially awkward or seem like they don't care about work (which is not a gen z thing, every generation gets the "you're lazy and ungrateful and blah blah blah" thing when they're this age), I can see why. does that make it okay? no, but ultimately I see it as a symptom of our society and empathize with them rather than make videos making fun of them. let's also not pretend that the only people who give bad customer service are under the age of 29. let's also not pretend that the cost of living wasn't much lower when the older gens (who are saying that these people don't deserve a living wage) were entering the work force.
ultimately, I think that if we come at these topics from a place of empathy rather than lashing out, it would be a lot more productive. if you're participating in this rhetoric, I implore you to think about what people were saying about your generation when you were younger. I remember growing up hearing the same talking points about millennials from gen x and above. perhaps we break the cycle this time instead of being nasty online. discussing how younger people's social skills were stunted by the pandemic is something that should be talked about, however it should be done with care. they didn't ask to be in their developmental years during the pandemic. I do also think it's unfortunate that many people are saying that being mean about this is "revenge" for pointing out the "millennial pause", which I had for a bit because I too used snapchat when there was that one second delay at the start of a video. but when it's said like that, I think that shows exactly the motivations behind some of this discourse: pettiness. yes, a teenager may have made a skinny jeans joke, but does that mean you should say that everyone ages 13-28 is aging like milk and has no social skills?
this turned into a yap, but you get the point. we need more empathy in the world. please don't turn into the same people in older gens who bullied the ones younger than them.

@soulful_old_man_sunshine

Jul 17, 2025

Rec

⚔️

30 years ago?

I thought we Gen-Xers got the blame for cynicism

@bee1000

Mar 17, 2025

Top Recs from @soulful_old_man_sunshine

Rec

📩

rec: Dming me

seriously though I don't know how to make the first step in making friends on here but my friends can attest that I'm cool 😭 I just need to get over my leaving comments anxiety but until then just know yall can message me if you're ever looking for someone to chat with 🙌

@soulful_old_man_sunshine

May 19, 2025

Rec

🟤

brown eyes

I was bullied a lot for my eye color as a kid (because me having very dark brown hair and very dark brown eyes made me look "evil", apparently) and, naturally, began to dislike them. but as I've gotten out of school and away from people who put me down, I've realized how insane it is to bully someone over their eye and hair color and grown to love the color of my eyes. I mean, they may be dark but there's nothing wrong with that. and I can take pretty pictures of my eyes too, I just have to blind myself and almost stare into the sun to do so lol

@soulful_old_man_sunshine

Feb 27, 2025

Rec

📖

reading when you wake up

recently, when I wake up in the morning and have time to kill, I've been spending a bit of time reading before or after I get myself ready to go about the day instead of sitting on my phone when I first wake up. I feel like it helps clear my mind for the day and it feels nice to not immediately scroll when I wake up like I used to

@soulful_old_man_sunshine

Feb 5, 2025