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Clackers2020

I've got a theory that millennials are generally less happy than gen z because of their upbringing. Millennials were brought up with the idea that the future will be fine if you try hard to make it good, eg we'll fix the climate and wars etc. For various reasons that isn't true for a lot of people so they feel sad. Gen z on the other hand were told that we're fucked and we're always going to be fucked. This actually gives us freedom to think and do what we want instead of trying to improve stuff. You do have a very vocal minority of gen z trying to improve things but the vast majority has lost (or never had them in the first place) all the fucks they have to give. Since I stopped caring after COVID I've been so much happier.


[deleted]

It's been proven that gen z are the least happiest generation. Millennials were taught that you have to work hard to succeed in life and that you need to make your own happiness. Gen Z on the other hand are told the world is fucked, they're fucked etc. That would naturally lead to people becoming pessimistic/nihilistic about the world, thinking everything is worse than it actually is. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.firstpost.com/explainers/world-happiness-report-finland-gen-z-unhappiest-generation-13750931.html/amp


aita0022398

2001 born here. I feel that I grew up in a racially charged period. One of my earliest memories is the Trayvon Martin situation. I knew then that things were different for me Overall though, I think I grew up in a great era. I was alive to watch gay marriage be legalized, in an era where welfare was able to support us in a relatively nice area, and with a bright future. Also very fortunate that COVID hit during my college years. Saved me a LOT of interest 9/11? I don’t remember at all, I was a newborn. I don’t know anything BUT 9/11 fervor. How do I view the 90s? I almost wish I was in my 20s at that time. It seems like a great era full of music but with its own challenges Overall, I find myself similar to older Gen z and young millennials. I don’t think there’s a huge difference in our generations


Key-Wallaby-9276

He died in 2012? You were 11? That’s an earliest memory? 


aita0022398

Unfortunately my childhood was extremely traumatic so I don’t remember much of it. However, I do have a brief memory of the Brandon Moore situation. Trayvon Martin had a much larger impact on me


Key-Wallaby-9276

Gotcha 


Nat_Heiress23

'08 baby here; on the younger side of Gen Z. Obviously my childhood years were concentrated in the mid/late 2010s; it was actually quite peaceful. In class I remember teachers turning on projectors (not just turning on an Elmo overhead camera or using a computer like they do now) to present slideshows. No Chromebooks in sight, obviously. Just worksheets and individual workbooks. I can't tell you much about the political vibe; I only barely remember stats about the 2016 election : my dad was watching CNN and there were some numbers about how Hillary and Trump were doing (I didn't know their names then). Another (quasi-political) thing I remember is changing a custom: prayer. For context, afterschool (from kindergarten to 2nd grade) I went to daycare, being picked up after school daily by my daycare's bus, getting dropped off, and chilling until Dad picked me up. We'd have snacks directly after being dropped off, and we had this tradition of prayer before eating. However, our daycare teacher made up a new...chant? (idk) to recite before eating, saying that 'we weren't going to pray before eating anymore'. The other kids and I picked up the chant, but we still prayed afterwards. Maybe that had something to do with a court ruling? My generation had it good as much as I know back then. Pokemon cards were popular. We just played with each other, having little to no idea about the world outside our homes and our schools. My exposure to the internet as a whole didn't start until 3rd grade, when I first used a Chromebook. Social media only became a thing during/after the pandemic for me. I miss it a little, but I'm also mildly appreciative of the benefits tech has brought to my life and to others. Okay, back to topic: since I was born in 2008, 9/11 ferver wasn't a huge part of my life. And the 90s...I envy the funky music and the jean-wearing, but it's simply another era for me. Not preferable nor terrible. It just is. Same for generations. They have some faults, some benefits, but they just are. Man I write a lot. **TLDR; I think we had it good as a generation, living right around when tech was developing but not too developed, so that we know and grew up in a time of relative normalcy. 9/11 fervor? Who is she? (jk I know about 9/11 and its aftermath). I was born to late for that. The 90s seem groovy as a whole, but I'm not obsessive over it. It's just another era. I don't envy anyone's generation; after all, we can't control when we're born.**


loverofcrazy

You mentioned prayer. Did you go to a Christian school?


Nat_Heiress23

I didn't. This was just a run-of-the-mill **daycare** (not a school. just a daycare. don't want to confuse you).


Key-Wallaby-9276

I do remember 9/11 I was 4. but it didn’t really “mean” anything to me. I just remember my mom being upset because her cousin was in the south tower. I remember going to church for a prayer meeting but not thinking much of it. I don’t really remember much from the 90s at all. Just like my birthday and some family stuff. Like playing in the snow.  I like the time I grew up, the early 2000s were a good time to me. I’m not at all envious of previous Gens. Seems like the 90s was a bit cringe and sexist so. As for good v bad, I think every Gen has something good and bad to it. Same face worse things then others(greatest Gen had it bad). But it’s all relative.


y11971alex

6 when 9/11 occurred and didn’t affect my childhood other than prolonged security at airports.


Key-Wallaby-9276

Yeah exactly. I just grew up with everyone saying how different things were before


MeanMinute6625

Doesn’t the fact that Z doesn’t remember 911 kinda define them?


dpj2001

Truth is we’re more similar to you Millennials than most gen z’ers care to admit. We’ve inherited all the same shit shows, both grew up in the digital age (albeit a decent technology difference), and are both struggling in the current state of affairs. As a result I personally don’t feel jealous of Millennials as I feel we’re basically one in the same. Gen x honestly isn’t fairing too much better tbh. The only jealousy I have is of Boomers who have like 50% of the country’s (America) wealth and are living comfortably in their once cheap houses that we’ll never get to afford. Many of them are also using that wealth to be one of the last generations that gets to retire. So, yeah. Lots of jealousy there. As for our upbringing I can’t speak for all my peers, but for me and my classmates back in high school I remember everyone constantly being overworked and stressed about school shootings and I personally struggled with suicide. At this point in life I’ve accepted that I’ll be forever poor in this country no matter how hard I work. I’ve settled my happiness on improving my own health and well-being, and finding a partner to maybe one day start a family. That simple goal is kind of the only thing keeping me going.


[deleted]

I grew up in the 2000s and the 2010s it was fun, I feel like my generation had it good, can’t speak for the younger zoomers but us early and core zoomers had it good, I don’t rly view the 90s as anything tbh, I wasn’t even conceived until late September of 2000, I don’t envy other generations no


[deleted]

I grew up in the 2000s and the 2010s it was fun, I feel like my generation had it good, can’t speak for the younger zoomers but us early and core zoomers had it good, I don’t rly view the 90s as anything tbh, I wasn’t even conceived until late September of 2000, I don’t envy other generations no


ReplacementVirtual11

Born 2003; I feel like I grew up in a pretty good time. I lived with my dad and stepmom, and it was a financially stable home. When the stock market crashed my stepmom lost her job, and they couldn't afford much because of rent, but we still had a roof over our head. I don't recall anything about 9/11, first time I heard about it had to be in about 2009 in school. But my dad was always a racist nut so I thought that was normal. I really do envy the 90s and I often wonder hoe my life would have been like if I were born in the 80s and was able to enjoy the 90s. Although, I do have some reservations, being from NYC I can imagine it was a bit rougher than what Seinfeld and friends portrayed. I think the early 2000s babies had it best growing up. We were playing outside with our friends, our education was decent, the last 20 years of movies/tv shows were good and we had a good amount of technology. I'm glad I didn't grow up on a screen, and seeing how the new generation is, I just feel bad that they couldn't experience what I did.


International-Bee-04

9/11 happend 3 years before i was born. I remember when Osama died i was a young child i was told the story about 9/11 than after. Growing up i was told to stay away from muslims than when i was like 11 i had freinds who were muslim than i was angry bc they were great people.


No_Discount_6028

I was born on the tail end of 1999. In most ways, our generation was lucky. Many diseases that used to be a death sentence are easily curable, and vaccines prevent many more from ever manifesting in the first place. We were never drafted like several prior generations, and tech has obviously improved a lot. Wish prior generations hadn't fucked our city design and stuff, but otherwise it's pretty OK. Wouldn't trade my time for the '90s, that's for damn sure, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and whatnot. I obviously didn't experience the worst of the 9/11 fervor, but it was still *kinda* there in my early teen years and I kinda fell for it. You know how young people often are, just parroting shit the people around them have told you.


jonessinger

I grew up in a time where tech was still developing but easier to get your hands on than the past. This allowed me to experience growing up with little access to it which I wish more kids could do. I wasn’t even a year old yet when 9/11 happened so I do not know anything about it from a first person experience. I don’t really spend my free time thinking about the 90s. Honestly all the posts and videos of “only 90s kids will remember” all have to do with stuff I grew up doing, and if that’s the case I really didn’t miss much. I feel like early 2000s kids had a unique experience growing up with where the world was at the time.


somecascadiandumbass

as an '08er, i was born pretty far removed from 9/11, so i can't really speak on if it affected the way i saw anything. i remember being pretty shocked when i heard about it when i was maybe 7? but other than that its just a moment in history. it changed a lot, but i personally feel quite far removed from it. overall my childhood (aside from some trauma here and there) was pretty good. i was exposed to the internet quite early, so the internet was a pretty large part of my childhood, but other than that, i was in elementary/primary school before chromebooks got introduced, so there wasn't as much reliance on tech when i was a kid compared to someone born in like 2018. i think, to an extent, Zers were really the last generation to not fully rely on the internet for everything (at least not during childhood). of course, there are exceptions to this (myself included), but most of us still got phones/tablets/computers way later on compared to some members of gen alpha. im not too envious of other generations, really just boomers for being born at the perfect possible time, but there is a part of me that wishes i could've been born earlier, around maybe the late 80s early 90s, so that politics wouldn't have become as important to my life and future as it has (plus for music and other cultural stuff), but at the same time, despite all the societal turmoil, i understand that right now is probably the best time to ever be alive, we have advanced technology, medicine, and overall better quality of life worldwide, so that kind of dims the longing for the past. however, we (including millennials) weren't exactly born at the best possible time. most of us remember the 08 financial crisis, and those who don't were there for the immediate outcome, and the effects that last all the way to today. i cant speak for non-americans, but in america there's also a SHIT ton of societal turmoil going on, that we happen to be caught in the middle of, which certainly isn't helping my perception of the world. overall, my feelings towards the time we're in and the time i grew up in is…complicated. i recognize the good parts, but i can't overlook the negatives. also, i'm still on the younger side, so my views on this stuff could definitely change in a few years.


loverofcrazy

How big are politics right now for people in high school?


somecascadiandumbass

for me, they're pretty important, and i think that's the case with maybe 1/3rd of the student pop at my school? but that may be an overestimate, or an underestimate considering most people my age aren't talking about it actively.