Calling out 1 Bullshit on Gen Z: Zoomers Are Reckless and Don't Care of Coronavirus
Are we able to read Gen Z's evolving coping mechanisms?
Zoomers.
Those kids that are mainly immune/not affected by Coronavirus and don’t mind to put us in danger by creating idiot challenges or saying, whatever happens, happens.
Yeah, that’s some horrible stuff, I 100% agree.
But.
As you’re here to call out 1 bullshit on Gen Z, you might want to hear the whole story: truth is, a small sample of a whole generation and a click-bait bunch of articles are not quite representative of reality.
In fact, there are plenty of cases of Coronavirus stupidy among the older generations.
So much so that there’s even a word for the kind of people that are Coronavirus stupid. :D
And I’m not sure the most mentioned Covidiot in the world right now could be classified as a Gen Zer… 🤔
I don’t mean to be polemic here, nor to take any political stand. Just reporting trends.
Anyway, to sum up, I’m quoting Terry Nguyễn and defining this whole thing by saying: These reckless actions are not an age thing. They’re an idiot thing.
So, if you’re interested in the whole story, stick with me a bit more, for a visual representation on
How are Zoomers actually dealing with COVID 19?
The first important aspect to consider is the cultural/cognitive one: how Gen Z makes sense of things, even while experiencing an emergency or a crisis.
We often explored the Zoomers’ irony and cynicism for you, so it should come at no surprise that they are creating memes and videos to mock Coronavirus and all its implications.
This doesn’t mean that they don’t care: it’s a cultural aspect mainly generated by communication rituals and content consumption (yes, news, and also, stories!) they grew up in. The social media age has completely changed the way we emotionally cope with something like coronavirus.
So let’s dive into their world of memes, dances and dark irony, shall we?
🎦 Exhibit A: TikTok Videos
Some really good examples of Coronatime TikTok Videos:
- CORONAVIRUS MUST BE STOPPED — a TikTok drama
- Summer 2020 is gonna be LIT — coming of age at pandemic times
- We can’t get a break? — not quite sci-fi, more like what’s actually happening 😱
- we j chillin — what’s coming out the information overload previously mentioned
🔥 Exhibit B: Memes.
From quarantine boredom to panic buying, rent strikes, Zoom and the immortal and invincible Queen, Coronavirus memes cover pretty much all the topics and aspects of the Gen Zer’s life at Pandemic times.
🎤 Exhibit C: CoronaDjing.
Some of the hottest soundtracks of Zooomers’ lives right now. We might survive all this by singing, after all.
- BORED IN THE HOUSE — Curtis Roach
- original sound — justsul
- Coronavirus Rhapsody
- Tom MacDonald -”Coronavirus”
😐 On a serious note, though.
We just began data-mining Coronavirus content from young audiences’ ecosystems, and it doesn’t look pretty.
Zoomers might ironise and demystify what’s happening right now in order to go through it, but they’re deeply worried about their future, which looks uncertain and sometimes even hopeless, considering all the threats (most mentioned: climate emergency, AI and, as recently added, the Coronavirus recession).
They think that COVID 19 is going to hit them very hard as they enter the workforce and start building a life, and they’re anything but careless.
So, how do we consider Gen Z during these crazy times? Are we categorizing them as a whole entity, reckless/cynical/hopeless? Or are we able to see the complexity in their behaviours and their constant changes and adjustments to deal with a reality that looks more like uncharted Sci-Fi territory right now? Which do you think are the coping mechanisms we should all learn from? Let us know, we might even plot out something together!
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This is part of YAD — Understanding Young Audiences Digest: a free monthly digest on young audiences for VOD and TV professionals. We’ve analysed millions of data points and we don’t mind sharing some of them — if this could help channels and commissioners to reach Gen Z, by understanding their needs, behavioural traits and intrinsic cultural values.
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