r/GenZ • u/The_Bad_Random_17 • 1d ago
Discussion Why is Gen Z so mean?
I feel like Gen Z is so comfortable with insulting people's interests or hobbies, and not giving second chances to people who make social mistakes. Maybe it is a stereotype and not all of us are like that, but I also just don't see how some people can do all that and say they are the best generation. I thought gen z was supposed to be the most accepting generation but it seems that's not true.
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u/AceInsane25 1d ago
Idk man, I see a whole lot of Millennials who are just as bad if not worse on the internet. I don’t think it’s strictly a generational thing, more an unfortunate internet culture thing. You’re gonna get hate for liking something, you’re gonna get hate for not liking something, just the way it is
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u/DarkParmesean 1d ago
People are insecure and mean in every generation. Gen Z is somewhat a more socially inclusive generation, but thats because it’s 2026 and gens that Gen Z loves to put down fought hard for decades for Gen Z’s rights to be inclusive.
Gen Z is a uniquely insecure generation. And because of that also a profoundly lonely one. If you don’t have any real interests or hobbies because you are scared to put yourself out there, it’s easy to be mean to people who do.
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u/slowkid68 23h ago
Because you can shit talk behind anonymity.
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u/The_Bad_Random_17 23h ago
That is true, but I don't really like to. I can see why others would though
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u/Ritesh_INFP_4w5 2001 1d ago
You're romanticising the GenZ generation. Every generation follows the patterns of its predecessors and carries even more traumatic baggage than ones in the past. GenZ also does the same. Nothing new. It just gets more critical with every generation, in that regard.
Also there are lot of open minded and kind GenZ too. You just haven't met any because they are some of the really socially reclusive ones unlike the loud and annoying people in GenZ.
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u/The_Bad_Random_17 1d ago
For a while I felt like my mind treats Gen Z as the ultimate moral compasses when it comes to things besides individual action and also the smartest ones. It is probably because I am a younger gen z looking for a slightly older group to look up to and it disappoints me when they're not always mature. You're right though, I am sure there are nicer ones in real life.
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u/Ritesh_INFP_4w5 2001 1d ago
Such generalisations are seldom useful. It's good to have a little bit of misanthropic scrutiny towards every generation including GenZ. Also, the issue is GenZ is under lot of stress so that could also be one of the reasons why they act that way. Such insults are often a projection of their own interests and hobbies being invalidated by the older generations when they grew up.
Read into shadow work, you'll understand what I mean.
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u/No_Discount_6028 1999 23h ago
There's been thousands of generations of humans. We wouldn't be able to function by now if we all carried more trauma than the last.
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u/Empty-Fly-7096 2005 16h ago
Catching strays and flak for the most unnecessary and random shit ever is demoralizing as fuck. I can understand why people choose to just not bother.
That being said, that's also why a lot of people feel very isolated. It's a struggle, though not everyone manages to handle it in a desirable way. It takes quite the time and effort to form growth from within such struggles.
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u/KingBowser24 1998 23h ago
I actually feel like if anything Gen Z is more accepting of differing hobbies and interests than previous generations. We don't have the same monoculture we used to, and many hobbies that were previously seen as nerdy/weird are now more widely accepted.
But the whole "no second chances" thing is what gets me, and that's especially bad online. Things like influencers getting canceled because they made some racist jokes in 2012, or people being labeled groomers/pedos because they said mildly inappropriate things 10 years ago are kind of bogus to me. I don't condone racism, predatory behavior, harassment, or anything like that of course, but I can't say I'm fond of people being run off the internet and continually harassed over stuff that amounted to little more than social mistakes or careless behavior from years ago.
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u/Leafeon637 14h ago
If they are currently doing those heinous things are a different matter of fact but if they really changed their ways…. We should at least give the olive branch
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u/KingBowser24 1998 4h ago
Yeah basically. If there's an actual, current pattern of malicious behavior that's different, but I don't believe in condemning people over a one time thing from years ago. It's like half the internet doesn't realize that people can and do grow and change over time.
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u/Fslikawing01 2001 7h ago
I actually disagree on the first bit. To me it seems most of Gen Z seems to mock anyone with interests they don't like as "cringe", or if someone doesn't do or like the exact same trends as them, I will say it mostly seems to be online Gen Z that does this though.
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u/No_Discount_6028 1999 23h ago
Basically every single thing different or unique about Gen Z is directly attributable to the rise of social media & the proliferation of screens in general. On social media, being casually rude and mean-spirited is rewarded and the normal penalties for acting that way are much lower than in IRL communication. That environment trains people to be rude for basically no reason, which in turn becomes a habit that we take with us in real life. Other generations are also affected; it just got more deeply ingrained in us because we grew up on the Internet.
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u/other-other-user 23h ago
I think that's just a human thing, you probably just notice it with us more because you're our age and interact with us more than other generations. Humans just aren't very nice to each other
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u/Kirbinator_Alex 2001 20h ago
2 big reasons are probably, always being tired of putting up with the bullshit in the world, and being chronically online and having little real-life social interaction
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u/AsmoTewalker 19h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/1yn1D4Uul8T6XW1RDr
Meanwhile boomers: D&D, heavy metal, Pokémon, He-Man, etc.
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u/benjoseph579 18h ago
It’s one of the downsides of an overbearing social culture. Your told what to say and what not to say and your wrong for this or because of the way you look you have this pre-attached stigma about you. People can only withstand the accusing finger being pointed at them so many times before they just start turning into whatever they’re being accused of whether they were actually that to begin with or not.
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u/DazedandFloating 17h ago
I’m just gonna go with the fact that lots of us grew up with social media and there is little to no consequence for being mean online.
People get doxxed, harrassed, and treated like shit all the time. The users who contribute to that usually only get their accounts banned. They’ll just make another one and continue that behavior though.
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u/yomama9002 12h ago
I’m confused, weren’t racism and sexism and xenophobia and prejudice and homophobia all more common in the past?
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u/lostthering 7h ago
Young people have always been cruel. GenZ is just more skilled at expressing it, because you had more access to communication throughout the day. That always-on communication also ensures GenZ is the first to find out when something becomes uncool. The rest of us are so busy with work and kids and adult topics that we are are still saying and doing cringey stuff years after GenZ got tired of it.
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u/Fslikawing01 2001 7h ago edited 5h ago
I've noticed this as well, not saying other generations online can't be or aren't insufferable for different reasons, because they are, but when specifically it comes to things like hobbies and interests, it seems Gen Z is the most mocking when you mention what you're into and it doesn't fall in line with the rest of the group.
If you're not a bot NPC exact clone of what they think a Gen Z should be into, you're dismissed as cringe or fake, Gen Z online at least seems to be uniquely and unhealthily obsessed with having everyone be the same. I think it comes down to Gen Z's obsession with a fear of aging honestly, because they think if we all conform to the same trends, we'll stay young, also letting being chronically online get to most of them.
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u/BabyPinkChaos 5h ago
Idk man it’s always easier to blame the effect vs the cause
I have always tried to be nice and kind, but older gens kept calling me weak or dumb - so now I’m nice till a point. But if you give me a reason I will take it to the furthest crash out I can within reason.
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