“Gen Z” protests | Gen Z

Just playing around, but pretty mousey at the same time, that's how Gen Z is supposed to be. Photo: Mia Anderson/Unsplash Gen Z is so much in focus this week that you might think there's a new series coming out soon: "Inside Gen Z" - and everyone's talking about it. Born in 1997, I'm right on the border of the classification: Depending on the definition, Gen Z starts in 1995 or 1997 and extends to those born in 2010 or 2012. And I feel like I'm "in between" too: I wear wide, low-slung pants and "layering shirts" (i.e. two tops on top of each other, in the Y2K style of the 2000s), but I don't wear any Sleek bun or crop tops. I have Instagram and Snapchat installed, but no Tiktok. I know what “type shit,” “rizz,” or having an “ick” means, but I don’t use the terms in my everyday language. On the other hand, I love memes and short funny videos more than anything.

Probably no one can identify with all the attributes of their generation, but Gen Z in particular is often viewed as a homogeneous group.

We are as heterogeneous as any other generation, perhaps even more heterogeneous than everyone before us. Because as the first generation whose upbringing was completely influenced by the Internet (“digital natives”), our interests and realities of life can no longer be assigned so easily and diverge enormously. On social media, for example, we end up in algorithmic bubbles that could hardly be more different.

Nevertheless, we talk about certain age groups as if they had a common history and a common opinion. I also belong to the generation that is said to study for too long, is mostly on the cell phone, has little resilience and, above all, is apolitical.

But we were never apolitical. We grew up in the midst of multiple crises: the corona pandemic, the climate crisis, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are all part of our everyday lives. We talk more openly about mental health, needs and boundaries, and we want a life in which there is free time in addition to our job - all of which is extremely political.

Why should we sacrifice ourselves for a job whose wages are not enough to pay the rent and for which we don't even know whether we will receive a pension because of it? Why should we give the benefit of the doubt to a country that fails to create equal educational opportunities for everyone?

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Young people demonstrated for these same issues on October 31st under the motto “Gen Z regulates”.

The advance reporting resembled, as Ricarda Lang put it, a “voyeuristic wait for a border to be crossed.” One had the impression that some sides almost wished that there would be riots in order to subsequently discredit the protests. There was no further information about calls for violence before the demonstrations began.

Unfortunately, outbreaks of violence and looting did occur in a few cities - although mostly after the demonstrations had ended and by people who had not taken part in the protests. The organizers distanced themselves from the riots. Nevertheless, the protests should now be viewed in a differentiated way in the aftermath - just like the generation as such.

What is certain: young people are taking to the streets out of concern for their future. They still believe that change is possible. We should not disappoint this hope.

This requires understanding instead of arrogance - in the media and politics alike. Anyone who, like Dorothea Schupelius ("Welt"), describes all demonstrators as "narcissistic children" does little to take their concerns seriously. The fact that the SPD is calling for a national education summit is a start. It will be crucial that we not only talk about young people, but also with them.

I have great hope for my generation. Not because we all tick the same way - we clearly don't. But because, despite all the differences, we still believe that something can be changed. So maybe there’s no need for a new series called “Inside Gen Z.” We are no longer just the subject of stories. We want to have a say ourselves.

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