Gen-disconnected, disenchanted, and demotivated

Are you old enough to remember spending half the night on the phone gossiping about everything, yet not talking about anything in particular, with conversations punctuated by sudden fits of laughter?

Ah, those were the days, my dear balding, silver-haired and perhaps a bit pudgy around the sides, Boomer friend.?

It’s very different for Generation Z and Generation Alphas, who have grown up in a digital landscape lush with social media platforms and instant communication.

Their technical fluency is unparalleled. ?Yet, according to reports, beneath the digital dexterity hides a complex layer of loneliness, misunderstanding, and self-doubt.

Often perceived as self-centred and detached by Baby Boomers, Gen-Z faces exceptional social challenges that their predecessors may misunderstand.

Bang-bang

Today, we are all subjected to social media’s sledgehammer. ?

24/7, it relentlessly pounds jagged nails into the consciousness. Unyielding bashing leaves a sinkhole of overwhelming thoughts pierced by rusty tacks, pricking people to take action and plug up ever-appearing leaks in the bucket.?

The foul stench leaks range from angst over knife crime and the feverish death of our planet, to terrorism, war, cultural hate, inequality, antisemitism, strangers in rubber boats, failing health services, the cost of living, homelessness, corruption…

It's an avalanche of fears … too many leaks… so many holes leaving a potted moon crater of empty despair.

Little wonder that Gen-Z is so insular.

I'll text you later

A recent Sky Mobile report found that nearly half of Gen-Z prefer a text alert to a phone call. They need to prepare their responses in fear of repercussions.?(In other words, they are petrified of losing their jobs and/or being vilified online for saying the wrong thing.?

During COVID, when actual personal interaction was restricted (apart from in the homes of political leaders), phone calls experienced a refreshing renaissance.

According to Ofcom, time spent talking on mobiles rose by almost 50 per cent in the first lockdown. The average call time rose from three minutes and 40 seconds to nearly five and a half minutes.

Today, society is more atomised.

Triggered

In a recent CBS interview, Katherine Gorelik, a university student, said she managed communication on her terms to mitigate the anxiety triggered by direct exchanges.

First-year University of Guelph-Humber business administration student Salvatore Figliuzzi explained:

“I usually put my phone on Do Not Disturb because it is a distraction…“I need to limit myself to improve my habits.”

For many Zs and As, text messaging feels more efficient, less loaded, and intrusive than speaking to someone.?

Maybe the telephonophobics have a point...

Too much time is wasted waiting on automated phone lines, being told repeatedly that “your call is important to us” or that “we are experiencing a high volume of calls at the moment.” (Before counting also being compelled to panic-scroll through endless posts AI-generated by TikTok, Russian activists, political electioneers, or ?Hamas-sponsored bots aimed at university students).

People are too busy and weary to spend time conversing with an AI bot primed with predictive analytical skills that appear to have little immediate purpose.

Pile ‘em high

“Gen Z struggles with email stress. ” Esteban Touma, a linguistics and culture expert at Babbel, a language learning platform, told CNBC, “[They stack] up a huge quantity of unread emails.”

Babbel surveyed 2,000 U.S. office workers between the ages of 18 to 24. More than a third (36%) of Gen-Z professionals reported having over 1,000 unread emails in their inbox, compared with 18% of general office workers.

Piles of unanswered messages intensify the pressure to open, read, and appropriately respond to messages. Once they finally reply, a whopping 1 in 5 apprehensive Gen-Zs still reported “very often” regretting the emails they sent.

Answer the bloody phone!!!

Beyond marketers staking their next mortgage payment on advertising income from algorithms, some sections of older generations interpret such strategies as a lack of engagement or even laziness.?

Eavesdrop on Millennials and Baby Boomers mumbling over their Flat Whites or blubbering through their botox lips about “this useless generation”, and you may hear them stereotype younger counterparts' work ethic and social habits.

So why do cohorts like Baby Boomers better cope than their younger counterparts? ?

The answer may be simple.

Like it or not, Boomers had to deal with people and life directly.

Through trial and error, they learnt to handle other people’s awkwardness, predilections, and annoyances. In so doing, they had to accept their own.

It was (and remains) all part of being human.

Today, smartphones, tablets, and laptops feature a transparent glass defence shield to separate the inner and external self.

Whilst the web purports to unite, anyone can quickly feel detached.

Puddles of loneliness

Despite their vast potential online networks, Gen-Z has higher levels of loneliness than any previous generation. For example, the American Psychological Association notes that this generation is the most likely to report mental health concerns, often feeling isolated in a sea of digital connections.

While convenient, pithy texts often lack the emotional depth and fulfilment that face-to-face conversations provide, leading to increased feelings of isolation among users. Furthermore, the widespread use of shrewdly manicured videos and AI-enhanced images that prioritise shock over substance only adds to this sense of disconnection.

“You need to turn your mike on!”

Demands to work from home led to the rise of videoconferencing like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. These have become a double-edged sword for educators and managers. On the one hand, remote conferencing saves time and money when meeting in person. ?On the other hand, it adds fuel to the sweltering pyre of social detachment, ultimately leading to an even more intense sense of remoteness.

Some find it not just challenging, but threatening to engage fully online.?

They instead watch anonymously from afar, leaving presenters talking to walls of name initials.

That’s why, when teaching remotely, I ask participants to keep cameras ‘on’. Before long, everyone enjoys a sense of unity and, dare I say it, fun. ?

This still leaves the question: what can be done about the general rising sense of detachment??

The solution could be simple.

Switch off, switch back on, and reboot.

Set aside tech-free time.

Rather than doomscrolling, try reading a book (remember them?).

Rather than guzzling on a pigswill of streamed regurgitated sluice and cliched content on Netflix et al., occasionally go for a walk.

Instead of feeling compelled to be available 24/7, make yourself accessible only during reasonable working hours.

Instead of WhatsApp, answer the phone and ask, “What’s up?”

Instead of trigger-answering emails, pause to think,

But wait a second…

????????? ???????????????????????? …that’s precisely what Gen Z and A are doing!

Damn, those pesky kids.

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