Aesthetics & Micro-Trends Have Ruined The 'Gen Z Personality'

gen ZZ has an identity crisis and we need to talk about it hey guys what's up it's emergency and welcome welcome back to my Channel today we are back and we're talking about jenz once again but today we're going to be talking about jz's alleged identity crisis and how things like microt Trends and extremely personalized algorithms kind of strip white individual identity and place for different Aesthetics and Vibes that can be and have been used to replace actual personality traits I feel like this is an interesting point of conversation because I feel like usually when we talk about jenzy and how geni has been referenced and talked about in the past or really made out to be or seem like this monolithic entity that thinks the same way and has the same sort of values and personality traits when in reality like any other generation that just isn't the case and for jenzy specifically I'd say that we're so individualized based on the content that we consume and the specific media that we see day-to-day that makes us so different from other Generations because there's a new microt trend that comes out every other week that people really align themselves with and make their entire personality for set of time before jumping and leaping onto another one there's a lot to talk about and we're going to get into it so if you are new around here hi my name is JY and welcome back to Emer gen z a little series that I run on this channel where we talk about all things genen Z and media pop culture and the internet and if you like content like this then you should definitely hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out any of the content that I have coming out on this channel every single week as well as leaving a like on this video and follow me on my socials @ emergency on Instagram Tik Tok and Twitter and if you're itching for some Early Access and completely exclusive content consider hitting the join button and becoming a channel member today to get two exclusive members only videos a month as well as Early Access to every single one of these videos but enough sopro let's talk about why jensi has an identity crisis now like I said before genzi is not a monolith it's commonly said that genen Z has these core themes values understandings and like outlooks on life society and culture which I don't think is necessarily true anymore I feel like a big issue that isn't talked about online is that gen Z doesn't really have a common culture or a common understanding or belief on things because of the rise of individualized algorithms we don't have a collective cultural understanding even when it comes to things like pop culture because there are so many things like microt Trends micro cultures and different facets of the internet that people can go down rabbit holes in and be fascinated and and raptured by they create these different bubbles where you just don't see a lot of other things that other people around your age location and community may that's something that I've been realizing more and more and the internet will continuously remind me of this is that we don't all consume the same content we really do all live in our little Bubbles and sometimes we're lucky when we have those bubbles intersect with one another I saw a lot of discourse online fairly recently specifically when it came to the Billboard top 10 charts being released for the week of April 1st where a lot of people were gagged to see what the top 10 were with the only PML artists on the charts being Ariana Grande with we can't be friends and the rest being male dominated with like rap and a mix of other stuff and I run in the gay bubbles I run in the circles with the girlies and gays so I'm not really tapped into that facet of the internet either so I was kind of gaged to see that top 10 list cuz I was like where all these people come from of course I know who they are well most of them the ones but I had no idea there was a new music release and these aren't like noname artists like these are huge artists like future Kendrick Lamar and Metro Bo like these are huge artists it's just that I and many others aren't on that side of the internet very often so we're not tapped in there's a disconnect there with other people that are around my age and are obsessed with that and that's just one example a better example that we saw a little earlier this year came from the Grammys when they were talking about who's winning the best new artist award and it really showed like how someone be super famous to one demographic of people in one aspect of the internet whereas another artist or another creative can just be seemingly unknown because that week there was a ton of discourse over whether or not Victoria Monae deserved to win that award over the other people that were nominated with some people being like who even is Victoria Monae when I think that they were hoping that someone named Noah Khan would win Different Strokes different folks but we're seeing a disconnect there where you can live in a world where you know who Noah Khan is but don't know who Victoria Monae is or if you in a world where you don't know who Victoria Monae is but you can be a Noah con stand and I feel like this difference of opinion and just like General understanding for who we are as a generation who we like what we like is so well exemplified in artists and celebrities because unlike times of the past it's so possible that you can be a very successful celebrity with millions and millions of followers soldout tours debut number one on the charts and still have seemingly no one know who you are simply because people aren't tapped into that side of popical culture of the internet didn't used to be the case like back in the day not that I would like know from firsthand experience but from what I've heard if someone had a number one song on the charts everyone would hear because of radio play and they would be a superstar like they would be a household name people would know who they are For Better or For Worse whether or not you like them or not you would know their name you would know who they are because there was just this level of super stardom that existed back in that day nowadays because there are so many artists because we're able to have so much choice and agency over who we support who we listen to and what is presented in front of us that's just not necessarily the case anymore which I feel like is's a reason behind why we don't have as many Superstars as many standout new aist celebrities like we used to and I keep hinting at this but I feel like one of the major things that caused this change this shift is the rise of individualize and personalized algorithms in feeds and for me personally I first noticed this sort of personalized feed thing happening with Instagram like back before when Instagram used to be primarily chronological like you just see posts in the order in which they were posted and based on who you follow but then they had that one shift where it was kind of out of order and it was based on your engagement and who you were more likely to engage with and not who you followed and then they put in people that you don't even follow at all but they think you would like and they think would suit your Vibe like that was my first introduction at least that I was conscious of of like a personalized individualized feed and at first I didn't really like that because I'm like I want the control in this like I I want to see what I know I want to see I want to see the people that I follow in the order that they post them so I can keep up and know what's going on in their lives but then at least for me it shifted when the algorithm started getting a little good and I was like oh wait I actually don't mind the way that you're doing this you seem to know my interest pretty well and now I kind of know even bad an eye because it's it's a hit for me right now at least and then when we're talking about personalized and individualized feeds it's impossible to not mention Tik Tok because I feel like Tik Tok is like the more recent example of like a hyper personalized feed this is when I started to notice that content was starting to get more Niche and that people I was around started relating less and less with the content that I would personally consume like there were just Niche references that other people won't get because they're not on that side of Tik Tok they're not on my algorithm my for you page and I feel like contrasting that with another short form video app like say videos from like the Bine era where nothing was really super personalized and it was just a general feed of content that was really popular we all pretty much saw the same vins the same popular vins whereas now with Tik Tok it's very easy to just be in your own bubble and be on your own side of Tik Tok and not see something that's trending or popular on another side of the app and I've mentioned this in previous videos before but the same can be said about YouTube like YouTube had an evolution where it became more and more personalized with things like having your Home tab having like a for you esque page now that wasn't the case before like I've mentioned in previous videos like in the earlier years of YouTube you would at least know of all the popular YouTubers that were on the platform like if you were on the internet at that time and say like I don't know Shane Dawson back in the day put out a YouTube video you saw it and if you haven't seen it you'd at least heard of it or you'd see someone reacting to that video making a commentary on that video you'd be in the universe and you'd know about it versus now where that's just not necessarily always the case and we've seen this continue push for more personalized content not just on social media but in all the content that we consume like I said the personalized YouTube homepage even streaming services have become personalized even TV and film have been more personalized with the rise of streaming services having personalized recommendations so the shift from cable just showing whatever was available and everyone just watching that people have more agency and choice over the content that they consume and what they're watching so it's a lot easier now so instead of aora we're not seeing a popular movie or show would make you seem like out of touch and out the loop with just general pop culture nowadays if you haven't seen a popular show or popular movie you may have just not heard of it because it wasn't trending on your side of the internet or wasn't being promoted on your algorithm and most interestingly we've seen a dramatic increase in the personalization of Music consumption with the rise of music apps like Spotify that directly give you individualized playlists full of new and old music People's music tastes are expanding while also being more Niche than they ever been if that makes sense like it's so much easier now to be tapped into a wide array of music from artists that everyone knows to artists that may just be getting started out which can essentially make everyone the like underground listener unintentionally which is really cool for aspiring artists because there's more widespread discoverability of their music and content but in terms of day-to-day interpersonal relatability for like what we as a generation or like we in our community of people in gen ZZ like it makes it kind of difficult because we don't all like the same things because we're not all consuming the same content and with these different means of content consumption and different forms of content being consumed enters the micro Trends in micro cultures now typically the phrase microt trend is used in a fashion context of like a micro fashion trend or like a Fab that comes in for like a year or a season then comes out I'm using microt Trend more liberally but also including just like General trends that we seeing online and on social media getting into different subgroups subcultures and sub communities is a lot more common and a lot easier than before and in that we've sort of created this lust for an aesthetic like it's cool and almost coveted to have an aesthetic that you fall under and to incapsulate you such your general interests General Vibes and look to you can be described as blank aesthetic and these Aesthetics can come and go and be more Niche or more mainstream than others with popular recent Aesthetics being things like the aore aesthetic the cat clean girl aesthetic it boy aesthetic mob wife Cottage core like you can you can go on and on and on there are different Aesthetics you can choose to fall under and each of those Aesthetics kind of come with their own Community their own look their own their own like oh how you can look like this these certain places and activities give a certain aesthetic so if you want to be this aesthetic you can participate in these things essentially forming personalities and identities for people which isn't inherently bad thing I know I kind of made that seem like it was like ooh you shouldn't use social media to build your personality but that's not inherently a bad thing it's just something to notice because it's new in a blog post written by Jasmine Harris talking about genz subcultures stating that though it's another space where they're happy to move freely between various groups aesthetic subcultures still give a sense of identity it's not just going to the gym but they're a Barry's boot camp goer not just a makeup Lo but a glossier girl and in this context they're talking more about how there's more so brand Allegiance with these different subcultures and groups but what can be pulled for this is the need to label and create these identities around around these different interest hobbies to essentially create these identities for ourselves like you're not just someone that likes neutrals putting your hair in a slickback bun in journaling no you're a clean girl you're not just someone who's black and likes nicer things and experiences you're black girl or black boy luxury and like I said these Aesthetics these categories aren't bad things in fact they're really convenient and they're really fun especially when they're working for you and you feel like you can upkeep that aesthetic and upkeep that Vibe I'm just saying that while that can be true it is also true that the reliance the yearning to have or fit into an aesthetic can cause can contribute to this identity crisis that a lot of people in gen Z face when it comes to figuring out who you are as a person and who you truly are outside of these Myriad of different Aesthetics that are out there I know a lot of people can feel isolated like they don't have a set Identity or don't really know who they are if they don't fit into an aesthetic if they don't resonate with an aesthetic or have a vibe that they necessarily fit into yet and of course having a sense of style or set of interests is important but the Reliance on having this outward facing image to have people categorize and label you as an in it shouldn't always be this aspirational thing like it's okay to grow and to change and to not necessarily always fit in Within These Aesthetics or in these different subcultures but as you grow and as you learn it shouldn't be like you hop from aesthetic to aesthetic hot from vibe to Vibe like you should be free to grow and expand who you are outside of that and shouldn't feel pressur to fall into a niche and I feel like some of that really stems from the whole like need for everyone to be a brand and everyone to have their own brand which could be an entirely different video about the commod ation and monetization of personalities and who we are as people so if you want to see a full video on that let me know cuz that sounds kind of fun but I feel like a lot of people are having like this identity crisis because like who are we outside of the content and media that we consume on a daily basis like who are we really outside of that in some say of these Aesthetics and microt Trend or whatever are really great for like finding community of people that are like-minded and are interested in similar things but while yes that can also be true there's also irony in that in the sense like the deeper that you go down these pipelines the deeper that you go down into these Aesthetics and more and more Niche the fewer and fewer people you can actually relate to until you get down to a really Niche down form of your aesthetic of the content that you consume that really is personal to you and can only really suit you and while that's an extreme case and not the case for everybody it's just like the conversation of how much is too much and how far do we go with individualized content and just the sense of individualism as opposed to something that's more communal and Community oriented because as we' talked about in previous videos in this series Jen is also going through a loneliness epidemic in terms of like being able to relate with each other be in community with each other and in make genuine connections and siloing ourselves off in the content that we consume can contribute to that because there's less for us to necessarily relate with if we're not watching similar things or able to make similar references and I feel like looking forward in the future if we're not more intentional about that things are only going to get more so personalized especially with the increased integration of AI in the content and media that we can assume it's eventually going to get down to a science where content media that serve to you is specifically tailored to you one to one like algorithms are only going to get better at serving you the content that they know you're going to want to watch but yeah is Gen Z in an identity crisis that can't be fixed and we're all just so messed up no but I do still feel like we are less holistically connected than people have been cracking us up to be and that's not necessarily a bad thing because I feel like where it matters a lot of us can come together to have similar values I guess but in terms of the content that we consume and the references that we make and are just general interest we're kind of all over the place and again that's okay well that's all I got for today yall let me know down in the comments what you think about this do you feel like jiny has an identity crisis and do you see the disconnect between different parts of our generation through the internet let me know all your thoughts down in the comment section below again if you're new and like content like this and subscribe leave a like on this video follow me on my socials at emergency on Instagram Tik Tok and Twitter and other than that y'all I have an emergency and I will see you in the next video peace

Channel: imuRgency

Views: 103,696

Keywords: Imurgency, rumi, gen Z, commentary, gen z memes, gen z humor, gen z cringe, gen z vs millennials, gen z representation, gen alpha, generation alpha, gen alpha humor, gen z vs gen alpha, gen alpha vs gen z, media literacy, millenials, gen z is dumb, gen alpha can't read, gen alpha sephora, quarter life crisis, gen z aging, gen z aging faster, gen z aging like milk, micro trend, clean girl aesthetic, victoria monet, candid girlfriend, it boy, nara smith, trad wife

Id: 3TQRVkK5Is4

Length: 14min 55sec (895 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 06 2024