In a world where social justice is the rallying cry of a generation, there's a certain irony that seems to be lost on many Gen Zers. They brand themselves as socially conscious, champions of equality, and advocates for the underprivileged. Yet, beneath the surface of their Instagram posts and TikTok rants lies a stark reality: many of them have never truly experienced the hardships they so passionately decry.
It starts with their upbringing. For a significant portion of Gen Z, teenage years were not spent flipping burgers, bagging groceries, or working odd jobs to save up for college or the latest iPhone. Instead, many were cushioned by their parents' wealth, particularly trust funds that guaranteed them a safety net from the start. Their first jobs were not entry-level, but cushy middle-class positions that required education, but not the kind of hard-knock life lessons that come from scraping by. This financial insulation has bred a generation that is knowledgeable but lacks wisdom, that speaks about inequality without truly understanding it.
This lack of real-world experience manifests in subtle but telling ways. In person, the same Gen Z individuals who passionately tweet about equality and justice often look down on the very people they claim to support—the poor, the working class, those who didn't have the luxury of a financial cushion growing up. There's a sense of detachment, a lack of empathy that comes from never having been in the shoes of those they pity from a distance.
And this is exactly what I encounter at Telecare. Many of the younger staff members, fresh out of college and armed with degrees in psychology or social work, approach their jobs with an air of superiority. They talk about understanding mental illness and poverty, yet they treat the patients—many of whom have lived lives of real struggle—with thinly veiled condescension. They have the knowledge, sure, but they lack the life experiences that breed true empathy.
At Telecare, the divide is palpable. The younger generation's lack of real-world struggle shows in their interactions with the patients. There's a disconnect, a failure to truly connect with those who have faced life's harshest realities. It's easy to claim to be socially conscious when you've never had to choose between rent and groceries, when your biggest worry is which grad school to attend, not where your next meal is coming from.
The inequality that Gen Z claims to fight against is, in many ways, perpetuated by their own ignorance of what it means to struggle. It's not entirely their fault—how can you understand hardship when you've never experienced it? But it's a reality that needs to be addressed. If Gen Z truly wants to be the generation that brings about change, they need to step out of their comfort zones and into the real world. They need to understand that knowledge is not the same as wisdom, and that social consciousness goes beyond hashtags and protests—it requires a genuine connection with those who have lived through the very struggles they seek to eliminate.
In the end, the trust funds that have cushioned many of their lives have also bought them a certain level of inequality—one that they must acknowledge and overcome if they truly want to make a difference. Otherwise, all their talk of social justice will remain just that: talk.
by Dan and Bonkers
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Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?