Gen Z's Social Skills Are Disappearing, Here's Why 

And thank you to our sponsor Skillshare the platform that I used when I was starting out to learn how to edit. Be the first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/gen07231 What do you guys think, are GEN Z social skills getting worse? Let's start a thread.

I’m gen z and I’ve noticed it’s remarkably easier to strike up a conversation with a stranger of an older generation than with a stranger of gen z

I’m 18 and I tend to talk with people older than me easier than my own age… because Gen Z doesn’t know basic social skills, you say “hi how are you” and they look at you like you’ve just committed 1st degree quadrupole murder

I’m a millennial, 37, and I can tell you this trend isn’t exclusive to genz. People in general have become more disconnected from each other as time passes, the pandemic accelerated this. Older generations are definitely more mentally resilient than genz because we had the chance to live through times where we weren’t so dependent of technology, and didn’t self isolate/escape from reality like genz does.

The #1 thing wrong with My Gen is empathy, The internet has destroyed our capability to see another person's pov, They say they're open-minded but that couldn't be farther from the truth ,

As a person who was in middle school before TikTok was a huge thing I can tell you people destroyed bathrooms just as much back then as they do now

I think poor parenting is a huge factor. My wife and I (millenials) limited our gen z kids' access to the internet. They don't use IG, TikTok, FB, X, etc. and they only have their friends IRL on their messenger apps. We use content filters, app/device timers, and etc. Also, we have the kids do all sorts of activities, like basketball, piano, swimming, martial arts, art/dance classes, tennis. This forces them to socialize with many people while learning/excercising. It also keeps them and forms a habbit of being busy. And we spend loads of time together, like having meals together, going on bike rides, camping, trips, to church, etc. It takes a lot of effort and can cost a lot but thats just how it is these days.

GEN casually dropping the best and un biased journalism than most self proclaimed "independent journalists" keep up the good work

I feel like we are in the era of “cut that person off if they don’t bring you happiness” but that’s such an extreme action that I believe burns bridges and adds to the loneliness epidemic. There is both good and bad in people, and if you cut them off because of the bad (and of course, this depends on what the “bad” is), you’re also cutting yourself off from experiencing the good. I just feel like when it comes to friendships and building a community, there are different types of friends and different levels of closeness, and all are okay. Not everyone can give you everything, and the sooner you understand this, the more likely you are to adjust your expectations and be able to deal with everyone at a capacity that works for you.

People fall into social media BECAUSE they feel isolated in real life. I'm a millennial, and video games and the internet filled the void in my life growing up. I was bullied at school, and nobody I really liked lived nearby. I was an only child for the first 13 years of my life, so that didn't help either. I had a few friends that lived nearby, but all we ever really did was play video games at each other's houses or play in the church parking lot or woods. But eventually we all got too old and outgrew the latter. Then we all became adults with jobs and moved. The one friend I had who didn't move, he died a few years ago. My only consistent companions throughout my life have been pets.

As someone who is part of Gen Z, I really do feel it is social media. Social media, ironically, is not social, at least in the intimate sense that really matters for true emotional satisfaction and personal growth. On top of that, social media makes it so much easier to feel like the world is getting crazy, because drama sells. All we see online is people with extremist views and people complaining about extremists views, because typically the regular people who aren't insane either don't post or don't care to give opinions. So much of the internet is dopamine and doomer content if you let it get into your head it can absolutely make you feel like the world is a fucked up place - which it is, but I think social media exaggerates in an unhealthy way.

It’s not 100% Gen Zs fault for not having good social skills. Some parents barely raise them and don’t push them to socialize at a young age. Usually they just buy them a tablet or another device and call it a day, hence the term “IPad kid”. Some parents even prevent kids from hanging out with other people and gaining social experience which causes them to stay inside more, an example of that is me. If my parents weren’t strict I’d probably have a lot better social skills

I admire older, especially elderly people, for their ability to be honest and have a conversation with anyone. They have a lot of wisdom to share. They’ve already lived so many years and experienced so many things, there’s no point for them to be socially anxious.

I love how your videos aren't just street interviews, you got a bit of research mixed in. Feels like a mini doc in a way.

I love how we constantly talk about mental health, and nobody ever brings up diet, and sleep. The quality of food that people eat is sooo bad and full of sugar and stimulants your body isn't going to form properly or function properly. Not to mention the polarization on what people think a healthy diet is literally ridiculous. My whole life I thought something was seriously wrong with me and once I found how to eat, my life became 1 million times easier.

I am a Gen Z and my biggest life stressor is money. I think about affording my house, car insurance, credit that I have to pay back at the end of the month, my phone bill, utilities, and even not being able to do things that people my age should be doing bc I can’t afford it like taking a mini vacation once in a while and going somewhere or simply going out to eat. I lack social skills that my mother at my age had. When my mother was 20 yrs old she knew how to cook like real meals, clean, had a stable job w/ good income, had multiple friends, and even had a boyfriend. I am 20 yrs old and the most exposure I have ever gotten to social skills has been from getting customer service jobs to help me through college and many of the experiences I’ve had in these jobs have made me dislike people and become more introverted than I already was. I have less than 5 friends and most of them are family members w/ exception of a few and I have a hard time having stable friendships. I grew up w/ Disney channel, HSM, Camp Rock, Nickelodeon and even Barbie from 2012. I had DVDs and CDs and toys to play w/. I did not know what social media was until I got into 6ths grade and even then I did not really care. One thing that did bring me great memories was online games on computers and I would oftentimes prefer them over going out w/ my mom. Knowing how I grew up and the lack of social media u would think I would be different but really I turned out pretty similar to other Gen Zs so I don’t think social media is so much the sole problem but rather a combination of rising costs, more competition (education, jobs, etc), and higher expectations bc of life being made “easier”. I also think that bc everything is easier to report on in today’s society we see more of the problems of my generation and how they affect everyone than previous generations

One of the things I definitely agree with every generation is social media did more harm than good.

I'm Gen Z, and I feel pretty helpless when it comes to socializing/screen time. I grew up in a small town, but I wasn't allowed to go outside my house when I was a kid unless my parents were there. Even though we lived in the country, by farms and everything. So, I sat inside watching TV or RU-vid for most of my summers growing up. I didn't live by any kids my age. At school, I was bullied and rejected by the kids in my class, so that just drove me to retreat to spending hours on RU-vid. I was raised to be terrified of people every time I went outside. As a little girl/young woman, my parents raised me to be scared of any sort of person. Men, strangers, to an extent guys my age too. My childhood was isolating, and now I don't have a clue what to do with my life.

I'm a part of Gen Z, and yes I have issues with talking to people. But that's mostly because of bad experiences and because the world by itself is a lot different than it was a decade ago. Nowadays a lot of people (especially Gen Z) meet other people through the internet.

I have a feeling that some Gen Z that want to become parents might want to raise their kids away from internet. Especially the self-aware ones that realised that internet isolated them. Also, I hope you enjoyed your stay in Montréal.

One of the challenges with online "friends" and communities is that they become echo chambers. A person can curate their friends and influences to only be people that agree with them and check all the boxes. Learning to belong and have social empathy and compassion is to be around people who aren't just like you and think just like you with everything.

I’m gen Z and just graduated high school, two of my fours year were taken because of Covid and I think that also had a detrimental impact on this generation, with our already low social skills due to social media combined with loss of our developmental years in high school has caused my class of friends to seem like distant strangers. Most people in my class have never even had a relationship and are going out into the real world, I think many in gen Z often feel lost in current society. Personally I hate that I was born with technology as I know is has been detrimental to my mental health and others close to my age.

One thing that isn't discussed enough is that gen Z is the smallest generation in modern American history. When our parents, the boomers were kids the average age was VERY young around 16. There were more young people in totality. Now the average age in the United States is mid 40s. Social structures such as community organizations like bowling leagues or churches have seen a decrease attendance for decades. My advice to fellow Gen Zr's is work on your irl social skills especially young men. This will help you attract partners and have more future opportunities. Our generation isn't doomed we just have different challenges.

When we were younger, everyone was saying the millennials were the worst generation ever, and now it’s moved on to the next generation. It’s just what happens, older people hate on younger people, and then those young people become the older people, and hate on the younger generation. Rinse and repeat.

I think as a 47 year old married man of three kids. Biggest advice I would give is “take your time”. We live now in a generation of we get everything now. Amazon, TV series, skills etc. The stuff that is worthwhile takes time. Working relationships, friendships, credit scores, financial goals, learning a skill, learning a sport. These things take time and won’t happen overnight. It’s about consistency over a period of time and so long as you can stick at something, whatever it is you will get there but unlike this fast paced lifestyle we have. The things that matter to you and will ultimately help you takes time to build and create. Just don’t give up if the results aren’t immediate. Best wishes to anyone that is struggling. You WILL get there.

I used to be super critical of Gen Z (im a millenial) but i actually have a lot of empathy for them...thrust into a highly technological albeit lonely society, fixated by tons of highlt addictive distractions at the tips of their fingers, they didnt stand a chance

The dad with the gray hat saying his 18 year old grew up in front of a screen. Lol that’s your fault. You’re the one that allowed him to do that. Parents are 90% to blame if a kid doesn’t develop properly. It’s your job to stop them from doing bad things, teach them good values, and push them to be better.

Older generations never take accountability of raising gen z lmao

I think the greatest gift Gen Z has is the capacity to communicate with everyone, but a big downside that comes with that is the overwhelming truth that there are more people out there; leading to a feeling of people being replaceable, cutting off any criticism because there's someone else that'll agree with you. We now have bridges between all these islands, but there's just more and more islands, rather than one big landmass-like sense of community that older generations probably felt.

As a 28 year old I have found it difficult to get to meet more people. People have always been like oh just just go to places and you’ll meet people but the time it takes and the awkwardness makes it seem like not worth it. Especially when you can just get online and talk with the same group friends from high school

I'm 18 and I live in the US Personally I hated my childhood and it really feels like I missed out due to social problems I never had a group to hang out in person, school was miserable and useless, and being forced to have your parent drive you anywhere and everywhere completely sucks for a social life and independence Whenever I see friends biking together or to school in the Netherlands, or some anime about a group of friends hanging out every day after school, it makes me really sad

I left my toxic friend group after high school. I knew that loneliness, as painful as it is, would be better than staying in a destructive environment. To prove to myself that solitude doesn't last forever, I went outside. I made "friends" in college. We exchanged numbers. Then after every semester ended, without fail, the people I met would ghost me. It's not from lack of trying, some people are just unfriendly. (Edit) it's worth mentioning, now that the semester has started again, some of my other high school friends/friends who were in the toxic friend group have reached out to me to hang out away from the toxic friend group, and introducing me to some new friends as well, so that's nice. There's hope for everyone, including you.

Gen z are not inherently weak or soft, it’s the environment they we are put in that influences us to be like that.

Gen Z is losing IRL social skills, absolutely. But not just the nonsense Boomers talk about. They're in real social decline. Social media makes everyone more connected to people than ever before, but with less connection to people than ever before... Screens really ARE killing us. That's a big reason why EVERYONE is so lonely nowadays. People have no idea how to talk to each other anymore, social anxiety is on the rise, mental health issues are now paraded as personality traits to TRY to fit in with groups, and a therapist can be found every 5 paces (or every other swipe on Tik Tok). All IMO, of course.

why aren't you at a million subs yet? You are one of the best unbiased journalism on the internet! And I love the fact that you let a lot of people speak their opinion and truth without shame. Thank you! More people should have your channel in their recommended.

One thing I notice is that a lot of younger people (not all, obviously) have really poor speaking skills. Whether its social, or often even on video platforms - the don't speak clearly, with expression, don't know how to pronounce words, etc. That does make person to person social skills harder. But it's often not their fault - they haven't been given opportunities or guidance to develop spoken skills.

I think the reliance of social media is just a by-product of not having anything to do. In the UK we have a major issue of the shutting down of youth centers where kids hang out and do activities.

Always look at every generation with empathy/sympathy and understanding. We are all just people reacting to the environment we were brought into.

Its tough sometimes... you get out and try to improve your social skills, but realize a lot of the people you interact with are, themselves, struggling with the same problem and not necessarily the best 'practice partner' so to speak. Couple that with the issue of sensitivity... the longer you go with little to no social interaction, the more you read too far into things and/or misinterpret what would otherwise be a mundane or innocent statement. That, of course, ramps up your anxiety levels and makes you want to exit the interaction sooner rather than later, robbing you of your chance to improve.

Great video. So ironic when during COVID we confined people for 3 years to save older people and then older people are suprised that younger people are less social lmao

It's essential to take note of the age at which social media has entered people's lives. We all use social media, but Gen Z grew up with it and has less of a basis for social interaction outside of it. Gen Z's heavier exposure to social media from a young age has primed them to excel at interaction via social media and struggle with in-person interaction. It's important to note that younger/less mature people are typically more impulsive and susceptible to negative influences, causing the adverse effects of social media to be more pronounced for Gen Z compared to previous generations. Social media is very much a drug with a neverending search for the next hit of dopamine (a stranger complimenting you, a like on your post, a new video to watch). Heavy drug usage can strongly impact people's lives, and the same holds true (and even more so) for those who have been exposed to something addictive like social media from a young age. Gen Z is in an environment where many of life's milestones that catalyze maturity and independence (e.g., higher education, living on your own, marriage, homeownership, having children) are increasingly difficult to achieve due to economic reasons. Similarly to how wages have been mostly stagnant, social maturity is stagnating too. This is inhibiting Gen Z from enhancing their social skills outside of social media and 'moving forward' in life. Unfortunately, social media itself is an echo chamber for many of these realities, adding to the baggage that Gen Z has. I was born in 1995 so I'm right on the cusp and can understand the different points of both Gen Z and Millenials. I remember virtually never touching social media in middle school, but it's now so ubiquitous it's challenging for many to strike a balance. Too much of anything isn't good, so let's all try to strike a balance in how we interact socially, regardless of our age.

Avoidance of conflict in person, that's what I noticed teaching gen Z students. They rather make chat groups to complain which become echo chambers, when in fact, most of the discontent I had from students was that I was strict with instructions, and most of them didn't pay attention to them. That's also why I also see so many gen Zers quiet quitting, they prefer to not communicate in person their challenges and leave things behind like if they're scrolling down in life.

People that hate this generation and wish they could be born in a different one (me included) need to realized that if we weren't born at this time there would be no hope for the future generations so we really need to do our best to try and influence the people around us to try and be better. I think GEN is a perfect example of that. He not only tries to get people thinking about important questions like this but he also does it in such a kind way that leaves you not defensive but like you're heard. Love his content

I'd categorize social skills as the "ability to relate to other human beings". And yes, I do believe that social media challenges people's abilities to do so. Echo chambers swell people's egos to larger than life levels, and internet conflicts and drama makes people adverse to opposing ideologies. I feel like Gen-Z (and people too connected to the internet) may sometimes be too rigid to properly relate, feel like they fit in, or take interest in other people, thus impacting their social skills.

Every generation has people who are disrespectful. It's certainly not just Gen Z.

I think social media is a big problem. My kids are not allowed on social media an they are happy with no mental problems but bunch of their friends that are on social media alot have a lot of metal challenges. It's just so sad to me

Honestly as someone who was born in a time period where a generation was ending and another beginning. No one was prepared for what social media had in store for the next generation. I am considered born in Gen-Z, but a good portion of my younger years was grown very much in the millennial society. I think I can attribute a lot of the confusion and difficulties growing up solely based off social media alone, but I also understand that social media is not as bad as it's made out to be under the right supervision you can most certainly navigate it responsibly, but as so many kids are they are given unrestricted unlimited access to the internet where they are introduced to concepts they are not equipped to consume and contextualize and they are then tasked with dealing with all the responsibility of what how that affects their brain by themselves which is why just growing up as a GEN-Z is a difficult task alone.

I want to add my two cents on this as a gen z. Ironically, this video makes me feel better about myself. I've always struggled with socializing and it did not help that i couldn't MAKE eye contact in the past (i've gotten a lot better now, although i still find it challenging to maintain prolonged eye contact) and that all my parents did regarding my low social skills was criticize me and not guide me on how to properly socialize. It took a lot of hard work, but i'm seeing LOTS of progress in my social life, and my parents are finally seeing it too. I still struggle with socializing till this day, but seeing how i'm not the only one struggling with social skills, thus this video, i can at least feel better about myself and not beat myself up too much because of my social skills. I know that an entire generation not knowing how to socialize is BAD bad, but at least this video will (hopefully) open up many people's eyes, and make other people like myself not feel alone in their problems regarding socializing.

We do spend too much time online and it’s sad but I personally think the issue stems from how socialized were we as kids as well as regulating time on social media. If you aren’t taken to party’s you won’t know how to have one as an adult. It’s new and takes experience to learn.

I remember when they said all this about millennials, "millennials are killing this industry, the economy, etc." "they have no manners, social skills, etc." It always seemed like a scapegoat for boomers and gen x to me (as a millennial) and now I'm 40 and I'm sure of it. The same is happening to gen Z now. It's really just a world of entitled old, focused on money, thats leaving so many new generations behind as technology, and opportunities for quick money, become their only real focus. They don't care about building a future for the new generations anymore. It's just about them.

Closing ourselves into an echo bubble of like-minded people is made much easier with "social" media. Like that red hair girl said, her best friends are thousands of miles away and she didn't even met them in person, as for me that doesnt sound like a true friend. Getting outside our bubble, finding people that don't think like ourselves is what needs to start happening. I'm guilty of this too.

The success of your channel actually shows that as a generation we hunger for journalism and truth. But we don't trust most of thes news platforms that provide it. Your channel is awesome because you actually trying to find the answers in an unbiased and genuine way. This video was dope.

i’m a gen z and still a minor, I really think reels/shorts + mindless and/or doom scrolling has killed patience and any form of consideration, which are important to socializing it’s a depressing sight to see kids my age so close to each other, but glued to their phones, not that the phones themselves are bad but that they aren’t even trying to use it as a catalyst or even just a medium to bond or find friends i’m sure a simple “what’re you watching/doing/looking at” is not hard to think to ask, maybe they think it’s easier to be happy that way, and it makes me upset they won’t listen unless they’ve already been sunk into a bleak environment there’s also the reason that the internet makes you believe everyone is out to get you, so now you have a cycle where weak minds, that get hurt easily and can’t take a meaningless eye roll or a disaparaging stare, think of everyone else as people that’ll give them an ultimatum that they’re strange, and if rejected will only ostracize them the message “live in the present” that i see occasionally doesn’t mean to make yourself happy now and forget the past and future, it means to minimize focus on past traumas and grievances, to enjoy where you are now in the present and try your best to make decisions that end in a happier future

I wish you would have asked "what or who is to blame for gen z's social troubles?" Because something that older generations always forget to acknowledge is WHO RAISED THE KIDS THEY'RE COMPLAINING ABOUT. I'm a millennial, but recently my dad (a boomer) was criticizing gen z for spending so much time playing video games, etc. "Back in my day, we played outside until the street lights came on!" I reminded him that HE didn't let me play outside by myself (not that any of my friends lived in walking distance anyway), and that if video games had existed when he was a kid, he 100000% would have played them too. I also found it interesting that one of the interviewees said that people are more judgmental IRL. That has been the complete opposite of my experience. People feel so emboldened to write hateful shit on the internet because they're behind a keyboard. They spew stuff they'd never say to someone's face. It IS easier to find a community that doesn't challenge any of your views online, vs real life. But I think that's very different from people being less judgmental online.

As a 27 year old millenial, I've talked with a bunch of Gen Z teens and young adults and the common theme for me was that they are easily startled at the idea of someone they don't know approaching them. Sometimes it's because they're on their phone for hours on end and you go up to them and say hi and it's like you just shattered the fucking matrix and now they're back to reality so they're startled. Sometimes it's just you'll go up to one of them cuz you like the song they play on their boombox and want to ask what song this is and you can tell they are somewhat uncomfortable having to interact with strangers. There is something else though I have noticed, which is that a lot of them exhibit traits of poor parenting. And I say that because it shows : a lot of them are confused and not only lack basic boundaries, they sometimes don't even get the concept of boundaries, which to me suggests their parents likely fucked up big time and were too careless with them. This reminds me when I was a kid, our parents would complain that we spent too much time playing video games or watching porn (not much of a difference there eh gen z), and they argued that they should limit porn access or screen time for young teenagers. What they really should have done is explain to us why and how too much screen time or porn can be harmful and why we should learn to limit ourselves or vary our activities .. But hey, parents these days want to do fuck all and will then go on to blame the younger generations for bathing in the consequences of their shitty parenting. Not pointing it out to put all the blame on our parents, as it's still our responsibility as human beings to fix our shit by ourselves, but there's definitely a pattern there. People these days want better children, but they're not willing to be better parents to those children. And that's how you end up with entitled shitlings or confused little fucks.

Nonverbal social queues have evolved over centuries for our survival and are misunderstood or absent from GenZ. Gestures, facial expressions, voice tone and flexion, chest movement from light or heavy breathing, using hands to tell stories, genuine or fake smile, touching themselves or others, how animated a person is, tapping or fidgeting, and many more but most importantly your EYES. Humans have evolved to have whites around their eyes to show others what they are pointing at. We have developed this so much, you can recognize the difference if someone from across the room is looking at your eyes or your nose! Most of GenZ is deplorable with eye contact and it's the most important nonverbal communication humans possess.

Each generation, in its own unique way, struggles with maintaining foresight and often unintentionally contributes to the challenges we face. Unfortunately, the only solution is to focus on self-improvement and work on fixing our own issues.

I think the issue is the fact that a lot of gen z uses social media to socialize instead of face to face. They replace real friends with online friends and don’t have to get used to that face to face socialization. Gen z no longer feels the need to get used to socialize since they have social media. Not to mention that social media is telling them they have all these mental disorders, so now they can use that as an excuse not to socialize.

I'm gen z and I can 100% say that gen z is pathetically weak mentally and physically. Social skills are non existent in I'd say around 80-90% of my generation. A big issue I'd say is hedonism. Most people my age only care about immediate gratification, and don't want to put work in to get anything out of life. They have huge egos and are unwilling or unable to set them aside and admit, "Hey maybe I'm not so perfect after all." Everything I've mentioned is something I've dealt with myself. I am not above any of this and I think this generation is on course for disaster.

I’m a genz and I don’t agree. If you’re friendless or can’t communicate with others it’s not because your aren’t outside or online, it’s because you’re reluctant to talk to new people(older generations have this problem and younger ones). Also the whole going outside debate never made sense to me. You can still talk to friends or FaceTime. The reason why a lot don’t go outside is because it’s not safe. I constantly worry about being outside because on my phone every few hours there’s a new amber alert, hundreds of thousands of people getting kidnapped yearly. Also I spend a lot of time studying. Older generations are always saying “study hard,get good grade, go to college” yet if you’re at home studying it’s “why are you always inside”. I remember with millennials they had the opposite issue where many older generations would say “why are these millennials always outside and never home?”. But now gen z is mainly at home and older generations still see it as a problem. There’s no pleasing older generations. And the same thing will happen to the next generations to come. I don’t live to please older people, I don’t care if you hate my fashion, who I am, who I like, the music I listen to. I hate how the older generations always want younger ones to be like them. Trends are constantly shifting, mindsets are constantly changing. You are not like your parents, and your children and grandchildren will not be like you. I think THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED so we can stop the generational hatred

You hit the nail on the head. Less socialisation and sociability, although a concern, is a red herring. What we are not cultivating in this new technological world is the development of resilience and self-awareness or a newly needed paradigm for developing resilience and self-awareness. This is the problem, and this is what we need to raise more awareness over. Good job GEN!

I'm gen z Ive been working at a trader joes for that past year and a half and it's encouraged that we have a nice conversation with every customer we check out, well one thing I noticed with the younger people is that they at first are hesitant, avoid eye contact, and pull their phones out as fast as possible this is especially prevalent with our new customers, but as soon as I start talking it's like a shock that I genuinely want to talk with them. With older people they tend to ask me first how my day is going and make full eye contact during the conversation and throughout the year ive been picking up all the social skills that i can so i can help makes someones day a little better, the amount of old heads (the men) that go from grouch to goofballs is always fun to see all it takes is a question.

As a teacher, yes. The social skills of GenZ are significantly worse than previous generations, even millennials like me. These are kids who grew up with a tablet in their hands the moment they came out of the womb. As a result they’ve become addicted to having entertainment of their choosing 100% of the time. When they go to school they have such a hard time understanding why things can’t be their way all the time: I have had students curse at me that the lesson is boring and that they want to go home. I don’t care that they said the lesson was boring- I’m here to teach not entertain- but, the lack of filter and respect for an adult shows that these kids simply cannot handle any level of discomfort. They don’t want to go home to learn their own way, they want their next dopamine hit because I don’t let them play on their phones in class. They have meltdowns and tantrums the moment you tell them no, because they aren’t used to it. The parents are just as bad in many situations since they have no idea how to parent or are overwhelmed- being a single parent unfortunately has few upsides. These kids also cannot speak to each other without getting offended or offending each other. The anecdote I give is of this girl, let’s call her H, who was talking to me during class about how she hates all the other kids because they don’t know how to talk right. Then another girl walks past us to her seat and H looks at this girl and says, “your hair always like that?” This other girl gets up and it looks like I’m about to have a brawl in my class. I then ask H what she meant by her statement, and H says that she actually liked that hair style and wanted to copy it. At which point I realized that genZ is dumb and does not know how to communicate because of social media and Covid-19. Not everyone is so far gone, but it’s scary to think that these kids will be voting in a few short years (I teach HS btw).

One thing I think is worth mentioning is when it comes to online personalities, no matter how hard each side try’s, the relationship is always a more parasocial. So it ends up starving people of a more deep and interpersonal relationship that we all need in life

I feel like we can’t just blame the internet, growing up if I went outside with friends there would always be someone complaining about us being too loud, third places for kids practically don’t exist, so we are raised to have our social interactions online. In a lot of places it’s practically illegal to hang out with friends outside, so of course our social skills are going to be worse.

Gen Z have got it hard. I'm 19 and from small Russian town, so I'm kind of lucky to experience life before 4G internet. I was 12-13 when I got it. First it was great. I could download any song I DREAMED of downloading (Or stream, when I found out about it), I could play and game I DREAMED of playing, could play online games which was something so desirable and unattainable since I was a kid, could watch videos and didn't have to wait for hours for it to load. Memes, skateboarding tutorials for tricks I wanted to do. But then I started to get used to it and it stopped being so fabulous. Suddenly life became black and white, things stopped being so exciting. I started to experience boredom, laziness, tiredness. And I'm still dealing with this - Social anxiety, depression, uncertainty, overwhelming. All this modern crap But people tend to overlook how GREAT internet is. I learned English by watching American, British, European content. I learned some music theory and piano, learned how to make beats and had an opportunity to stream legendary albums that have a large influence on me. Internet gave me perspective on other countries and their governments, societies and how efficient and human they are compared to Put in's regime (That's why Russian government talk so much about banning internet) It would never happen if I was isolated in my sh*ttown Social media companies, Mark Zuckerberg, Only Fans, P*rn cites use this new phenomenon to make money on sad, lonely, depressed people that just don't know how to live in a new crazy world. It's a HUGE business I think our job as Gen Z is to stop this garbage, rebuild society, or adapt it to the new world and solve problems that Millennials and generations before caused. Get rich, buy Twitch, fire all ultra left idiots. You know, that kind of stuff

I do well with most Gen Z and I'm an older Millennial. In my experience, they're open and willing to exchange and share honest thoughts and feelings. It's rewarding for me when I meet those over a decade younger than myself who actually want to have an open connection with people they meet in life. I only want to share life with those who want to have interest in what I mean and who I really am. Bless those who have the opportunity to know this relationship with another. Most of us don't even know how to examine the worth in it alone, let alone having it.

I think the pandemic definitely had a big impact on my life. I felt like during the pandemic I wasn't able to be held accountable; I was constantly slacking off missing my homework due dates, playing games during class. It definitely led to a lack of discipline. Before the pandemic, I used to get my work done right away before doing anything else, while after the pandemic, I definitely procrastinated a bit more.

I am born in 2008, and I am what I like to call a hikikkomori baby (a shut in baby), basically a hikikkomori is someone who rarely if not ever goes outside and does not interact with anyone, or had very poor social skills/is a social reject. I was born in Japan where this kind of lifestyle is a bit normalized, and in fact, hikikkomori is a Japanese term. But since I moved to the states, the only times I really went outside was a lot less than other kids, you could blame this on me being autistic, but since I really only went outside to go to school and sometimes other things like seeing family, I would beg my parents to stay longer because I was so starved of social interaction. When I was old enough (like 6 ish when I learned how to type and read more), I decided to use devices like the computer and maybe that was a bit of a mistake. But even to this day all of my friends are on the internet, even a few of my irl friends turned into online friends. I struggle a lot with mental illness. I am not a hikikkomori anymore, but it really took a toll on my social life. And both of my parents were a bit absent, but even then my mom still took the little time she had to care for me and encourage me, while my dad just abused me and made me hate the outside world and was *extremely* racist to my Asian half. It is very hard to say whether it was the fact I was isolated and reliant on phones that caused my bad social skills and mental illnesses, or if it was the fact I was abused. I was NEVER a disobedient child, I was one of the really few well behaved kids that rarely did bad fuckups, I feel like I have the social skills of a

We live in the era of social media, and since majority of the Gen Zs are much more accustomed to chatting and taking video calls, we’ve grown less accustomed to actually talking face to face with other people. I do have low self-esteem and even I can’t make new friends.

When i had this crappy moment where I was doing uber eats deliveries I had a pickup from a little restaurant at a uni. I asked a few people who were walking through the campus for directions they kinda just looked at me weird, didn't say anything and kept walking. In the end I had no choice but to ask one of the librarians where this little restaurant was. So much time could've been saved had SOMEONE just had the balls to say "Yeah it's down that way" smh

I've been waiting so much for this video. I truly appreciate your work and I believe you are doing more for my generation than most politicians. We are a vengeful generation ready to give air to our mouth before having data, thinking about what we are saying and what effect will it do. You are teaching us critical thinking, learning both sides for then pondering where the truth is. We have the right passion but we don't know how to use it. People like you are our redemption.

It's kinda strange, this generation (me included, I'm almost 20). Because my brother and I were homeschooled and educated in classical education, we were always perceived as the "weirdos" who were probably anti social. When in reality, we had more social skills than public schoolers, because they started going up with a screen as their "parent" and had other, antisocial friends. We, on the other hand, knew how to interact even with adults and elderly people with no issues, which impressed a lot of people. Now, with apps like snapchat, kids my age ONLY know how to interact with others roughly the same age... and they often become anti social among anyone else. I, on the other hand, can interact with anyone. The people;e I have problems socializing with, ARE MY OWN PIER GROUP, who spend 6 hours a day on social media apps posing as super socializers when in reality, they only know how to relate to people through those apps... of which I don't even have. And bad social skills doesn't even mean necessarily behaving anti social, I know plenty of people my age who are very social... they just have a "TikTok" personality, clothing style, etc. And they don't know when to turn off the slang, and change into something nice when interacting with say, their professor. Another problem I see, is the AirPods. SOOOOOO MANY people my age, when they feel like being anti social even when in public, stuff those things in their ears and blast music. It's almost a sign to others that they DONT want to talk to you or notice you. Or, they are being social, but they get bored easily and so they stuff an earbud in to entertain themselves. I have had this happen multiple times while I was having. conversation with someone. So, yes, their social skills are getting VERY bad, and I'm struggling to make friends at my own age group because I grew up classically educated, with limited video games, an excessive amount of travel, cultural experiences, and outside adventure, and with almost no screens. Nearly everyone else grew up the opposite of me, making it very difficult for me to connect with my own generation. And absolutely, covid played a massive role. Imaging being locked up by yourself for months up to two years depending on where you live, in the middle of possibly the most change in your life, becoming an adult. My family, on the other hand, while we stayed in the same neighborhood, didn't stay "home". My brother and I played everyday with all the neighbor kids, and it was the elderly that got mad at us for playing XD. But then there is my brother... who when he got older, met friends online through Minecraft, and ended up meeting them IRL and making plans to attend college together, soooo.... that can also happen XD.

I’m a gen z and honestly the best way I can describe us (and what these people said about gen z) is think of us as a lottery ticket being spin in a giant cylinder looking lottery machine. You don’t know what you’re dealing with until you know them a little better. For example Some have trust issues but are very loyal when you have our trust and you can literally mix and mash all day long and only scratch the surface. Some are raised like boomers to a extent while some could be maximum zoomer that don’t have brakes and of course everything in between. Long summary short: a party mix bag of lollies with very different lollies each time

I grew up without technology in a small poor town I didn't get my phone until I was 16 and after I moved to a city and it's just so shocking seeing how different it is and acts people can't go without it I've had my brother obsessed over twitch and Snapchat where it's all he would do same with one of my cousins and it's huge part of socialization now to the point where even not having feels like you're being left out on a huge part it is affecting people in negative ways it's just how much will it affect their life

As a Gen z I hate working with gen z some of them can’t get off their phones at work and are lazy

I have empathy for Gen Z with mental health issues. There is zero outside cure for one's mind. Many take medications for years, and never overcome their mental condition.

Social media is a double edged sword. It's easier to find people that share your interests, ideology, etc. because you're not restricted to your immediate vicinity, but it also exposes impressionable people to content that makes them see the world as a perpetually negative place that requires constant fighting for causes that may or may not be as big of an issue that it's being portrayed as online.

Ah yes, raise the kid in the wrong way then blame them for being not the neighbors kid. Kid is a reflection of those who raised it.

yk what annoys me is people make mental illness and loneliness "trendy"

I think I agree with you I think we’re definitely looking at a change in interaction as people. The other part is no one wants to look at them selves with the issues.

you earned a sub my man, i like how your channel isnt the stereotypical echo bubble like other news and youtube channels, you get information from all sides, not only who you personal cater to. This kind of journalism needs to be present at all times. Subbed

one of my most closest friends once said that every generation that will come after you will allways have it harder. that also goes the same way for you. you are going to be dealing with the most challenging life hurdels that nobody has ever been through just to make it. thats why we are so soft. there is two different types of people that climb mount everest. the ones who are scared at the bottom, fearing the journy ahead with its many pitfalls, and the ones scared of the danger from the top knowing that if they say something or look at someone the wrong way that they will fall down further into depression and anxiety. But i digress. Being a Gen Z isn't hard but that dosn't make it easy either.

I'm a millenial (36 yo). I used social media from age ~ 14 to 27, mostly early Swedish ones and Facebook. I dropped it all (I don't count RU-vid as I have no contacts here) when I got older and, like previous generations, had fewer but closer friends instead of a large network. It will be very interesting to see if and how gen Z makes that transition.

My experience with Gen Z has mostly only been positive (I’m borderline gen x and millennial). I find them surprisingly mature with great communication skills and ability to self reflect. I do think that the pandemic was difficult for their mental health and did set back some social development for those in their preteens at the time, because that’s such a crucial social development time. I had a preteen at the time and it took a lot of effort to get them comfortable going out into the world again. But overall both my Gen Z kids and all their friends have an incredible amount of emotional maturity

I’ve been a pretty social person all my life but I just haven‘t felt like myself the past few years. I lost friends I thought I‘d keep for a lifetime and the worst part is, I‘m not really sure if it‘s my fault. If you feel a similar way make sure to go out and do stuff with the people you do have, cherish your friendships, they‘re not just there to make you feel happy in the short term, they require work too. Thanks for the vid GEN, ur my GOAT 🐐🙌🏼

Jesus dude... IDK how you create such a perfect and intuitive format for all of your videos that make them so addicting. Congrats, you're definitely going places with this informative and investigative journalism.

I mean.... it's great that gen z is the first generation ever to notice racism and say that it's bad. Imagine what could have been accomplished if something had been done 50 or even 70 or more years sooner.

Part of my work deals with IT so when I become a parent I'll admin manage what my kids can access on their devices. I see a lot of parents that give their kids devices and don't create protections against inappropriate social media, channels, games and sites. Great vid!

To me what is striking is how its almost impossible (at least for me) to have a like, awesome thing that happened to me. Because of Social Media, everyone sees people doing wild things like skydiving, racing, and luxury. Why the hell would people be interested in me catching a big fish on the river, or at least glad for me, now it just feels like if im not doing something dangerous or expensive, communication gets bland or non existent. Thats what i’ve noticed, regardless of what thing i do. I have no irl friends as they all left after hs, so trying to make new friends who i don’t even feel like i can be able to connect to them. This decade so far has felt so hollow and every one is on edge with one another. 😅

I'm middle aged and the World has changed so much since the advent of the Internet. GenZ have experienced a reality that is unique to preceding humanity. I feel for them and I believe that after a short bit of wandering in the desert, they will come into their power.

I am a GenZ(21y.o) and I met most of my friends back in school. I met one friend at a concert and my bf at a concert also. I love talking to people even though I consider myself more of an introvert, I'll chat up to 4 hours with a person but then I'll feel drained. A common thing I noticed in my country is people go on apps or bots to make friends, join a group chat but then still host a get together to go to a park or a bar to hang out. That's a benefit to social media. 2 of my best friends live overseas because I moved countries and I make time once in a while to call for 1-2 hours and catch up.

I think we need to keep things in perspective a little. If there's one thing humans are good at, it's creating dividing lines and labelling the things we don't understand. Unfortunately, the only real constant in the every day is change. Every generation faces unique challenges, every person needs time to grow and mature, and I'm pretty positive every generation shares similar opinions about the next. It takes a considerable amount of time to develop self awareness (I know I was a cheeky little shit in highschool, and I definitely wouldn't want my generation to be judged off _that_ version of me) and to recognise the importance of keeping an open mind - and that's _if_ those things occur at all. I think the most important thing we can do is to try and remove some of these dividing lines and labels, and recognise that _everyone_ is just another overdeveloped, self-important ape trying to make it through the day.

Im 16 years old and because I've never been encouraged too, I had and still have to learn human interaction on my own, but I'm doing good, also I'm more ambitious than most of the people in my school and maybe it's just me but talking with the teachers who are actually thoughtful, nice, decent people is so easy. My schoolmates are terrible, teachers are the best, love conversation with millennials or just older ppl, hope my generation reaches this point of wanting to converse too!

I taught tons of kids from Gen Z and my general impression was they were the same as any other generation of kids, with many of them having certain aspects of their personality kinda showing at a younger age... more interest in the world around them. That doesn't mean every idea they came to me in a lesson was a great one, but they weren't far removed from my experience at all, and in some ways felt a little ahead.

Being lonely is good because I hate Socializing in my entire life.

Social media makes communication easier because there's a lot more people to "meet" in some clicks. Sounds like a benefit, but I see it as a problem. People stop tolerating minimum differences between each other. Why, if there are a lot more option? I am 21. I remember playing in my neighborhood with other kids and our group was very diverse. One girl was richer than us, other like animals that much her dreams about future were around them, two brothers played with everyone: boys, girls, younger, older. And so on. We were ok with our differences. If not, it was because someone might be too pushing. What about todays kids? I am a gen Z, too, but I definitely see our problem has gone worse. My nephew was laughed on because he didn't know a certain youtuber. Kids gradually easier break boundaries with others. When outsiders become teenagers, they just go having internet friends. It's easier and let's be real, more possible.

I think the greatest issue Gen Z (and everyone these days) is having with social skills is that we don't have the same community resources the old heads had. They had bars within walking distance, Millenials like myself had actual functioning community centers full and constantly busy with events, we had more than just sports and 8 hrs of studying to do after school, we're having to take care of and live with our parents and grandparents because they couldn't make healthy decisions. Sure, people are getting softer and more childish but I think that if we were able to change the world in an actually meaningful way that makes sense for how we live as humans now, it would be fine. But all along, it's just the people on top giving us "cool technology" and using it against us for their own benefit. The older generations weren't aware of it, and neither is most of the current and upcoming generations. People are not aware how the current configuration of society locks people into a certain position and manipulates the greater masses against their own interests. People are stupid, especially adults, and Gen Z seems to recognize at least that much more than previous. People are evil, vindictive, and extremely childish well beyond high school and college because they have no social EMOTIONAL skills - which is what needs to be taught and which is what Gen Z learns more of through the internet. Not the social skills made for corporate survival, but the ones meant for actual survival and long-lasting inner peace.

I can’t not stutter. The “we spend less time outside” is so true. I haven’t talked to someone other than family, in person, and made friends with them for months now. I have no face to face friends. I always stumble over my words, so I stay inside because if I do try and talk, I’ll stutter and stumble and then get made fun of. I really do want friends, all I want is a best friend, but I can’t. I don’t mean to throw a pity party for myself but it makes me sad when I see people who seem to make friends in 3 seconds. Heart ache hits me hard sometimes. And then I feel like shit for feeling jealous because people would label me. I have confidence in my own morals and opinions, but not confidence in social interaction. When I was in boarding school, I didn’t talk to anyone, because some annoying kids decided to ruin my social life. So after months of no in person social interaction, i forgot how to be confident when I spoke. Ordering food by myself is hard, since I already have a little higher amounts of anxiety. The physical disorder and problems that I do have already label me a ‘not approachable’ because what? My vision isn’t as good as yours? AI WAS pay ‘therapist’. I still use AI to this day, because I have no friends to talk to. I hate myself for it, but it feels too emotionally draining to wade through the hateful water called ‘social interaction’ until I find someone who can talk to me. If I I’d, I’m sure my emotional state would deteriorate, and I don’t wanna risk any mental health issues. I do have self-reassurance, but my young teen brain is awkward and most the time, it feels like I DO have self-reassurance and then I go outside and it just disappears.

This video made some very good points about social skills and tech. Personally I think older generations do lack online social skills. To me the solution is simple - just maintain a healthy balance between screen time and in person interaction.