When did this generation become stupid.
I wondered why I was getting a headache often, but it turns out it was from cognitive dissonance hurting my brain by it being forced down my throat by idiots.
Yes that is a period not a question mark.
Among many reasons to delete all my social media, my last bit of patience was a video of a young Gen Z with a lifeless accent promoting “boss woman” doing “manifestation.” You might roll your eyes, but these videos often garner millions of views and likes.
For those unfamiliar, “manifestation” apparently means the belief that you can will good things into existence. If you desire “financial abundance” or a vacation in the South of France, you “manifest” it from the universe. It’s like prayer but shamelessly self-centered. Maybe “manifest” some common sense and, while they’re at it, also some free mental healthcare to get a clearly very-much-needed psychiatric evaluation to make sure that the screw is on tight up there in the head first? Or maybe spend a day as a service industry worker. That will do the trick, perhaps, in slapping them back into reality.
And apparently, others wanting and desiring something means I should desire the very same thing and place them on the pedestal as well. I’m just happy to get through today so leave me alone and out of this disgraceful discourse, please. Thank you.
Infringing and infiltrating on others’ individuality under the guise of shared gender, with movements like “red pill manhood,” “girlhood,” “victimhood of men,” or “victimhood of women,” is not productive, self-limiting, inciteful,creepily cult-like, and a violation of others’ identity and unique individualized struggles. And when did being a victim turn into a badge of honor anyway? Should we take out a measuring stick and measure person to person, out of 8 billion, who is the most eligible victim? There are so many moments when I had much older, wiser male mentors who inspired and helped me out of virtue, just as I had much older, wiser women mentors who helped me out of their virtue; the key identification of their virtue lay in their character, not gender nor sexuality. Just like how their appearance, backgrounds, or race had nothing to do with their virtues. These factors did not even cross my mind during the process. Likewise, there were moments when I could not relate to the narration of other women. Everyone has a different story because gender, like appearance, is merely a quality. It is given to us biologically, one of the two, no matter how much people want to argue. It is something we were given at birth, gifted at birth, an external quality beyond our control. While it is easy to make the premise that we were given our whole personality and discourse, external qualities do not determine an individual's character, just like how appearance is a quality and doesn’t determine the character. Character is what determines someone’s essence. Hence, criminalizing the opposite gender unthinkingly to fit the subjective narrative seems incredibly ego-driven and unjust. We are all people, at the end of the day, trying to live in this chaotic world, and the premise set by the qualities given doesn’t determine our character and individualized, unique stories. One would think that this is basics of basic common sense.
And anything looks good on social media or in a person? Just take the essence of something and slap your name on it. You can apparently be anything you want without substance; if you see it and you want it, take it, be it, embody it. It was easy to take anyway, right?
Meanwhile, the BBC informs me that Megan Boni, a random TikToker, went viral with a 20-second song sung in a silly voice about wanting a boyfriend in finance with a trust fund. The song, remixed by David Guetta, led to a serious record deal offer from a company, despite Boni having no musical talent or experience writing songs. She turned it down, questioning their judgment, yet she plans to ride the wave of her song, appearing in Vegas with Guetta and aiming for Saturday Night Live.
Adding to this absurdity, the BBC’s front page today features a “review” of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Edinburgh. I put “review” in quotes because it reads more like promotional fluff than critical analysis. The piece fails to mention how the city displaced the homeless for Swift tourists or critique her vacuous lyrics, focusing instead on gossip about a song supposedly about Jake Gyllenhaal. It resembles a Taylor Swift fan post more than impartial journalism.
The same BBC recently praised singer Kim Petras’ EP “Slut Pop Miami” as an “outrageous, sex-positive, club-ready tribute to carnal pleasure.” Petras’ songs include “Get fucked,” “Cockblocker,” and “Butt Slut,” with lyrics like “Do it, do it, lube it, lube it / Gotta put your back into it / Smack it, smack it, ass-attack it / Push your balls up on my racket.” God, that was painfully cringe and disgraceful just simply typing the lyrics. Anyway, instead of critiquing this shallow, porn-influenced view of sex, the BBC calls it “upbeat and escapist,” a reflection of “sexual liberation.” Meanwhile, the rappers are singing about “fu**ing,” “bitches and hoes,” and their “baby mamas” and “wifeys” and their “undeniable richness” yet simultaneously hidden “wholesomeness” while proclaiming their superiority just because they can do all of these things as if it is something to be proud of, then there are girls who reward this behavior by proclaiming their “love” believing they can “fix” other people. Apparently, these girls are “not like the other girls” and are “Soft and understanding,” which, according to the trends, render them as “Wifey-types.” However, the irony of the situation lies in the fact that the reward these “classy” and “special girls” pass on looks more like a disregard for ethics in pursuit of personal gain of clout, validation, and financial opportunity disguised as virtue. Then there are “socially awkward” and “quirky” girls with “social anxiety” or “who hate socializing” whose jobs are literally being in the public eye and socializing. These people also switch their stance and what they say with a pace quicker than a bullet to be validated and side with whichever wave fits their story. The amount of selling they do is no different, if not more, than that of an OF girl. Why did they actively choose a career where they have to do things they claim to despise, or is it just commodification of quirkiness? No smart and capable young adult would bypass this cognitive dissonance. You honestly can’t make this up.
All of this feels like a parody, but it’s real. The BBC, once a respectable news outlet, publishes these articles with dead seriousness. The TikToker speaks about “manifesting” without a hint of irony or self-awareness about its shallow, selfish, and absurd nature. While people are facing real crises, she tells millions of followers they can get anything they want if they just “manifest” it from the universe.
Then, the performative activism oscillates depending on peoples’ moods and trends rather than it being substance-based. As summer rolls in, there’s a conspicuous absence of the usual digital cacophony from our self-appointed social justice warriors. These relentless crusaders of righteousness, ever-ready to wage war against perceived injustices from the comfort of their keyboards and campgrounds, seem to have taken a sabbatical. Where did they all go?
The answer lies in a predictable pattern of performative activism. Depending on how bitchy they decide to be on any given day, these social media savants oscillate between outrage and apathy. But now that the sun is out and vacation season is upon us, their zeal for justice seems to have been conveniently packed away with their beach towels. Did they forget that the problems don’t take a vacation? Oops!
Maybe this is all just a distorted view of culture provided by the internet. Maybe I checked the BBC on a particularly bad day. Or maybe not. We know this generation is getting dumber, with declining global test scores, and that 11- to 14-year-olds spend an average of 9 hours a day on screens. The rise in mental health issues among young people since 2012 shows this isn’t just cultural shallowness but a harmful environment. With increasing anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, it’s clear that whatever we’re doing isn’t helping the young.
We need to acknowledge how bizarre this is. Displacing the homeless to praise a pop star who writes about trivial relationships isn’t worth celebrating. Glorifying an artist whose lyrics are “Butt slut / Butt slut / Doggy, doggy, rough, rough” should be met with despair. Commodifying love, selfless acts, wholesomeness, and perception of something rather than substance does not make the cut to even acknowledge and talk about it. Record companies offering deals to viral TikTokers with no musical talent should appall us.
But it doesn’t. Why not? We’ve lost the ability to apply real-world perspective to our online lives. We’ve forgotten that culture shapes our world, creating a landscape of meaning with real consequences. The rise in youth mental health problems should be a wake-up call, yet the BBC runs these articles alongside “mental health awareness” pieces without recognizing their own role in the problem.
Maybe I’m shouting into the void or an angry woman yelling at a cloud. Or maybe not. It seems nothing will stop us from driving our culture off a cliff, but at least we’re too distracted to notice. Like trying to convince a stupid person of their flaws, those who believe this culture is saving us are blind to its ruin. What can you do? This problem is neither realistically nor productively salvageable, and certainly not by another savior movement to cheapen the intention. I’m off to “manifest” a cup of tea and step outside into the real world.
