Gen Z's fear of aging
Millennials and other generations older than Gen Z have picked up that Gen Z is afraid of aging. Theres this strange consensus that anyone over 25 is old, and that anyone that old should be acting and living like they are 40. Others are obsessed with care routines to preserve their youth, even going as far to get absolutely unnecessary botox at young ages.
Obvious answers are the propaganda of beauty companies, stress from current events, and self infantalization as a coping mechanism for these things. But I would argue thats not it.
Because after seeing how older generations are capable of turning out, who would want to be like them?
Before going further im really going to try to set aside my existing bias against boomers and Gen Xers. But still, I dont think anyone could look at the state of modern affairs and be proud of how they are being handled. And of course, the people responsible for this state are those generations older than gen z. No generation is the savior they think they are, and each are responsible for different failures we see today.
One thing all generations alive today (including gen z) I think have lost is their self integrity and genuine belief in their ideals.
The people who founded America were not perfect. They had many defects in character and I am not sure if I would necessarily call them good people. But they were very genuine about the things they believed, and were extremely unwilling to let their ideals be compromised on or perverted. These people thoroughly deliberated and worried about the things they believed, these were genuine concerns for them.
I feel like many people today have stances and perspectives just because of peer pressure to do so. It is taboo to not have your beliefs lined out, but to explore them deeper than a one liner is rarely equally emphasized. Shallow research and understanding of ideals have rendered them flimsy and insincere.
The integrity of these people was much stronger as well. They had a shared desire to debate with civility, to cultivate and maintain a positive image, and to do these things even if you are not the primary beneficiary. All these things existed in a capacity they do simply exist in today. If being rude, sarcastic, greedy, or selfish is what it takes to get what you want, the general consensus now is to absolutely do that.
"Get your bag". The supermarket Karen. Modern politics where the most horrible and inappropriate comments are accepted as normal. You have to do whatever it takes to get what you want, if youre at the top you deserve to steal from the cookie jar once in a while, power and corruption are inevitably destined to go hand in hand. All these ideas exist and have grown in acceptance in varying forms across all fields.
When Gen Zers realize and see this, how are they not supposed to become disillusioned with what time can bring? Subconsciously they may realize that they are just as susceptible to becoming like their older counterparts. I hold that this is why they cling to their youth. If it looks as though aging just twists somones character into a spoiled toddler in a high chair, working to delay that seems like a reasonable thing to do.