In a digital age where human connection is just a tap away, many Gen Z voices and cultural commentators are raising concerns about a deepening sense of disconnection.
What is Gen Z ?
Gen Z (Generation Z) refers to the generation of people born roughly between 1997 and 2012, though the exact years can vary slightly depending on the source.
Key Traits and Characteristics:
- Digital Natives: Grew up with smartphones, social media, and constant internet access.
- Tech-Savvy: Comfortable with rapidly evolving technologies and platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Discord.
- Socially Conscious: Often engaged with issues like climate change, mental health, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights.
- Independent Thinkers: Tend to value authenticity, individuality, and transparency over tradition or hierarchy.
- Shorter Attention Spans: Due in part to growing up in an environment of fast content, multitasking, and instant gratification.
Global Events That Shaped Gen Z:
- The rise of social media and influencer culture.
- The COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted education and social lives.
- Economic instability, student debt, and rising costs of living.
- Increased awareness of mental health issues and digital burnout.
Gen Z is currently coming of age—entering the workforce, voting, and shaping culture and politics.
They are often the subject of debates around technology use, mental health, and shifting societal values.
Powerless Victims
Writer Freya India recently expressed emotional frustration, stating that Generation Z lacks “any sense of community.”
Tech insiders like Jackson Dahl warn that techno-capitalism is slowly turning us into something non-human, citing attention hijacking as a major threat to humanity’s wellbeing.
Such laments have become increasingly common—both from within Gen Z and from older generations projecting their anxieties onto them.
From viral think pieces to emotional social media posts, the prevailing narrative paints young people as powerless victims of digital addiction, chronic loneliness, and social dysfunction.
But is this narrative helping or harming?
The “Doomed Zoomer” Myth
While concerns about screen time and isolation are valid, the growing “Doomed Zoomer” narrative may be doing more harm than good.
It suggests that young people are helplessly addicted to technology, incapable of genuine connection, and locked into a dopamine-driven loop of social media validation.
This perspective undermines Gen Z’s agency, feeding into a cycle of defeatism and inaction.
Instead of empowering solutions, the conversation too often centers on fear—fear of a future where the next generation can’t function offline.
But this isn’t the full picture.
Read also: Climate Technologies Drive Global Innovation Toward a Greener Future by 2030
Real-World Community Still Exists—And It’s Thriving
Despite claims that Gen Z lacks community, real-world social opportunities are more accessible than ever.
From book clubs and volunteer events to political organizations and art festivals, young people today have a wealth of community-building options.
Many of which are amplified by the very technology we often blame.
Event Discovery via Social Media Platforms and Apps
Platforms and apps, when used intentionally, can help people discover:
- Local sports leagues
- College campus events
- Community lectures and workshops
- Farmers markets and charity events
- Meetup groups for every niche interest imaginable
What’s changed is not the availability of connection, but rather our habits and priorities.
The Role of Choice in a Hyper-Connected World
While it’s easy to blame smartphones, social media, or streaming services for social decline, the truth is more nuanced.
These are tools—often entertaining and convenient—but they don’t inherently prevent real-life engagement.
Choosing to spend hours online instead of at a community gathering is still a choice, even if it’s a habit many don’t actively question.
And if some young people prefer solo activities or digital escapism, we should ask: is that a failure, or simply a shift in how individuals find meaning and fulfillment?
Digital Wellness Is Possible for Gen Z—But It Takes Effort
There is hope.
Many Millennials and Gen Zers are already reclaiming their time and re-evaluating their digital habits.
From digital detoxes and screen-time limits to re-engaging with analog hobbies like reading or journaling, a cultural push toward digital balance is taking shape.
Online Engagement Faded
One writer shared her personal journey of reducing social media use—not because of external pressure, but because it stopped serving her.
Over time, she found that the thrill of online engagement faded, replaced by a desire for more meaningful offline experiences.
Importantly, the shift didn’t happen overnight.
It took awareness, discipline, and a conscious effort to retrain her brain after years of compulsive scrolling.
Empowering the Next Generation
Blaming technology alone is an oversimplification.
What Gen Z—and all generations—need is encouragement, not moral panic.
We should focus less on doom scrolling headlines and more on building systems and spaces where real-world connection is accessible, inclusive, and appealing.
If we want to see a stronger sense of community, we must believe it’s possible—and remind young people that they have the power to step away from their screens and shape the world around them.
Why Bother Trying to be Different?
Unfortunately, many young people are being conditioned to believe the opposite.
They’re told that their brains have been hijacked by Big Tech, that community no longer exists, and that lasting change is out of reach without medical intervention.
The narrative suggests that struggles with attention, relationships, and self-control are the result of unstoppable, external forces.
And if “everyone in your generation is miserable,” the message goes, why bother trying to be different?
Navigating a New Landscape
The future of human connection doesn’t have to be bleak.
While technology has undoubtedly changed how we interact, it hasn’t removed our ability to form bonds, build community, or seek out joy in shared spaces.
Gen Z isn’t doomed—they’re simply navigating a new landscape.
And with the right mindset and support, they can thrive both online and offline.
