Being a gen Z myself, this ted talk was relatable to me in my life personally, and there are so many things generations before do not understand. We are considered spoiled because of all the new technologies we are given and the better life we have and are constantly rebuked for every tiny mistake.
These tiny mistakes and yelling may not relate to everyone, but it does for my friends and I. Growing up, my parents have always expected the best, which was doing amazing at a sports game, getting perfect grades, and doing better than the rest. When I got a grade, my mom would constantly ask what other people got, and tell me to do better when my score was lower than someone else’s. This also happened to many of my friends, where their parents would constantly compare them with me, and my parents would constantly compare me with them. If I fail at something or make a mistake, I would feel embarrassed immediately and apologize. In this generation, we are often looked down upon. As the ted talk mentioned, how do grown-ups expect us to act like an adult, when they are the ones that are not treating us like one and expect us to be one. We are spoiled and not as hard working because we have not been through traumas like they have such as war, but even without war, that does not mean everyone is living the life.
As a gen Z, we might not have been through war, but we are fighting our own war in our own way that many just don’t get. In some cases, when I fail and my parents bring me down or get disappointed and blame it on me or even try helping me, it is hard to tell them to let me figure this out on my own. During these cases they help me when I really need it in their perspective, but when I personally need their help, they say I am old enough and capable of doing it myself. We are able to be independent and can do things ourselves, but parents treat many of us like children. However, when we struggle and crave for help, we are then treated like grown-ups who should know what to do. Gen Z is constantly treated as one stereotype, which is being lazy, spoiled brats who skip classes and do rebellious acts. Yes, there may be teenagers out there like that, but this stereotype does not define all of us, and parents treat us as if we are this stereotype. Parents should try to understand that we don’t want to always be in conflict with them, but be with them on the same side. However, this won’t happen if all they do is hurt and treat us like this.
