The generations are always fighting about something.

But, right now it feels like almost everyone is in agreement — Gen Z is boooooring.

From the perspective of millennials and Gen X-ers, Gen Z seems to be the generation responsible for the decline of live music, drinking culture, and socializing overall.

While there’s some truth to this observation — and I say this as a Gen Z-er myself — there’s an underlying reason that you might not be considering, one that may actually make you feel a bit more empathetic.

One video can change everything

Picture this: you’re hanging out with your best friends at a nightclub.

By that stage of the night, you’ve probably had quite a few drinks — nothing wrong with that — and your dance moves may not be the most polished. But does it really matter? You’re enjoying yourself!

And, prior to about a decade ago, that’s all it would have been. A night of fun with your friends, with some questionable dancing that wouldn’t live on beyond your memories.

But, that’s not the case anymore.

Today, if you or your friends didn’t post it yourselves, chances are you could end up caught in the background of someone else’s video. They post it on TikTok, it goes viral, and the rest is history.

Congratulations, you’re now that girl from TikTok with the embarrassing dance moves.

Caught red handed

While that may not sound too scary to you, and you might have the urge to encourage Gen Z to roll with it and be ‘less dramatic’, the reality is that for a lot of people, this is scary.

No one wants to go to work or school knowing that they’ve been made a fool of online without their consent. And, usually, there’s nothing you can do about it once it’s out there.

I’ve felt that fear myself too many times, especially at concerts where it’s become a trend to film yourself rather than the artist.

I’m certain I’m not doing anything worthy of being bullied by millions of people online — though of course there’s never a reasonable excuse.

But, anything is enough for the internet to start picking you apart, whether it be a hair out of place or a dull face which has people accusing you of not enjoying yourself, whether you are or not.

Let Gen Z live!

As we grow increasingly connected to our phones, to the point where it feels strange to put them down, many clubs and concert venues have begun prohibiting the use of phones, or providing bags or stickers to prevent attendees from using their cameras.

Bruno Mars, The Lumineers and Alicia Keys have all recently used Yondr bags at their shows to encourage audience engagement.

And, I have to say, aside from not being able to film your favorite songs, it’s not a bad idea.

The internet is a powerful thing, and especially on TikTok, literally anyone can be an influencer or go viral based on one good video — even at the expense of someone else. So, can you really blame people for being a little nervous to be themselves?

We all want things to go back to the way they were before phones sometimes, but when that’s not possible, I think we need to cut Gen Z some slack.