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This Therapist Is Going Viral For Sounding The Alarm On The Gen Z Apathy Crisis
"There is a deserved wave of apathy and individualism on the horizon that is not reminiscent of the American dream, but the American nightmare..."
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Licensed Therapist Unpacks Gen Z's Mental Health Landscape Amidst Digital Age Challenges
A licensed therapist, known online as austincalo, recently offered a comprehensive analysis of Generation Z's mental health, highlighting the unique pressures faced by this digitally native demographic. In a widely viewed online video, the therapist discussed the prevalence of an "external locus of control" among his Gen Z clients, a phenomenon where individuals perceive external forces as dictating their lives, leading to feelings of powerlessness. He further elaborated on how constant online surveillance and the internet's "faceless" nature contribute to a profound "fear of being cringe" or publicly humiliated. This environment, he noted, can shatter a sense of genuine community, leading to a compensatory creation of "artificial communities" and a pressure to conform to group identities. The therapist also pointed to a "hyper-pathologizing of mental illness" and a significant pressure for immediate self-identification. While acknowledging Gen Z's "higher media literacy," he cautioned that this does not equate to immunity from manipulation. "The ability to be manipulated and marketed to is even higher than that," he stated, attributing this to the internet's "exponential and polarizing" nature, which constantly feeds users content they are already interested in, subtly wearing down their resistance to marketing and political influence. The therapist concluded by emphasizing the importance of empathy in understanding this generation, rather than dismissing their experiences.
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Therapist praised for his empathetic assessment on why Gen-Z seems so apathetic
Perhaps the Gen Z stare deserves a lot more compassion than we're giving it.
