A while ago, a friend of mine asked me to review an email to our math teacher. This was her last chance to get her grade changed from a B to an A; it was the end of the semester, and grades were days away from being finalized. So, I assumed that her tone would be really humble, really respectful, and really polite.
Her opening line, in an email to a teacher, was, “Hey, what’s up Jane!”
I couldn’t finish the rest of the email because I took that much psychic damage from her starter.
I’ve noticed that this is a common problem among my generation, Generation Z. Whether it’s not picking up the right social cues, not knowing how to interact, or not knowing what’s appropriate for professional settings, Gen Z seems to be behind in many ways.
Our skills tend to lean more toward the “anti-personal” than the interpersonal.
It’s a strange dichotomy in many ways. On one hand, we’re one of the most connected and well-informed generations in history. With the internet at our fingertips and social media rooted in our culture, Gen Z is a generation of influencers and networkers.
On the other hand, much of Gen Z has already seen struggles in professional settings due to their accidental antisocial behaviors. The older half of Gen Z has already begun entering the workforce and has rapidly taken over for the Millennials as the worst generation to work with.
As far as generational reputations go, being known for being bad at socializing is not ideal. Gen Z has so much potential. We’re just starting to get out into the world, and we shouldn’t let anything, socially subpar skills included, hold us back.
One more thing… When I was researching the topic for a speech this year, I came across this quote:
“Gen Z became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable, and—as I will show—unsuitable for children and adolescents.”
— Jonathan Haidt (The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness)
