8 minute read
To feel or not to feel
By Sharon Florez, staff writer
As access to media grows with technology, those born in the 2000s are emotionally traumatized and desensitized by information overload.
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Whether turning on the television means learning about a new global pandemic or another school shooting, young people are not as shocked by catastrophic events as one may expect. The age group known as Generation Z was born into a pre-Columbine and pre-September 11 world and were immediately thrust into an era of terror and constant political chaos. As a generation growing up surrounded by such tenuous circumstances, this budding age group has demonstrated unique emotional qualities such as reduced reaction rates to violence, seen significantly less in older generations.
One of these emotional states is known as desensitization, a lack of intense emotional response to negative events that are surrounding an individual. Generation Z is the first generation to be forced to continuously confront devastating news and crises as well as have unlimited information at their disposal due to the internet and social media. Due to the endless exposure to violence catalyzed by the internet, this generation has never experienced a world without constant anxiety, political tension and terrorism. According to Tracy M. Kennedy’s 2016 study published in Developmental Psychology, a lot of this consequential desensitization is not just a result of the violence they have grown up seeing or what they have been conditioned to accept as reality, but [also the constant rate at which the media feeds information to them, leading to feelings of apathy and helplessness]. For example, since the Columbine school shooting, there have been more than 240 school shootings in the United States. Although this is an issue alarming for everyone in the country, this generation pays the price emotionally.
Many young people feel no point in trying to change a world that is already in such bad conditions, economically, politically and environmentally, all factors that play a role in the decaying mental health of the still-young generation.
“Honestly, no one cares about anything anymore,” sophomore Jonathan Burgos said. “The world is falling apart and we distract ourselves with superficial things that will help kill us in the long run.”
A world of vanity and superficiality serves as an attempt to avoid the reality of current issues. According to doctor Gary Small, technology has little effect in helping people cope with trauma, as people are more likely to use the internet or social media in a way that helps them feel better, also contributing to desensitization. As a result, it could be that people are learning to use technology in ways that are more harmful than helpful.
“Tools are amoral, they’re neutral,” social studies teacher James Dunn said. “Cell phones are tools— they can lift your understanding of the world and competence or it can give you a safe place to cocoon yourself where you never know anything except the things you want to hear.”
According to a study done by the University of Michigan, in the year 2000 empathy radically dropped among a college-age population, demonstrating that they reported rates of empathy of up to less than 40% than those surveyed 20 or 30 years prior. Meanwhile, as estimated by Our World in Data, the influx of technology increased from 413 million internet users in 2000 to over 3.4 billion in 2016. The effects of the intensity of these dynamics have exponentially affected any child with internet access born in this time period. In the face of trauma, these issues need to be addressed within the generation, as a way to fix the damage that has already been done and to be sure that people are getting the mental help they need so tragedies such as these come to an end.
Generation Desensitized
The manifestation of numbness in Generation Z is mainly a result of the presence of contemporary technologies such as computers, cell phones and digital media since childhood. Violence in television and real life has been prevalent in the lives of most of Generation Z, leading to a lack of sympathy for its victims.
Setting an early basis for the link between violent media and physiological desensitization, psychologist Margaret Hanratty Thomas published a study in 1977 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology to demonstrate the way that people’s bodies respond to real life violence at a decreased rate when exposed to violent media. Typically, physiological reactions involve responses such as increased heart rate and skin conductance, a property of the skin by which it becomes more conducive to electricity when excited. After exposure to violent media, participants showed reduction in both factors when encountering real life violence.
To cope with the exposure to distressing news on television, this age group has developed notorious dark humor iconic, satirizing most, if not all, aspects of life and current events. It has evolved into a significant part of the culture of social media, often transmitted through memes, as a way to discuss and digest information. An example of this dark humor are the recent COVID-19 memes, which according to W. Keith Campbell and Jean Twenge’s study on emerging adults, leaves older generations to label Generation Z as insensitive and self-centered without recognizing it to be the coping mechanism that it is.
The use of humor allows current events to be put into a digestible context, but what is worrying to older generations is the extent to which they are willing to go in the sake of humor. The Atlantic, The Washington Post and NBC News are some, but not all news sites featuring the popular genre for memes that war and human tragedies, a sensitive topic for many to discuss, not to mention humorize. Still, Generation Z pushes beyond the boundaries of what is considered appropriate, further proving the desensitization towards the reality of violence and tragedy of the group.
Since the September 11 attacks in New York, there has been an increase in the intensity of violent threats from other nations and an increase in political, religious and cultural tensions. The war in Iraq, the Stock Market Crash of 2008, bombings, school shootings, nuclear threats and melting glaciers all play a role in and directly fuel the desensitization of the entire generation. A study conducted by the American Psychology Association (APA) on the impacts of violence on Generation Z found that “75 % of those in this age group report mass shootings as a significant source of stress, and nearly as many (72 %) say the same about school shootings or the possibility of them occurring.” According to the Gun Violence Archive, in 2019 alone there were 417 mass shootings in the United States, all resulting in 15,381 deaths and 29,568 injuries. For many of those living this reality, it is hard to imagine a world where these problems do not exist.
Additionally, teens have become increasingly vocal about the issues surrounding them. As per the APA, Generation Z’s stress regarding the current state of the nation ranks at a 5.4 on a scale of 1 to 10, on par for the national average for adults overall. However, they are the age group with the lowest poll turnout. According to the United States Census Bureau, only 46.1% of 18 to 29-year-olds voted in the 2016 presidential election while 70% of their older counterparts aged 65 and older voted. The drastic political changes seen in the past two decades have been difficult to cope with and address, especially if younger generations are not doing the most they can as a result of desensitization.
STUDENTS SPEAK UP
Looking Towards the Future
Mental health is a topic that many are attempting to de-stigmatize in recent years. Further mental health awareness could be a key factor in stimulating open-mindedness in youth and creating conversation about mental health issues, such as desensitization, which are applicable to anyone. Part of the process in encouraging good mental health is watching the hours spent consuming media, having face-to-face interactions with people and being aware that there is more to an individual than beyond what is superficial.
An excellent way to help Generation Z is by encouraging them to vote and to become politically active to prevent the extension of the current desensitization issues to future generations as well. As a result, future generations could live in a more stable world and be less prone to having serious mental health issues at a young age.
Much of what is currently happening seems to be out of Generation Z’s control. For many young people world peace feels more of a fantasy than a possibility. Those currently holding office are making decisions for the future that will ultimately affect Generation Z and Generation Alpha, leading to either a peaceful future or a chaotic one. Either way, it is only in everyone’s best interest to strive for a better tomorrow.
by the numbers
highlights surveyed 264 students in April-May 2020 to determine the student body’s take on Generation Z’s desensitization.
