By Keynaya Thompson
Managing Editor
It is 2024, and it is a no-brainer that our society exists in fast-evolving digital realm where the internet, specifically social media is one of the biggest pillars in the landscape. Over the past decade and a half with the rise in multimedia profiles and sharing personal content, the ideal image of success and happiness have adapted new meanings. Gen-Z, the generation that witnessed the rise of social media is right in the middle of this adaptation; for better or for worse.
Shortly before winter break, a fellow uni student (and Gen-Z’er) recommended an album for me to listen to: Radiohead’s OK Computer. The interlude, “Fitter Happier,” eerily narrated by a synthesized voice on a 1990s Macintosh seems prophetic in the prediction of the internet’s relationship with societal expectations. The lyrics, which read as an audio description of the average “it girl lifestyle” or “5-9 before my 9-5” TikTok videos that have garnered over millions of views, were a satirical commentary and dispelling of the 1990s glorification of the yuppy lifestyle. Today, it reflects a boomerang effect of an entirely new generation that has become fixated on conformity and appearance.
Social media continues to be the keystone in moving the goalposts to what happiness looks like today. Ten years ago in 2014, which is unironically being pushed as the new 2024 for nostalgia, happiness looked like indie fashion, Tumblr and anti-capitalism. Today, there’s many different forms of curated happiness from fitness gurus who carelessly lead cis-het men into borderline eating disorders, beauty creators who have fifteen-year-old freshman believing they need retinoids and acids as part of their skincare routine and overall lifestyle curators who have college students convinced they’re not doing enough. Gen-Z is trapped in a comparison game, measuring themselves against social media and the unrealistic standards it sets for everyday life.
Luckily for Gen-Z, there are many in the generation that embrace non-conformity, so they are opposing what is now considered traditional or expected ideas of achievement. And who can blame them? Amidst a decade of continuing trends of lifestyle curation on various platforms from Youtube and Instagram to Pinterest and TikTok, there is a cry for realism, authenticity and the need for individual definitions of fulfillment.
These nonconformists oppose this way of life and center the redefining of success on an individual basis. Instead of subscribing to social media’s pillars of happiness, they are prioritizing their own definitions of personal growth and finding purpose. Non-consumerism, passion over paycheck and self-identity are some major themes that are a part of this anti-curation sector of social media. Of course, this community of people found themselves through social media. Despite its many downfalls, social media is best at what it was created for, connecting with others and building community. Gen-Z’ers against conformity and pre-defined success use these platforms to create a safe space for those who feel less than the societal goal post and to dismantle the definition of happiness, fostering one that champions individualism.
“Fitter Happier,” a late 90s interlude is a timeless commentary on conformity, societal pressure and the internet. Gen-Z has existed in a time where these things are all one with social media. There is a constant pursuit of perfection and what life should look like. These insistent propagated standards have led to a generation in disillusionment. There is a search for an elusive ideal of success and happiness which only leads to deep feelings of inadequacy. The digital age is complex, and Gen-Z has been placed in charge of navigating the good and the bad.
That’s why it is crucial that the generation continues to redefine happiness and reject the perfectionism model imposed by social media, shaping the mold for what it means to be truly “fitter and happier.”
pacts us today and not on motivating divide, how can school faculties not be scared?
Teachers and students who filed a lawsuit against the Stop W.O.K.E act in March last year emphasized that “these laws are unconstitutional viewpoint-based restrictions on speech that regulate the speech of Florida teachers and business owners in violation of their First
Amendment Rights. These laws employ nebulous terms with vague definitions in order to chill protected speech.”
If students are not taught about inequality in the classroom, they will not know what to do about it when they encounter real acts of oppression in their community. Not teaching the full scope of inequality is as if we are suppressing our past. And suppression is one step closer to oppression.
