Latest / Mini Scroll / “You Don’t Owe Anyone Anything:” Gen Z & The Viral Hyper-Individualism Myth

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“You Don’t Owe Anyone Anything:” Gen Z & The Viral Hyper-Individualism Myth · Mini Scroll

• 0:00
  This episode of Infinite Scroll is brought to you by Britta from
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  Gen. Z and Millennials have developed
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  water, it filters out the guilt of plastic waste.
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  Thank you to Britta for supporting the pod, helping us
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  keep our deep dives going and of course, keeping us hydrated.
• 0:40
  You don't owe anyone anything. This phrase echoes across social
• 0:45
  media. It's the idea that we are not
• 0:48
  required to live up to what others expect of us or sacrifice
• 0:51
  our needs, desires, or well-being for another person's
• 0:55
  benefit. From self help creators to bro
• 0:58
  podcasters to Tik Tokers, it seems like young people are
• 1:01
  peddling this mentality and going viral for it.
• 1:05
  Even traditional media has picked up on it.
• 1:07
  The Guardian ran a piece earlier this year on how this mentality
• 1:11
  is driving a rise in flaking out on social plans.
• 1:14
  This virality and coverage not only spreads this idea, but also
• 1:18
  serves as validation, lending legitimacy to this mentality.
• 1:23
  For better or worse, Gen. Z has faced plenty of criticism
• 1:26
  over the years, from the infamous Gen.
• 1:29
  Zed stare to claims that they are unreliable at work.
• 1:32
  But one thread runs through all of it, and you can see it in the
• 1:36
  You Don't Owe Anyone Anything mentality.
• 1:39
  Hyper individualism. Think pieces, video essays and
• 1:43
  TikTok commentary videos throw around this term a lot, claiming
• 1:47
  that this demographic has a lone wolf mentality.
• 1:50
  In this episode, we are interrogating that stereotype.
• 1:54
  We'll explore what hyper individualism really means, the
• 1:57
  societal and political forces behind it, and ask the big
• 2:01
  question, is Gen. Z truly a hyper individualistic
• 2:06
  generation from Centennial world?
• 2:08
  I'm Lauren Meisner, and this is Infinite Scroll, a podcast about
• 2:12
  Internet culture, the creator economy, and how social media is
• 2:15
  shaping Gen. Z Welcome back to Infinite
• 2:18
  Scroll, everyone. All right, we haven't done a
• 2:21
  true video essay in a hot minute, and that is what you
• 2:25
  guys are getting today. This episode is very much an
• 2:28
  exploration into both sides of the argument on if Gen.
• 2:33
  Z as a generation is actually more hyper individualistic than
• 2:38
  previous generations or if that is just an unfair label.
• 2:42
  We do draw some conclusions at the end of course, but before we
• 2:46
  get into it, Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe.
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  Please Spotify star rate US. We are still trying to get to
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  1000 Spotify star ratings. I know I started pushing you
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  Every single dollar goes back into the business and subscribe
• 3:10
  to our newsletter called Keep Scrolling for hyper
• 3:16
  individualism is a relatively modern concept.
• 3:19
  In fact, at the time of recording, a definition is not
• 3:22
  even available on 2 online dictionaries that we checked,
• 3:25
  the Merriam Webster Dictionary and the Oxford English
• 3:28
  Dictionary. However, drawing on existing
• 3:30
  psychological and sociological scholarship, we can arrive at a
• 3:34
  fairly comprehensive definition. Christian Heim and Caroline heim
• 3:38
  in their book resilient relationships.
• 3:40
  Note how this phenomenon quote lifts narcissism and instant
• 3:44
  self gratification to a sociological ideal.
• 3:47
  Coming to the definition that quote hyper individualism is
• 3:51
  extreme individualism valuing self-expression, judgement and a
• 3:55
  choice to shape a self-made life story reaching for self
• 3:59
  actualization. So in broad terms, hyper
• 4:02
  individualism can be understood as a bias towards oneself,
• 4:06
  prioritizing ones achievements, needs and success with less
• 4:10
  regard to society or those around you.
• 4:12
  Many pundits and experts argue that our society is moving in an
• 4:16
  increasingly hyper individualistic direction.
• 4:19
  Instead of getting news from our social circles, we are consuming
• 4:22
  this kind of content individually, often from
• 4:25
  strangers online. Furthermore, in places like the
• 4:28
  United States and where I'm from, Canada, young people are
• 4:31
  quick to move away from their homes after high school.
• 4:33
  Autonomy has pretty much become the absolute be all and end all.
• 4:37
  And no, these are not necessarily negative
• 4:39
  developments. But when things go too far in
• 4:42
  any One Direction, the line between positive and negative
• 4:45
  becomes blurred. There are several factors that
• 4:47
  may explain the rise in individual visualism and hyper
• 4:50
  individualism in our society among Gen.
• 4:53
  Z and online. The obvious answer is
• 4:55
  neoliberalism. For those unfamiliar, this
• 4:58
  political ideology has a strong emphasis on individual
• 5:01
  responsibility. It encourages us to see
• 5:04
  ourselves as isolated individuals.
• 5:06
  It goes hand in hand with capitalism, upholding the likes
• 5:10
  of free market LED growth, deregulation, and privatization.
• 5:14
  It essentially links economic freedom to individual freedom.
• 5:17
  And for the last 50 years or so, the Western world has pretty
• 5:20
  much run on neoliberal ideals, particularly since the collapse
• 5:24
  of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
• 5:27
  We should note here, though, that many experts and scholars
• 5:30
  have characterized Trump's ascendancy to power as the end
• 5:33
  of neoliberalism as we know it, but it may be too early to make
• 5:38
  that claim for sure. Either way, it's safe to say
• 5:40
  that neoliberalism has played a role in generating our
• 5:43
  individualistic culture up until this point.
• 5:46
  So neoliberalism is 1 clear driver of individualism.
• 5:50
  But another, perhaps less obvious factor is democracy
• 5:53
  itself. The relationship between
• 5:55
  democracy and individualism has been extensively discussed
• 5:58
  within political science, and of course, there are many differing
• 6:02
  opinions some scholars argue that democracy encourages
• 6:05
  individualism, while others suggest the opposite
• 6:09
  nonetheless, a strong connection between the two concepts is
• 6:12
  widely recognized. Today, democracies dominate the
• 6:16
  world order, comprising a plurality of the domestic
• 6:19
  political systems globally. According to the Economist
• 6:22
  Intelligence Democracy Index 2024 quote, 45% of the world's
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  population lives in a democracy and 15% in hybrid regimes that
• 6:31
  combine electoral democracy with authoritarian tendencies.
• 6:35
  With democratic systems emphasizing individual rights
• 6:38
  and personal freedoms, it makes sense that individualism would
• 6:41
  follow, and this would be a trend we would see worldwide.
• 6:44
  Taken together, it is clear that neoliberalism and democracy
• 6:48
  created fertile ground for an individualistic society.
• 6:51
  But there are also cultural factors at play here, which we
• 6:54
  will explore a little bit later. As for how hyper individualism
• 6:58
  may affect us personally, existing research suggests that
• 7:01
  it can lead to feelings of social isolation, relation and
• 7:04
  extreme consumerism, a symptom of a society where individuals
• 7:08
  are atomized into personal bubbles.
• 7:11
  Such research has also found that hyper individualism
• 7:14
  devalues the social contract, collective responsibility and
• 7:18
  interest in shared issues. Of course, there are also
• 7:21
  positives to this kind of culture.
• 7:23
  Entrepreneurship is championed. Young people are urged to follow
• 7:27
  their own path and self-reliance, especially when
• 7:30
  it comes to finances, is encouraged.
• 7:32
  So with all that in mind, the next question is whether Gen.
• 7:35
  Z is actually hyper individualistic, or at the very
• 7:39
  least more so than their predecessors.
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  Let's first explore the case for why that may be true.
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  From our research, 2 trends online suggest that Gen.
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  Z is indeed hyper individualistic.
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  The first is how this demographic relies on therapy
• 7:53
  speak, and the second is how friendship is presented and
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  performed online. Before we get into it though,
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  it's worth noting that we are making somewhat broad statements
• 8:02
  here. Not every member of Gen.
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  Z will fit neatly into these patterns.
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  Our observations are simply based on viral discourse and the
• 8:09
  kinds of trending content online, so keep that in mind.
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  Anyway, let's start with the former, how Gen.
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  Z uses therapy speak and approaches boundaries.
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  It is clear that Gen. Z has a pretty favorable stance
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  on boundaries, and they are definitely not pushovers.
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  Scrolling through TikTok, you'll find hundreds of face to camera
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  videos created by young people teaching viewers about
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  boundaries. Some of these videos may offer
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  genuine advice on how to set boundaries with people in your
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  life, meanwhile others are more comedic.
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  I'm sure many of you have come across the POV you protected
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  your piece a little too hard trend at one point or another.
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  Here users share how by putting themselves 1st and setting
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  boundaries, they have no drama going on or tea to share.
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  It goes without saying that setting boundaries is extremely
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  important, both for building confidence and being comfortable
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  in social settings. Encouraging people to cut off or
• 9:02
  distance themselves from toxic dynamics, relationships, or
• 9:05
  expectations will always be good advice.
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  This is especially true for young people who may feel
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  compelled to comply with peer pressure or follow trends that
• 9:14
  leave them feeling uncomfortable.
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  But one specific phrase has caused a lot of commotion
• 9:18
  online. You don't owe anyone anything.
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  This phrase can be helpful to some, especially chronic people
• 9:25
  pleasers. It can help these people stick
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  to their boundaries without feeling guilty for doing so.
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  But some observers worry that Gen.
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  Zed has taken it too far. Platitudes like this can never
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  be treated as the whole truth. Sure, we shouldn't have to feel
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  as if we have to compromise our comfort or boundaries, but it
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  shouldn't be a stretch to believe that we owe people basic
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  respect, manners, and empathy. One Tick Tocker, who goes by at
• 9:49
  morg.org, describe phrases like you don't owe anyone anything as
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  means of justifying bad or selfish behavior.
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  One example of this is the phrase you don't owe anyone
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  anything. Originally this phrase was meant
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  for people pleasers but now you guys are using this phrase to
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  justify being selfish and self-centered because what do
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  you mean will give your seat up to a pregnant lady because you
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  don't owe her anything? That's just so.
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  Mean now, this conversation is not new on TikTok.
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  IN2023A commentary creator named Michelle shared a video
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  essentially questioning the You don't owe anyone anything
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  mentality. In it, she pointed to the
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  importance of politeness as a social contract.
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  I think some of you need to realize that even if you think
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  it's bullshit or you don't like it, there is like an invisible
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  social contract that governs the way we behave with each other in
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  the world, and it's there for a reason.
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  Sometimes we have to do things out of politeness.
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  It's kind of like there's people talking about like, why should I
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  participate in a conversation that doesn't interest me?
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  And it's like, you don't have to participate in that
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  conversation, but you also cannot expect people to not get
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  upset with you when you, like, break the social contracts of
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  niceness and politeness and don't participate.
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  There are consequences to that. There was quite a mixed response
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  to Michelle's video. Most viewers saw Michelle's
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  message as a simple reminder that we owe everyone a sense of
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  decency and kindness at face value, but others were not
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  convinced. Some simply disagreed with the
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  sentiment. And perhaps on the most extreme
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  end, some people took it to mean that Michelle was advocating for
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  compassion towards individuals who are racist and sexist.
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  She later took to the platform to clarify her intentions and
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  messaging, noting that she was not trying to excuse harmful
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  behavior or be discriminatory. While we must consume online
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  commentary with a critical eye, the backlash Michelle received
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  was arguably misplaced. Her decision to champion a basic
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  level of kindness is clearly at odds with the We don't owe
• 11:47
  anyone Anything mentality. The response, in turn,
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  highlighted how this hyper individualistic slogan can
• 11:54
  sometimes come at the expense of empathy and the social contract
• 11:57
  that binds many of us together. That being said, Genzed's
• 12:01
  emphasis on personal interest and desires over basic social
• 12:04
  norms definitely highlights a hyper individualistic streak
• 12:07
  across the generation. Similarly, the way Genzed
• 12:10
  displays friendship online and also highlights aspects of hyper
• 12:14
  individualism. Viral content increasingly shows
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  young people prioritizing their own convenience or desires over
• 12:21
  the collective, even when it might breach traditional social
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  etiquette and expectations of friendship.
• 12:27
  One example involves a baby shower that went viral earlier
• 12:30
  this year. It started when a creator named
• 12:32
  Bria Jones turned to TikTok seeking support.
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  She had received a slew of texts from her friends telling her
• 12:38
  they would not be able to make it to her baby shower.
• 12:40
  This was one hour before the baby shower was scheduled to
• 12:43
  take place. In a follow up video, Bria
• 12:45
  revealed that the only people who cancelled on her baby shower
• 12:48
  were young people, specifically Jen Zed and millennials.
• 12:51
  What started as a simple TikTok kicked off a massive
• 12:54
  conversation about how Jen Zed prioritizes self over friendship
• 12:59
  and social expectation. One creator, Sasha, stitched
• 13:02
  Bria's original video. In it, she described this kind
• 13:05
  of behavior as a generational problem, one that leaves young
• 13:08
  people with no sense of community and a misunderstanding
• 13:12
  of social contracts. Individualism has been pushed so
• 13:14
  much amongst millennials and especially amongst Gen.
• 13:17
  Z, that people are unable to decenter themselves for just two
• 13:22
  seconds and think about how their presence or their lack of
• 13:25
  presence would impact somebody that they maintain to love and
• 13:29
  to care about. And This is why social contracts
• 13:31
  have been completely eroded and why people struggle to find
• 13:34
  community. The comments section shared
• 13:36
  Sasha's sentiment. 1 user pointed to how quote low
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  maintenance friendships had been taken too far, while another
• 13:43
  viewer made the claim that individualism is killing the
• 13:45
  youth. But it's not just isolated
• 13:47
  incidents like this one. We see similar individualistic
• 13:51
  messaging circulating across other parts of the Internet.
• 13:54
  Another example, which we recently covered in a mini
• 13:57
  scroll episode, comes within the trad wife and stay at home
• 14:01
  girlfriend circles. Content in this niche is telling
• 14:04
  young women, whether they identify as trad wives, stay at
• 14:07
  home girlfriends, or leaning into the crunchy lifestyle, that
• 14:11
  they don't need female friendships as they enter phases
• 14:14
  like motherhood and marriage. Here, they argue that it is
• 14:17
  healthy to let female friendships go so long as you
• 14:20
  are building a family. While framed as a lifestyle
• 14:23
  choice, this messaging completely undermines the
• 14:26
  importance of community and friendship.
• 14:28
  In reality, female friendships are essential sources of
• 14:31
  support, belonging, and resilience, especially during
• 14:34
  transitional life stages. So for some, Gen.
• 14:37
  Z's online hyper individualism has arguably de prioritized
• 14:41
  friendship. For others, it has made
• 14:43
  friendship more performative. From joining run clubs together
• 14:47
  to making PowerPoints for one another to share on TikTok, Gen.
• 14:51
  Z often broadcast their friendships in ways that double
• 14:54
  his content. Of course, this isn't inherently
• 14:56
  negative. This can definitely be a source
• 14:59
  of fun and community. But it illustrates how
• 15:01
  relationships can be leveraged for social or algorithmic
• 15:04
  visibility. Here, friendship can become
• 15:06
  something to display, brand, or aestheticize.
• 15:10
  This is something that Matt Lawrence speaks to in a TikTok
• 15:13
  video. Essentially, he claims that Gen.
• 15:15
  Z has become obsessed with differentiating themselves
• 15:18
  through personal branding. He notes how social media users
• 15:21
  seek algorithmic approval by niching down and posting a
• 15:25
  specific type of content. Social media has democratized
• 15:28
  virality to the point that anyone can become viral,
• 15:30
  especially if they create a specific niche.
• 15:32
  So while it might be easy to try to tell these kids just turn off
• 15:34
  the TikTok, there is a monetary and social capital drive to be
• 15:38
  performing and filming at every single.
• 15:41
  Moment in the TikTok, Matt brings up a very interesting
• 15:43
  point about the relationship between surveillance and
• 15:47
  personal branding. With this in mind, it is worth
• 15:49
  dissecting the connection between surveillance and hyper
• 15:52
  individualism a little bit more. Jen said.
• 15:55
  Have almost exclusively existed in a world where they are
• 15:58
  constantly surveilled at any given moment.
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  It feels like whatever they are doing can be captured and posted
• 16:04
  to social media, including by their parents.
• 16:07
  This feeling of being watched fuels the desire to perform,
• 16:10
  whether that be at work, in a restaurant or even among
• 16:13
  friends, as surveillance culturally, politically and
• 16:16
  socially seeps into nearly every aspect of life.
• 16:19
  Maths commentary is a great example of how social media can
• 16:23
  reinforce aspects of hyper individualism.
• 16:25
  While we may feel like we are furthering friendships by
• 16:28
  posting them online, it is easy to fall into the trap of
• 16:31
  performing for our followers and the algorithm.
• 16:34
  It's easy to start acting in our own self-interest to grow a
• 16:37
  following or pursue financial success.
• 16:39
  That said, whether through therapy, speak, boundary setting
• 16:43
  or online friendships, Gen. Z does demonstrate some patterns
• 16:46
  of hyper individualism. Personal branding, prioritizing
• 16:49
  autonomy and self-interest appear to shape online
• 16:52
  interactions, making hyper individualism visible across
• 16:57
  these viral contexts. Now we need to discuss.
• 17:00
  That's the flip side, the claim that hyper individualism is not
• 17:03
  unique to Gen. Z and that its messaging and
• 17:05
  values have resonated with previous generations as well.
• 17:08
  To start, it's worth considering the stage of life that Gen.
• 17:11
  Z is currently in. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen.
• 17:15
  Z ranges from about 13 to 28 years old.
• 17:18
  They are, for the most part, teenagers and young adults.
• 17:21
  This life stage is inherently individualistic.
• 17:24
  It is a time when you are expected to put yourself first
• 17:28
  experimenting, learning and figuring out who you want to be.
• 17:31
  You're encouraged to explore, make mistakes and focus on your
• 17:34
  own development. With that in mind, the assertion
• 17:36
  that Gen. Z is hyper individualistic could
• 17:39
  very well be a symptom of their life stage.
• 17:42
  It may actually be less about generational values and more
• 17:45
  about the way youth can be egocentric.
• 17:48
  This is further supported by the fact that millennials faced many
• 17:51
  of the same accusations when they were the Youth Generation.
• 17:55
  One journal article we came across in our research,
• 17:58
  published in 2010, examined some of the defining traits of
• 18:01
  millennials and hyper individualism was at the
• 18:04
  forefront. Titled Liberated Enemy and
• 18:07
  Generation Next, Hyper individualism, extreme
• 18:10
  consumerism, and social Isolationism, the article
• 18:14
  explores the forces behind millennials alleged
• 18:17
  individualism. Interestingly, the author's
• 18:19
  point First to family dynamics. Millennials were among the first
• 18:23
  generations raised in an era where children were explicitly
• 18:26
  seen as having rights and protection.
• 18:28
  According to the authors, this emphasis on safeguarding
• 18:31
  children encourage them to prioritize independence,
• 18:34
  autonomy, and individuality. As the Journal article explains
• 18:37
  quote, millennials have retained strong ties to the home, 40%
• 18:42
  still live in the family home and 73% have received financial
• 18:46
  help from their parents in the last 12 months.
• 18:48
  This generation is accustomed to being the center of both their
• 18:51
  and their families worlds. Having grown up in a protected
• 18:54
  and child centered era, they view themselves as special,
• 18:58
  vital as a group to the nation and to their parents sense of
• 19:02
  purpose. The scholars also make the claim
• 19:05
  that hyper individualism can be tied to digital identity
• 19:08
  formation. While Gen.
• 19:09
  Z is often classified as the first generation of digital
• 19:12
  natives, millennials did spend a large portion of their teenage
• 19:16
  years online. Growing up performing for a
• 19:18
  digital audience, though on a smaller scale than Gen.
• 19:22
  Z, contributed to what the authors liken to an
• 19:24
  individuality complex. They go on to suggest that this
• 19:28
  was intensified for millennials by the reality TV boom.
• 19:31
  The early 1990s marked a turning point, with Mt VS the Real World
• 19:35
  laying the foundation for reality television as we know
• 19:38
  it. The show saw seven or eight
• 19:40
  young adults placed in a new city, living together under
• 19:43
  constant surveillance. It should be noted though, that
• 19:46
  this show wasn't the first reality style show to capture
• 19:49
  public attention. PBS is an American family in the
• 19:52
  1970s is often credited with inspiring some of the docu soaps
• 19:56
  of today, and shows like Cops had already some level of
• 20:00
  cultural capital. Nevertheless, through the 90s
• 20:03
  and 2000s, shows like Big Brother, Jersey Shore, and The
• 20:06
  Simple Life would go on to dominate culture, shaping
• 20:10
  millennial interests and values in the process.
• 20:13
  These shows frequently rewarded polarizing personalities, self
• 20:17
  promotion, and drama. Ultimately sending a message
• 20:21
  that individuality and standing out more important quote growing
• 20:24
  up with reality shows. This generation has seen people
• 20:27
  become famous because of who they are rather than what they
• 20:30
  do. Television shows such as The
• 20:33
  Real World glorify hyper individualism.
• 20:36
  Even shows that focus nominally on skills such as American Idol,
• 20:39
  The Apprentice, and Survivor revel in personality and rags to
• 20:43
  riches storylines, the authors continue.
• 20:46
  Ultimately, with millennials being described as hyper
• 20:49
  individualistic all the way back in 2010, it becomes clear that
• 20:53
  hyper individualism is not unique to Gen.
• 20:55
  Z. Perhaps a more interesting
• 20:57
  question here is whether this hyper individualism is
• 21:00
  intensifying. And to that you could argue yes.
• 21:04
  The reasons discussed in the journal article as to why
• 21:07
  millennials were hyper individualistic can easily be
• 21:10
  applied to Gen. Z.
• 21:11
  Much like millennials, Gen. Z has grown up in an environment
• 21:14
  where children are recognized as having rights and protections.
• 21:17
  On top of this, they too have had to assert their independence
• 21:20
  and individuality in a world where traditional milestones
• 21:24
  like buying a house, getting a secure full time job, or being
• 21:28
  in a long term relationship are out of reach due to factors like
• 21:31
  the cost of living crisis, long lasting impacts of the COVID-19
• 21:35
  pandemic, and a seemingly impending recession.
• 21:38
  By replacing traditional milestones with online identity
• 21:41
  formation, Gen. Z has lived their entire lives
• 21:45
  performing for social media, archiving their development
• 21:48
  similar to how millennials did and still do.
• 21:51
  Furthermore, Gen. Z has also been exposed to hyper
• 21:54
  individualistic behavior through pop culture and reality TV.
• 21:57
  They have found their own obsessions with shows like Love
• 21:59
  Island. Season 7 of Love Island USA, for
• 22:02
  example, was even described as the most Gen.
• 22:05
  Zed season yet. The difference is that for Gen.
• 22:08
  Zed, reality TV isn't the only arena where this is taking
• 22:11
  place. Where millennial reality TV
• 22:13
  personalities were rewarded for standing out and pursuing fame
• 22:16
  and riches, Gen. Zed's favorite online creators
• 22:19
  are celebrated for the same thing, further entrenching a
• 22:22
  hyper individualistic identity. Ultimately, perhaps the point we
• 22:26
  can take from both millennials and Gen.
• 22:28
  Zed being characterized this way is that hyper individualism is
• 22:33
  less about generational values and more about the conditions of
• 22:36
  growing up online in a world where visibility and
• 22:39
  individuality are currency and the keys to success.
• 22:43
  Lastly, there is another factor that is frequently left out of
• 22:47
  the Gen. Z is hyper individualistic
• 22:49
  discussion. This is the fact that
• 22:50
  individualism, and especially hyper individualism, is very
• 22:55
  American. Don't get me wrong, this isn't
• 22:57
  something that originated in the United States.
• 23:00
  Not to get too historical here, but ideas of individualism
• 23:03
  materialized in places like England following the decline of
• 23:07
  feudalism, and the word itself seemingly emerged in France in
• 23:11
  reaction to the French Revolution.
• 23:12
  It was later consolidated by various Enlightenment thinkers
• 23:15
  and philosophers. Having said that, individualism
• 23:18
  has become an integral part of US society, culture, and
• 23:22
  politics. Take the concept of the American
• 23:24
  Dream, for example. For many, the idea is that
• 23:27
  America is a place where anyone can make it.
• 23:30
  Here, people can enjoy individual freedom of choice,
• 23:33
  boundless opportunities, and personal fulfillment.
• 23:36
  Of course, this does not always acknowledge many of the systemic
• 23:40
  issues that make it infinitely harder for marginalized groups
• 23:43
  to also achieve this level of freedom.
• 23:45
  But despite this, the American Dream has played a central role
• 23:48
  in the way individualism informs US society and values.
• 23:52
  Given the cultural hegemony that the United States enjoys over
• 23:56
  pop culture through Hollywood, reality TV, social media
• 23:59
  platforms, and Internet culture, people are quick to assume that
• 24:03
  this individualistic outlook applies universally.
• 24:06
  But this framing overlooks other cultural contexts, like across
• 24:10
  Latin America and East Asia that uphold more collectivist values
• 24:14
  and social norms. In this sense, the claim that
• 24:16
  Gen. Z is hyper individualistic might
• 24:18
  reflect a US specific lens more than a universal reality.
• 24:23
  All in all, there is clearly a lot to unpack in the Gen.
• 24:26
  Z is hyper individualistic discourse, and many points are
• 24:29
  often missed in this conversation.
• 24:31
  We have done our best to explore some of them while also
• 24:34
  acknowledging the risk of making sweeping generalizations from
• 24:38
  our research and exploring it through this episode, we can
• 24:41
  draw a couple of conclusions. First, Gen.
• 24:43
  Z does exhibit some patterns of hyper individualism, but that
• 24:47
  doesn't mean that they are the only generation to do so.
• 24:50
  It is arguably inaccurate to position Gen.
• 24:52
  Z as uniquely hyper individualistic, especially when
• 24:56
  millennials displayed similar behaviors when they were
• 24:59
  teenagers or in their early 20s. What we are seeing may be less
• 25:03
  about inherent generational values and more about growing up
• 25:06
  online, where the digital world amplifies the drive for
• 25:09
  individuality. Though it is also worth noting
• 25:12
  that digital spaces simultaneously foster new forms
• 25:15
  of collectivism, ranging from fandoms to niche online
• 25:19
  communities. Nevertheless, the Internet that
• 25:21
  Gen. Z grew up with is changing, and
• 25:23
  changing quickly. With the AI age still in its
• 25:26
  infancy, it is unclear how this technology will alter our
• 25:30
  preoccupation with individualism and autonomy.
• 25:33
  But one thing is for sure, it will be disruptive.
• 25:37
  And if history is any indication, Gen.
• 25:41
  Alpha will likely be the next group to be slapped with the
• 25:44
  hyper individualistic label, whether it's accurate or not.
• 25:48
  Infinite Scroll is a podcast produced, presented and Co
• 25:51
  written by me, Lauren Meisner for Centennial World.
• 25:55
  This episode was researched and written by Annabelle Ben David.
• 25:58
  Thank you so much for listening. I love you guys and I will talk
• 26:01
  to you next week. Bye.