The other day, while leaving the mall with my parents, my dad told me he saw a young boy—most likely in high school—walking with the look of pure sadness and desperation. My Dad said he asked himself, “why is it that so many kids today are lacking the sense of joy and life?” So, basically: are we all dead inside? We aren’t passionate about anything anymore. Why is it so rare to meet teenagers or young adults with a passion for life?
We always hear that Gen Z is likely to move back into our parents’ house, we have trouble finding a meaningful relationship due to the hopeless spiral of dating apps, and we barely be able to afford our own lives, let alone the lives of our future children. So what do we have to look forward to? Older generations tell us every day that the world they know is ahead of us is one they are glad to not be around for. Yet we are also told that our future is bright and full of opportunities; but is it? It’s difficult to stay positive when all we hear about is what a terrible life we are bound to be living in the future.
Gen Z lives by posting everything online for others to see. Whether that’s the great life they are living, the new soulmate they just met, a celebrity crush they are gushing over, how good they look in a single picture after taking 452 others, or even making a TikTok about losing someone close to them, it’s out there. We’ve been raised in an age where technology controls how we live life, but we are also told that we use our devices too much by the people who were responsible for creating the technology that encourages this empire of addiction.
I wonder when we’ll stop living life for others and, instead, realize that this is our life. This leads me to the #HopeCore TikTok trend that was popularized in the last year by accounts dedicated to editing the feel-good moments in life. #HopeCore has brought Gen Z light and appreciation for the joyful things in life that we tend to overlook. Society as a whole has trouble not only sitting with the good and soaking it up, but also being happy for others and their successes. Amidst all of this, Gen Z gravitates towards #HopeCore and enjoys the exposure to this genre of media entertainment. Experiencing this first-hand, #HopeCore does genuinely give me hope for our future. This hope is not only for my own future and success, but for society’s future. I’m hopeful that I am surrounded by people who—despite our many differences—can share these feelings of happiness for others. From clips of an “underdog” winning an Oscar, to a news reporter laughing after being caught in the pouring rain, to a protective puppy sleeping beside a baby, #HopeCore reminds us of the importance of life’s fulfilment and richness.
As a whole, Gen Z is admittedly a sad generation. While we tend to be a more accepting group of young people who support people’s differences and embrace what is not traditionally normalized, we also romanticize sadness. We feed into sad movies and sad music, even the sad moments in celebrities’ lives over the happy moments. In turn, we reflect that in our own lives, allowing ourselves to focus on the sad and overshadow the good. It is most certainly important for our generation to continue to shed light on well-being and mental health by making these issues common in everyday conversations, but I think #HopeCore forces us to see what we’re missing when we let sadness take over our life. This lost hope our generation has for our own future and the lives of people around us only brings us closer to being scared of winning and failure. This results in many of us not even trying to find joy when I know that each of us has hope somewhere within us.
I have faith that we aren’t “lost causes” or too deep into feeding this idea of lost hope that has bloomed around us. I think it’s okay to say that we are still learning about life and that the so-called “light bulb” can go off multiple times throughout our course, at our many different life stages. While it’s vital that our generation stays vulnerable, life is about feeling our emotions, even through something as simple as #HopeCore videos. Opening up TikTok to hear “My Way” by Frank Sinatra in an edit of pure, wholesome moments of joy will never fail to bring a smile to my face. #HopeCore continues to positively inspire and bring us together despite our confusing, everchanging generation.