CathInfo.com

I notice a general lack of spirit among gen z. That is more troubling than their lack of hobbies. I'm a millennial, and when I was a teenager I was out of control. That's not a good thing, but at least there was motivation, industriousness, creativity, and a desire for autonomy undergirding my bad behavior. Gen Z are highly conformist, which strikes me as most unnatural for a youthful/young-adult population. 

It's good news for trad zoomers I think, though. Businesses and the economy at large will be starved for people who have drive and ingenuity. I think there'll be a lot of good jobs available for those who have spirit. 

Being Gen Z myself, I think I can provide a worthy insider's perspective on this issue in my generation. 

I agree that social media has much to do with this. I'm thankful that I decided to erase my presence on social media years ago (this was before I came to the Faith), mainly due to how uncomfortable it made me. I was unnerved by the idea of sharing my life with even those I went to school with, I guess my reclusive nature helped me dodge a bullet there (thanks be to God). I like to open up to people in real life, not over screens. 

The lack of spirit is on account of the slothful nature that Zoomers have been encouraged to embrace by society and their upbringing, particularly in the suburbs and cities. There also comes the question of video games. If you can immerse yourself in a reality where you can pretend to be a hero or an adventurer because it takes less effort than actually trying to do stuff in real life, then why not "escape" your boring life? Not that games are inherently evil, but an inordinate attachment to them is. In the past, I used games to escape my boring life which was then dominated by the four stale walls of the soul-sucking American public school system. 

But even the alternate realities get boring; there are a decent amount of videos on YT from young men that touch on why, for them, "video games aren't fun anymore": 



I have some hobbies, like reading and writing (I guess you can also throw my channels in there too). I have a real sense I'm meant to do something with my talents; I don't want to be like the unfaithful steward the Lord spoke of in the Gospel.

It is through the Faith I have regained a childlike wonder for God's Creation, which had been ritually beaten out of me by godless materialism. Just last week I went on a solo hike in the woods near where I live (a first for me), and it was an incredibly satisfying (and even spiritual) experience. It helped to inspire a composition of a short story which I hope to put up soon (along with others down the line) on a Wordpress site I created. 

This poem by the great Irishman Joseph Mary Plunkett expresses my sentiments towards Nature better than I could: 

I See His Blood upon the Rose

"I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.
I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice—and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words. All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.”

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/i-see-his-blood-upon-the-rose