https://fortune.com/2022/12/09/climate-change-existentialism-drives-anti-work-gen-z/
Those with climate anxiety fall into one of three groups, Kpenkaan, the content creator, theorizes: “The hustle culture aficionados who believe if they get rich enough they can money their way through the upcoming crises; the people who are sort of going through the motions and trying to find joy outside of work; and those who are starting to engage in activism to combat the upcoming climate crisis and working only to support themselves.”
Tag yourself I’m just going through the motions and trying to find joy outside of work (the search is not going well)
I feel like such a useless piece of shit most of the time, but I remind myself I basically lost my 20s to depression and anxiety, and COVID has turned all of us into hermits to some degree or another, so it’s okay to focus on myself and cultivate strength for now. I can’t save the world if I don’t save myself from myself first.
Was just thinking about this the other day. Maybe the generations that truly experience climate change will have an inherent motivation to not contribute to it, instead recognizing the futility of the prior generations’ denials and the futility of believing in a future that doesn’t combat the challenge.
Climate change is the number one reason (with the grotesque inhumanity of the great satan :amerikkka: a close second) I refuse to have children. humans probably aren’t going extinct, but I’m not going to bring a life into this world to navigate the upcoming horrors that were no fault of their own.
paywall bypass: https://archive.vn/2dLEx
These articles have been trickling out since at least the 2008 recession. The theme is basically “cool young people doing stuff” as austerity kicks into overdrive. Moving away from cities to the rust belt, living in a van, working remotely, tiny houses, etc. The takeaway for me is the audience it is presented to, between the lines how can we continue to squeeze labor value out of these people in some way.
This article is behind a fucking paywall on fortune magazine and cost $10 a month to read.
“Gen Z Climbs The Paywall and Takes Back The Internet” : 12ft.io/https://fortune.com/2022/12/09/climate-change-existentialism-drives-anti-work-gen-z/
It’s infantalizing and the underlying message for the audience is about markets, it always is. Whether it’s to invest is real estate or gentrification projects in the rust belt, or social media campaigns focused on near-homelessness lifestyle, or whatever, always focused on privileged kids who can afford a 40k sprinter van and wear urban outfitters while blogging on the newest macbook, because those people have money to squeeze and create lifestyle chasing. Not the 1/2 million + people forced into homelessness with no mental health or housing services to help pull them up. They are dirty and unphotographable, in fact we’ll pretend they don’t exist.
Yeah lets focus on these bootstrapping young suburbanites, isn’t it cute how they have no livable future.
Lathe do your thing “Young Creatives tired of drowning in flooded coastal cities, begin to explore the grain belt.” With a photograph of a hot couple dressed like 00’s brooklyn gentrification, one playing a vintage guitar the other doing abstract expressionist needlepoint in a covered wagon/espresso bar.
