Digital as Mirror of Our Souls

Once upon a time, I was told we are the mirrors of our parents and the society we live in. Every single generation that concurs to write human history is inevitably affected by the events that took place before. And that’s why we shape our identity based on our present and our past as well. Whether we like it or not, we are the result of something else, far greater than all of us.

AI-generated 

Gen Z in 2024 is the by-product of several factors: political activism, diversity & inclusion, mental health awareness, economic stability, work-life balance, environmental concern, and so on. They are the protagonists of a generation that has finally understood that there’s more to life than work. They want to live freely. They want to do good. They are looking for personal development and continuous learning. They are tired of parents and teachers dictating their existence. They are now ready to lead their actions, depending only on their creed and convictions. They have set the example for older generations, soon becoming the pioneers of a specific conduct of life led by audacity, courage, and determination. All of this consequently erupted into the creation of a new lifestyle that reflected a completely new set of values and beliefs. A different way of acting, dressing, interacting, talking, eating, and loving. They tore down everything that was there before and started building new walls, borders, and frontiers. But what are the foundations of all this? What Gen Z is really looking for is authenticity. They embrace imperfection at every step of the way. They value authentic experiences and interactions. They tend to be skeptical of traditional advertising and prefer to look up to brands and individuals who are transparent and true in their communication. They’ve developed a deep understanding of what it means to be human. Issues, obstacles, fears, and insecurities. They’ve come to terms with all of that, accepting themselves for who they are. The thing we should all pay respect to is the maturity this generation has earned over time by becoming aware of a simple principle in life: perfection is not of this world.

Photography Sergey Lomakin

Millennials? Quite the opposite. Dominated by control, minimalism, and convention, they present their sense of individual achievement by creating an outwardly polished aesthetic. And—of course—all of this didn’t happen overnight. The reasons for this behavior must be traced back to the cultural and societal landscape in which this generation was born. Let’s give a quick overview. These individuals lived during an era where—since the first moment they entered planet Earth—they had to deal with incredibly heavy expectations both parents and society placed on their shoulders. Excelling academically and pursuing higher education was a given to secure a future and better job opportunities. Many of them were impacted by the rising cost of significant student loans, which influenced their financial and life decisions. From an early age, they grew up with pre-arranged plans for their future that somebody else made for them. They were raised with precise ideas of what they should have done in life to be considered accomplished and successful, which were later on substituted by new plans and dreams brought by the influence received from Gen Z. Looking at younger individuals building careers from scratch acted as an effective trigger in their souls, convincing them to risk it all for something they believed in.

Now, everything we said so far has its own practical reflection on the way these two generations decided to mold their behaviors on social media platforms. Gen Z has taken possession of a new way of conducting digital storytelling; camera trembling, uneven filming angles, disorganized content with clutter, generic and few camera angles, and an amateur vibe are some of the elements that probably come to mind when thinking of YouTube, for example. The juice is to show everything we want to share with no filters. Because that’s life at 360 degrees. The approach used for being present in the digital world—which worked incredibly well until a couple of years ago—has been completely torn to pieces by a bigger and way more convincing method that makes unfiltered content its shining star. That’s how cultural movements centered on the beauty of natural things kept on gaining respect and appreciation among people, spreading from business to business. Starting from the beauty sector, the phenomenon widened its range by becoming popular in other areas such as food (healthy food) and home styling (use of rustic elements). Furthermore, comedy has become the leading narrative tool used to drive conversations and raise doubts and questions. First, funny and entertaining content has a higher rate of shareability, making it more likely to go viral and reach a wider audience. It also often encourages interaction and engagement through likes and shares. Gen Z realized the cruciality of an elementary aspect—too often taken for granted. There is nothing stronger than a smile. That’s what gathers everybody together. If anger and hate can divide populations, there will never be anything as connecting as the power of joy and amusement. I know. This could sound cheesy and very pleasing to hear and read, on paper. But what about reality?—someone could argue. Well, this simple concept has become the foundation of the global success built by Khaby Lame. With more than 80 million followers on IG and 160 on TikTok, he is now one of the most influential and relevant personalities in the entire world. How did he manage to get all of this? Fun and silence. If we had mentioned something like this to the version of ourselves from 10 or 20 years ago, we would’ve been mocked, badly. But today the music has changed. Khaby—by using two human-based principles—has shown us that what we said before was true, conveying motivation and inspiration for anyone in the world who would like to build something from zero.

Khaby Lame, IG

As predictable as it may sound, what works for Gen Z is simply the opposite of what instead is effective for Millennials. For them, everything starts with the acknowledgment that we should all look composed and polished. The impression that we make on the world is what matters. And this is why the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” I’m not really sure fits the mold here. It’s not about the inner fear of showing ourselves for who we are but rather—I guess—a particular perception of the world. A perception that originates from the understanding of a society that has multiple faces. And if we really want to make something of ourselves, we must play a part that can help us get there. This is why Millennials—as opposed to Gen Z—focus more on high-quality production values, with content being more edited and polished. Earth tones, minimal and extremely well-curated settings, and lifestyle aspects such as family, fitness, beauty, and home decor steal the scene. Is showing our morning routine made of the perfect outfit, alongside our iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso while taking a walk on the streets in a peaceful and runway mode, going to cut it?

Valentina Ferragni, IG

In short, this article doesn’t plan to side with any of these two generations. Each one has its pros and cons, and it would be hypocritical to make a choice saying one is better than the other. As someone like me who is genetically part of Gen Z, I must say I’m not quite sure where to stand as there are things to appreciate in both of them. When I first started putting down my thoughts on this, I didn’t want to address members by birth only. Frankly, I’m not even interested in whether you belong to any of these groups because this article is not about them. Gen Z and Millennials stand for two different approaches to life, with specific values attached to them. Therefore, all of this makes a couple of questions arise: What does authenticity truly mean to you in a world dominated by social media? Are you striving for polished perfection or embracing imperfection? Why are you doing so? This article doesn’t concern the feeling of belonging to Gen Z rather than Millennials. It should make you reflect instead on the essence of your persona. Think about what side you resonate with and ask yourself why. Why are you aiming for perfection? Why are you siding with the beauty of imperfection? Take this as the chance to take a deep dive into your soul, analyzing yourself for who you really are.