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Several older journalists have been making the argument this week that Gen Z are vainer than their parents were at a similar age, but can you blame them? In an era of constant external pressures and smartphone cameras, the demand to be appealing has never been more overwhelming.
Another week, another attempt to discredit young people by older journalists working at publications intended for Gen X and millennial readers. Such joy!
This time, attention is being drawn to Gen Z’s apparent fascination and enduring obsession with their looks. Jemima Lewis from The Telegraph recently published a piece titled ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the vainest of them all? Gen Z,’ which took aim at the so-called narcissism of teenagers who reportedly take 30,000 selfies throughout their lives.
‘They examine their imperfections in minute detail, and compare themselves to the airbrushed influencers on social media,’ she writes. ‘Is this making them shallow? Of course! Every hour spent in front of the mirror […] is an hour spent not reading a book.’
Jemima’s argument is essentially that vanity is a waste of time, a meandering mental inconvenience that teenagers indulge in.
But is this really the case? Are young people gawking at themselves in mirrors and via their smartphone cameras simply to pass the time and avoid other activities? Any small amount of common sense would surely tell you otherwise.
Research suggests that body dysmorphia is on the rise in adolescents. While it does affect girls more than boys, both genders have areas of concern that can bother them to an extreme degree. These could include body fat, facial hair, height, complexion, thinning hair and acne, among other things.
These specific features that cause distress will compel young people to check their appearance for reassurance, or to confirm a flaw they perceive in themselves. It is not usually done out of vanity, nor to self-congratulate ones own looks. Instead, much of this behaviour stems from wanting to feel normal, unassuming, conventional and nondescript.
Those with body dysmorphia are not yearning to become influencers. They just want to feel comfortable.
As someone who has wrestled with body image problems for a long time, it is endlessly maddening to read articles from people who were not young when smartphones and influencer culture became mainstream.
Gen Z has had to grow up in a world of constant photo-taking, sharing and comparison. This phenomena has been shown to cause depression and anxiety, and is partly to blame for the wider mental health crisis that Gen Z faces.
Every time a young person steps outside or socialises with friends, there is the possibility that they will be photographed, appear in someone’s Instagram stories, or be tagged in an upload they didn’t consent to. It happens all the time. Of course someone who is unsure of their appearance is going to feel self-conscious.
Why are articles like this so frustrating?
Obvious rage-bait and attention-grabbing headline aside, Jemima’s article is indicative of a wider trend across major publications. Respected journalists are examining a specific Gen Z behaviour or opinion and solely blaming the individual, rather than considering any larger, external influence that may have steered them in that direction.
David Mitchell recently took aim at young people for their seemingly lenient approach toward dictatorships, for example, opting to scoff at them and ridicule their ‘short attention spans.’ He even blames phones, a tired argument that adds little value considering over 90% of those aged 55 – 64 also own and use them on a regular basis.
No effort is made to appreciate the spiralling cost of living or the overly-competitive late-stage capitalist market that has backed many Gen Zers into a financial corner.
In fact, this lack of empathy for the struggles of young people is partly why there is such a huge divide in political and social opinions between generations. As we wrote earlier this week, Gen Zers can’t even go to a festival without their parents and older peers moaning about the lineup.
Such little effort is made to truly understand and appreciate the realities of living in the modern era. Young people today have to scrap to get to university, pay tens of thousands in fees only to be flung into a cut-throat job search with no real promise of a house or stability at the end of it all.
Similarly, they’re surrounded by smartphones, cameras, influencer culture and a constant sense of external pressure.
