Sephora Kids, iPad Kids, Starbucks Kids – we’ve all seen it, adolescents who are rude, entitled, and just trying to grow up too fast. These days, it seems that the “awkward phase,” with a side-part, braces, and blemished skin are long gone, as ten-year-olds look like thirteen-year-olds, and thirteen-year-olds look like sixteen-year-olds. Generation Alpha is the first generation to grow up with something no generation has grown up with before- social media. By now, the countless consequences of social media are well known, cyberbullying, insecurity, and anxiety just to name a few. Social media has promoted a constant necessity for perfection, and idealism at any cost, making kids afraid to be kids. These consequences are not only felt by adolescents but are intergenerational.
High school hallways are a sea of Aritzia sweatsuits, Nike Tech, silver chains, curled hair, Uggs, and Stanley cups, where any semblance of individuality has been removed, and personality is to be judged. Fear of judgement is the driving force of the loss of teenage individualism, which is only promoted by influencers who set trends, and the ability to follow them is adjacent to one’s popularity. In recent years, the phrase “protecting your peace,” has become increasingly popular, promoting that your needs come before others and that relationships should be frictionless. Your friend doesn’t agree with how you handled something? – cut them off, your boyfriend said you’re being dramatic? – break up with him, your uncle won’t stop making jokes about you? – stop speaking to him. This mentality has not only led to selfishness, but a lack to empathize with the fact that other people also have lives of their own, and promotes a “the world revolves around me,” and “everyone should serve me,” mentality. Furthermore, the “protecting my peace,” mentality has led to weaker efforts to maintain relationships.
Conversations that once required patience and understanding are now discarded in favor of instant gratification. A simple disagreement is no longer an opportunity for growth but a justification for cutting people off entirely. Social media platforms, with their curated feeds and echo chambers, reinforce this behavior by rewarding one-sided narratives. A post about "removing toxic people" gets thousands of likes, while an honest discussion about resolving conflicts is drowned out. The result? A generation that values validation over vulnerability, where people are no longer friends but followers, and relationships are built on aesthetics rather than authenticity.
The decline of empathy isn’t just evident in personal relationships—it seeps into broader social interactions. Scrolling past a tragic news story feels no different than skipping an ad. When suffering is packaged into 15-second videos or neatly captioned posts, it becomes easy to consume but just as easy to forget. Online activism, often reduced to reposting infographics, gives the illusion of engagement without requiring genuine action, resulting in peer-pressured performative activism. Liking a post about mental health replaces checking in on a struggling friend. Commenting “so tragic, praying for all involved” under a disaster post replaces real-world efforts to help, and demoralizes the real victims.
Social media has trained people to prioritize their image over their impact. Empathy, once the foundation of human connection, has been replaced by self-interest disguised as self-care. And as the world continues to move at the speed of scrolling, the question remains: will this generation ever slow down enough to truly care?
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