Gen Z and Dark Humor by Talia Criso
I think it's clear that different generations react and think differently about a lot of topics. For example, many people believe that baby boomers don't take climate change as seriously as the Millennial and Gen Z generations, mainly because they are the ones who are going to be in charge of the planet pretty soon.
I believe, as a person in the Gen Z generation (1995-2010), that we are pretty educated and care about most topics. However, we have a way of processing the reality that is a little different from most generations. Teens across the world tend to use dark humor and jokes as a way to cope with or talk about situations. For example, on social media apps like TikTok and Twitter, memes and videos are made about serious issues. These include global issues like COVID-19, celebrity deaths, and natural disasters. A large amount of them are related to mental health, suicide, depression and anxiety; all of which are issues that are commonly seen among the Gen Z generation.
Personally, I think they are hilarious. Occasionally there are jokes that go too far, but for the most part they are really funny. Many teens share a common sense of humor when it comes to coping and dealing with these serious issues, since most of them can relate to each other and find connection through humor. We're pretty desensitized to the darkness and shock factor of these jokes and comments, because these situations have become very normal to us from a young age. With the internet, we have been exposed to a lot more than most are early on. We react to dark events with dark humor, and it has been rooted into our culture as a whole.
Other generations may not react to these jokes the same way we do. The Millennial generation (1980-1994) is pretty close and a lot of them have the same humor. However, Boomers, Generation X and Xennials (1946-1985) all tend to not understand it the way we do. The younger generations are a lot more fluid and open about things that the older generations are not, such as gender, sexual orientation, and racial acceptance. They also do not have the same relationship with things like climate change as we do, since they are responsible for it, whereas the younger generations are left to clean up their mess.
Overall, Gen Z is growing up in a world where bad things always happen, it has become normal and unpreventable. They process these issues with humor, and I wonder how this will effect us in the future. For now I don't think it's a bad thing, it is really funny. I think that it is better than things going unnoticed and not talked about, and it also makes it easier to deal with these situations.
I believe, as a person in the Gen Z generation (1995-2010), that we are pretty educated and care about most topics. However, we have a way of processing the reality that is a little different from most generations. Teens across the world tend to use dark humor and jokes as a way to cope with or talk about situations. For example, on social media apps like TikTok and Twitter, memes and videos are made about serious issues. These include global issues like COVID-19, celebrity deaths, and natural disasters. A large amount of them are related to mental health, suicide, depression and anxiety; all of which are issues that are commonly seen among the Gen Z generation.
Personally, I think they are hilarious. Occasionally there are jokes that go too far, but for the most part they are really funny. Many teens share a common sense of humor when it comes to coping and dealing with these serious issues, since most of them can relate to each other and find connection through humor. We're pretty desensitized to the darkness and shock factor of these jokes and comments, because these situations have become very normal to us from a young age. With the internet, we have been exposed to a lot more than most are early on. We react to dark events with dark humor, and it has been rooted into our culture as a whole.
Other generations may not react to these jokes the same way we do. The Millennial generation (1980-1994) is pretty close and a lot of them have the same humor. However, Boomers, Generation X and Xennials (1946-1985) all tend to not understand it the way we do. The younger generations are a lot more fluid and open about things that the older generations are not, such as gender, sexual orientation, and racial acceptance. They also do not have the same relationship with things like climate change as we do, since they are responsible for it, whereas the younger generations are left to clean up their mess.
Overall, Gen Z is growing up in a world where bad things always happen, it has become normal and unpreventable. They process these issues with humor, and I wonder how this will effect us in the future. For now I don't think it's a bad thing, it is really funny. I think that it is better than things going unnoticed and not talked about, and it also makes it easier to deal with these situations.
I agree with all of this. I think that the dark humor, although it goes to far sometimes, I really funny just because that's what we've always seen. I think people also use it as a way to bring up the topic without having to be serious about it. I definitely think if i showed my parents or grandparents some of the tik toks or tweets that I see, they would find it offensive or not funny at all.
ReplyDeleteMy mom always says stuff like "how can you joke about something like that???" but that's just the way we are.
ReplyDeleteYou're very right about this. They also say this happens in decades. Like 90's kids (me) are so different from the decades before and after them!
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