There’s a particular kind of nausea that comes from hearing your generation described at a brand workshop, a sort of metaphysical cringe. Gen Z, they say, as if we are a new type of ethically sourced mushroom. Digital natives. Purpose-led. Over-anxious. Underpaid. Fragile.
We’re the most observed and least understood cohort since the Victorians discovered children. And I, dear reader, am apparently one of them, albeit without the necessary serotonin levels to fully participate.
Let’s be clear: we’re not a tribe. We’re a tax bracket with WiFi. The kids who inherited the apocalypse and were told to make it…content. We’re not trying to be complicated, it’s just that the world we’ve been handed is cracked and we are lacking the tools and role models to fix it. The deep scepticism of the institutions that promise change but fail to deliver has left us feeling burnt out.
We Are the Contradiction
We’re constantly told we’re inconsistent. That we march for the climate and then run into Primark to stock up on the newest matching pyjama sets. That we doomscroll until 2am and complain that we are too tired to save the world in the morning. That we’re the most politically engaged generation yet and still forget to vote unless someone makes it a TikTok.
The implication is that we’re confused. Maybe. But also, maybe we’ve just stopped pretending it’s possible to live without contradiction. The world’s burning, the government is a mess, and everything good is either too expensive or behind a paywall. Yes, I want change things for the better, but I also want a matcha latte…with oat milk. Leave me alone.
Shopping as Performance Art
Shopping, for us, is complicated. Not just ‘I saw it, I liked it, I bought it’. It’s a moral maze, a mood stabiliser, a personality test. Sometimes it’s just a way to feel like I exist.
I can spend 45 minutes in a fancy food shop knowing full well I won’t buy anything — photographing nut butters, pretending I can afford superfood granola, fantasising about being the kind of person who comes home with a selection of veg that mimics a rainbow. I leave with a £1.80 can of sparkling water and the fleeting sense that I’m living my values. Or at least flirting with them.
I want to be that person – the one who makes ethical, beautiful, expensive choices. I want my shopping habits to reflect my politics, my conscience, my sense of taste. But, when these values are priced out of reach, I am left questioning how we can ever expect real change when the barriers remain so high.
Sometimes It’s Just a T-Shirt
The other day I bought a Uniqlo t-shirt. It was probably made by someone underpaid in a building that should have been condemned. I knew that. And I still bought it. Because it fit. Because not everything can be a principled stand.
There’s something quietly rebellious about choosing pleasure in a world that constantly tells you to optimise. Not every purchase needs to change the world. Sometimes it just needs to get you through Tuesday.
Intentionality, Kind Of
We’ve redefined what it means to be intentional. For us, it’s not just about doing the ‘right’ thing, it’s about doing something, consciously. That might mean buying second-hand, or spending money on an overpriced iced coffee because it brings joy, and you haven’t felt anything real since Sunday.
We know it’s not enough. We know we’re not perfect. But perfection is a myth sold by people who want you to feel bad and buy more. We’re not interested. We’re looking for honesty, effort, maybe a bit of humour.
We’re Not Waiting to Be Saved
We don’t need brands to be perfect either. Just… present. Trying. Aware. Less obsessed with ‘purpose’ and more focused on being, I don’t know, useful. Less polished, more human.
We can smell insincerity from three scrolls away. What we want is partnership, not paternalism. We’re not children, we’re the ones who’ll be left with whatever mess this all becomes.
So, work with us. Own your flaws. Let us see the workings-out. We respect that more a pristine campaign shot in a field of wind turbines and models seductively drinking kombucha.
A Generation in Beta
Here’s the truth: Gen Z is not finished. We are still buffering. Still rendering. We are a generation in beta; glitchy, hopeful, and occasionally insufferable. But we are watching. And we are listening. And we are choosing, one conflicted purchase at a time, who gets to come with us into the future. You don’t need to crack the code. You just need to stop pretending there is one. We are all in. We are all out. We are, like most people most of the time, just doing our best. And if that isn’t human, I don’t know what is.
